Billy Slater calls for immediate NRL rule change amid furore around Stephen Crichton incident

Billy Slater has called for the NRL to seriously pull back on the frequency of sin-binnings and let the judiciary sort out punishment for high tackles after Round 25 dished up several contentious calls - particularly around high shots and sin bins. Match officials have been placed under the spotlight in recent weeks with heavy scrutiny over the consistency of punishments for high tackles.

Following the latest round, Roosters veteran Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was slapped with a three-match ban for his high shot, while Sharks centre Jesse Ramien received a one-match ban. However, there were a season-high 30 penalties awarded for high tackles across the round and multiple players were sin-binned for their tackles but escaped suspension from the match review officer.

Yet Stephen Crichton, who arguably put on one of the worst high shots of the round, wasn't sent to the sin bin for his tackle that knocked Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck out of the contest. The incident appeared worse than a hit from Manly's Haumole Olakau'atu the previous night that saw the Sea Eagles forward controversially binned, but the bunker official decided Crichton's did not warrant him sitting down for 10. However, he was later handed a one-game suspension by the match review committee for the hit.

Slater believes the way high shots are being handled is wrecking the game and could ultimately cost a side their season ahead of the NRL finals. And the Maroons coach has called on the NRL needs to advise the bunker to "err on the side of caution" when awarding sin bins and let the match review committee handle it.

"I think we sin bin players way too much," Slater said on Nine's Billy Slater Podcast. "There is inconsistency around high contact and whether or not they go to the bin. They are forced to explain themselves on the run which is making it even more confusing.

"Let the match review committee sort it out. If it's a penalty, it's a penalty, if it's extremely bad, yeah sure, 10 in the bin, but it affects the game so much. (Crichton) is one of those incidents that the coaches are getting frustrated with. They see other teams and players get sin-binned for similar offences.

"He's been charged by the match review committee and is facing a week on the sideline, but to be honest, I like that way more than the other way (with sin bins).If it's a bit of a 'not too sure' (situation) let the match review committee sort it out. We may have to have situations where the 18th man can come on the field, but I'd rather that than just jump up and down and throw people in the bin. That ruins the spectacle of the game. But consistency is what everyone's frustrated with."

Graham Annesley defends consistency of NRL officials

But NRL's head of football Graham Annesley has defended his referees in the wake of the enormous backlash, stating more often than not the right calls are being made. According to the NRL, 18 of the 23 players who've received grade 2 or 3 charges for high contact were either sent to the sin bin or sent off, meaning around 78 per cent of the time the Match Review Committee (MRC) agrees with the call from the officials.

“We would like this (number) to be higher, 80 per cent is not good enough,” Annesley said. “We need to be getting much closer to a perfect score here about having tackles that are considered to be the more serious types of tackles by the match review committee that result in a grade 2 or 3 charge, that they are sin-binned or sent off.

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“Eighty per cent does give you an indication that across the course of the season, the referees have been reasonably consistent with this. Because we have been reasonably consistent with this, it in some ways leads to the commentary we’ve had over the weekend where we’ve almost conditioned everyone to recognise what results in a sin bin or a send-off, so when it doesn’t happen, everyone is up in arms.

“That can only happen if they’re getting most of them right, and they are, but it’s not good enough to get one wrong in any round of football because they should be getting them right.”