Kiwis prop Leo Thompson is sin-binned by referee Wyatt Raymond against the Warriors. Photo: www.photosport.nz
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NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster has joined the chorus of protests against an apparent NRL clampdown on head-high tackles that saw 18 players sin-binned across eight games.
League legend Andrew Johns reportedly stormed out of a commentary booth, after one call that backtracked several plays to single out an innocuous tackle and resulted in the guilty player spending 10 minutes on the sideline.
Johns described the onslaught of citings as "absolutely farcical" and refused to contribute to the rest of the game call.
The Warriors were hit in the opening seconds of their win over Newcastle Knights, when the bunker intervened retrospectively to put front-rower Marata Niukore on report for a dangerous tackle, but moments later, Kiwis prop Leo Thompson followed him to the bin, reducing the contest to 12 v 12 for eight minutes, until Niukore's return.
"I just don't like how it goes back, that's all," Webster observed. "I think they got told today to change that.
"If it happens two sets later and no-one even knows something's occurred, then the bunker finds it… it loses the flow of the game.
"The product, compared to rugby union, we're like high 50s for minutes in play and they're roughly high 30. That's why our product is so good at the moment, but when you go back, there's confusion with the fans over what it was for.
"I'm talking about the fans in the stands, because the fans at home get the replay. If the player is fine and the game unfolds, and you think it's wrong, just put them on report and then suspend them, if it's that bad."
Niukore escaped suspension for his act - he was fined A$1800 (NZ$1940) and is available to face North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday.
"I felt like the player just got up and moved on pretty quick," Webster reflected. "If they wanted to do something - Marata got a fine and didn't get suspended - to bring it back and put him in the bin… I'm struggling with that a bit.
"In the incident, as it happens, by all means, if you're unhappy with it, put him in the bin."
Eleven players were fined a total of more than A$13,000 and six players were banned 13 weeks, while Kiwis second-rower Scott Sorenson will contest his Grade 2 shoulder charge. If he can get it downgraded, he can play for Penrith Panthers at 'Magic Round' in Brisbane.
If he fails, Sorenson will sit out three weeks.
The culprits included 10 Kiwis or NZ-born players - Niukore, Thompson, Sorenson, Kodi Nikorima, Briton Nikora, Fonua Pole, Griffin Neame, Casey McLean, Siosiua Taukaiaho and Sitili Tupouniua.
In recent seasons, the NRL has tightened up on dangerous tackles, as football codes all around the world brace for lawsuits from former players suffering brain injuries and blaming neglect by governing bodies.
Founded on a 'bring back the biff' philosophy and branded as 'big hits, no pads' for an international market, rugby league must also balance that gladiatorial spectacle against the risk that parents will no longer want their kids to play the game.
"You can hit hard, but you don't need to hit high," Webster insisted. "You can still have the big hits.
"I'm all for protecting the player's head. We would have had four hits at training today that would have made the highlight reel on the weekend and none of them were high.
"My issue is the way they're doing it and the timing of it."
Notably, the Warriors have actually drawn the least high-tackle penalties in the competition with three - as well as Niukore, centre Rocco Berry was suspended a game for an offence against Melbourne Storm, while Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was pinged against Manly Sea Eagles with no further punishment.
Gold Coast Titans lead the way with 18 high-tackle penalties.
Marata Niukore heads to the sin-bin against Newcastle Knights. Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2025 www.photosport.nz
"Slade Griffin, our defence coach, spends a lot of time on hitting below the ball," Webster said. "Don't get me wrong, we traditionally hit high to wrap the football up, if we need to, but we do everything in our power not to drive the shoulder into the player's head.
"It's rugby league and sometimes you get it wrong. I think we've had a couple of slipping ones - Rocco got suspended, when he slipped on the ground, but he couldn't prove to the judiciary that he didn't hit him in the head, so he had to cop that one.
"I didn't know that stat, but it's nice to hear."
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo has admitted the bunker became too involved in the decision-making process, blaming a "slight overreaction" to several offences that went unpenalised earlier in the season.
He did not expect to see a similar level of sin-binning this week, when all teams gather in Brisbane for one of the competition's showpiece events.
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