The 2026 NRL season is only two games old and already the match review committee and referees are feeling the heat in regards to high contact.
"Consistency" has become a buzz word in the NRL over the years and it was trotted out several times by coaches, players and commentators in Las Vegas on Sunday.
And the drama actually started days prior to the double-header at Allegiant Stadium.
READ MORE: Panthers probed by NRL over ex-star's Mad Monday bust
READ MORE: Players fined $25k each for early World Cup exit
READ MORE: 'Pit stop' that could see Eels return to golden days
Penrith's golden boy Nathan Cleary was banned for the season opener, then he wasn't.
We may never know exactly what his father and coach Ivan said in a closed-doors judiciary hearing at NRL HQ last week but the outcome was a grade two high tackle charge being bumped down to grade one.
If the Clearys had lost at the judiciary the star halfback would have missed three games. Instead he will lead the Panthers out against Brisbane on Friday night.
Cleary had been sin binned and charged for a tackle on Tigers rookie Heamasi Makasini during a pre-season trial.
The match review committee – a body employed within NRL headquarters – agreed with the on-field referee and video official that the contact was high, and heavy enough to warrant a grade two charge.
According to Ivan Cleary and the independent judiciary, though, it was supposedly "obvious" it wasn't that bad.
Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and 9Now.
"I represented him because it was quite obvious that it wasn't direct contact to the head. That is pretty much the only reason," Ivan said in a media conference on Monday.
"Maybe the NRL need to update their TVs or something (for the) the match review committee (to review footage).
"That is part of the system that needs addressing because ultimately it was the wrong call. That is why we challenged it."
The NRL was contacted by Wide World of Sports in regards to Cleary's comments, but had not provided comment by time of publishing.
The discrepancy between referees, the match review committee and the independent judiciary is an issue that has fans and commentators up in arms almost every week of every NRL season. It's a constant topic of debate.
It has already reared its head in 2026, and we're not even halfway through round one.
In the season opener on Sunday, Cowboys winger Braidon Burns was binned for a high shot on Knights superstar Kalyn Ponga.
North Queensland coach Todd Payten later bemoaned a lack of "consistency" – yes, that word again – given Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell was not sin-binned for a cannonball tackle that forced Thomas Mikaele off the field earlier in the game.
Replays showed clear shoulder contact to Ponga's head and the match review committee hit Burns with a grade two careless high tackle charge on Monday, resulting in a two-game ban.
But the problem was in the very next game, Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton's shoulder appeared to hit Dragons rookie Setu Tu in the head as he chased through a Canterbury kick.
Crichton was penalised by referee Grant Atkins, but he and the Bunker official deemed the incident wasn't serious enough to warrant a sin bin.
And on Monday, Crichton's name was nowhere to be seen when the match review committee's charge sheet was published.
"I'm actually really surprised that Stephen Crichton didn't cop any charge in this, even if it's just a fine," Storm legend Billy Slater said on Nine's The Billy Slater Podcast.
"I just think that you've got a duty of care to a player that has no ability to protect themselves while they're playing the game.
"Especially under those kicks where you have to plant your feet under those big bombs and you're there almost defenceless … you've got no form of protection. The only protection you have is the rules of the game."
Dragons coach Shane Flanagan was among many left dumfounded by the lack of punishment for Crichton.
When he was asked about "consistency" given Burns' earlier binning, Flanagan was careful not to get himself fined.
"Can you write your words you just said and put my name underneath?" Flanagan smirked.
"Like seriously, come on. There was about six or seven (high tackles that went unpunished).
"Disappointing. But you're 100 per cent right with what you just said (about inconsistency)."
The NRL's infamous high tackle crackdown of last season is unlikely to be repeated, after fans and commentators were left up in arms over 18 sin bins in a single round.
Regression to the mean was inevitable but there remains an issue with what the Bunker or match review committee sees, and what everyone else does.
It's a problem head office will want to address sooner rather than later, for fear it will hijack the news cycle again next Monday.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.