The NRL will send an updated set of guidelines to clubs and players about the key indicators of a hip-drop tackle, while creating an online video library available to every fan showing the game’s latest contentious tackling technique.
An Australian Rugby League Commission meeting on Wednesday agreed to provide further education to players about when they’ll land in hot water after a spate of sin bins and match review committee charges this season.
The NRL is expected to release the updated parameters shortly.
It will complement an online portal where fans will be able to study the tackle the NRL is desperate to eradicate from the game.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was unapologetic about the code’s crackdown on the tackle, but admitted it required further education so all stakeholders understood what they were trying to identify.
“The Commission is very supportive that the hip drop tackle is dangerous and we need to eradicate it,” Abdo said. “The Commission is seeking clarity and consistency.
Ezra Mam was suspended for this hip-drop tackle on Matt Doorey.Credit: NRL Photos
“We need to be clear on the guidelines for judging these tackles and how these are going to be adjudicated by referees and the match review committee.
“The referees are doing a great job this season. They have contributed to the excellent matches we have seen so far.
“This is all about player welfare. We want to be clear on how it’s going to be judged. Whether a player gets injured or not is not the only criteria, it’s whether the action is against the rules and could result in an injury.”
NRL head of football Graham Annesley has previously presented the key indicators the code is looking for in hip-drop tackles, which includes the grip a tackler has on a ball carrier, swivelling their nearest hip away from the body and also landing body weight on the lower leg or legs to stop the attacker’s momentum.
Brisbane’s Payne Haas and Ezra Mam are the latest players to be embroiled in the saga with the pair both missing the Broncos’ blockbuster against the Rabbitohs on Friday night through suspension.
They will serve one-game bans for separate dangerous contact charges stemming from Brisbane’s win over Parramatta in Darwin, and are the only players suspended from Anzac Round.
Eels back-rower J’Maine Hopgood accepted an $1800 fine for a similar tackle which resulted in him being sin-binned against the Broncos.
Most notably, Penrith co-captain Isaah Yeo said on the weekend players were struggling to comprehend what match officials were exactly looking for when it came to a hip-drop tackle, which was first identified by the NRL as a dangerous practice in 2019.
But its use has never been more prevalent than this year, with match officials vigilant in trying to stamp it out of the game.
“We have developed a video library on nrl.com and we intend to keep building on this and providing the set criteria and examples,” Abdo said.
Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.