NRL head of football Graham Annesley has dismissed suggestions the league treated hip-drop tackles more harshly in round five after three players were suspended after Sunday's matches.
Marata Niukore (Warriors), Dale Finucane (Sharks) and Jayden Okunbor (Bulldogs) were all sin-binned, placed on report and charged for committing the tackle, which is defined by a player dropping his weight onto the back of a ball-carrying opponent's legs.
All three received grade-two dangerous contact charges from the match review committee on Monday morning but face different punishments given their varying records - Finucane is set to miss three matches, Niukore two and Okunbor one.
"That's a common theme in most parts of the law," Annesley said.
"If you're charged with an offence in the legal system, you'll obviously get a harsher penalty if you're a repeat offender."
All three will get an extra match if they choose to challenge and are unsuccessful at the judiciary on Tuesday night.
As of Monday afternoon, none of the three clubs had entered their pleas and have until 12pm Tuesday to do so.
The hip-drop tackle has been the scourge of the NRL in recent seasons but had been largely kept under wraps in 2023, until Sunday.
Annesley put the sudden upswing down to chance rather than any specific efforts to police the tackle more harshly, as was the case during the Magic Round crackdown in 2021.
"These types of tackles, the NRL has been trying to eradicate from the game for several seasons," he said.
"It's more coincidence than anything else (that there have been more than usual), it's certainly not a crackdown.
"A crackdown on these types of tackles has been ongoing for several years."
All three tackles occurred in greasy conditions following rain in Sydney and after all three parties involved insisted the tackles were accidental.
In the case of Niukore and Finucane it appeared the contact was accidental as defenders swung off a powerful ball-carrier who had crashed through the initial tackle.
Speaking on the Nine Network's coverage, NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler described the decision to send Niukore to the bin in the Warriors' 32-30 win over Cronulla as "harsh".
Manly assistant coach Shane Flanagan was also critical in commentary for Fox Sports.
"From my point of view there was no intention whatsoever to have a hip-drop," Finucane said after his own tackle.
"Obviously Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has got great footwork and just beat me (and) with the rain and getting beaten by the footwork, I swung off to the back of the tackle.
"There was no malice or intent whatsoever."
Okunbor's hit left Jason Taumalolo on the ground in pain but the North Queensland captain held no ill-will towards the Bulldogs utility post-match.
"That's part of the game. It's going to happen," he said.
Intentions aside, the NRL will continue to take a dim view of the shots.
"Sometimes you need to adjust to the conditions. Whilst (wet weather) may be a factor, it's not always an excuse," Annesley said.
"Most incidents that take place in our game are either misjudgements, poor timing, accidental.
"But it doesn't mean we can just say they're okay. If an offence occurs it occurs, regardless of the circumstances."
