‘Consequences will flow’: Annesley’s plea on high shots

NRL head of football Graham Annesley has called on players to lower their target zone in tackles to avoid the risk of more sin bins and send-offs in the lead up to and during the finals.

Annesley took the unusual step of showing a video package of seven incidents this season which resulted in Grade 2 careless high tackle charges, including three during last weekend’s matches, at his Round 23 briefing.

Roosters forward Nathan Brown and Titans prop Moe Fotuaika were sent off, while Rabbitohs front-rower Tom Burgess was sin binned and the trio have been suspended after entering guilty pleas.

Other stars to feature the compilation of illegal hits were Cowboys centre Val Holmes for his Round 22 high shot on Gold Coast fullback Jayden Campbell and Eels winger Maika Sivo for his Round 20 tackle on Titans rookie Jo Jo Fifita.

Clubs have received memos from Annesley twice this season warning about high tackles by defenders rushing in at speed but he said such incidents had become more prevalent.

“There are some common themes that are causing concern at the moment, particularly around incidents of shoulder contact with the head of an opponent,” Annesley said. "We are seeing it happen more often.

"Everyone knows, going right back to Magic Round a few years ago, that there's been a focus by the game on taking action against unnecessary contact with the head and neck of opponents.

“That's not new, that's not a crackdown, that has been going on now for several years and it's in response to the game’s approach and the [ARL] Commission's approach to making our game as safe as possible to play.”

Annesley said players weren’t deliberately aiming high, but they needed to lower their tackling zones or face the risk of being sent off and a lengthy ban.

Holmes and Sivo were both suspended for four matches, Burgess has copped three matches and Brown and Fotuaika one each.

“They are attempting to wrap in a front -on tackle, but their target zone is up around the shoulders," Annesley said.

"You only need that to go marginally wrong and it results in some of the incidents that we've seen - not only across the course of the weekend, but that we've seen across the course of the season, and in previous seasons as well.

“We are seeing more of them, and I would make a plea again to players and coaches to address this because if they continue to aim in that marginal area around the shoulders with those types of tackles, particularly at velocity, and if that goes wrong, you have to accept that there will be consequences.

“Whether those consequences are players being penalised, being placed on a report, being sin binned or being sent off, those consequences will flow.”

No player had been sent off since Round 2 this season so to have two players marched in the same weekend sparked speculation of a crackdown.

However, Annesley insisted match officials had not been given any edict from RLC about high tackles.

“There were no instructions given to match officials leading up to the weekend outside of the ordinary instructions that they get every single week from the coaching that they undertake during the course of the week through their coaching staff,” he said.

“There was no crackdown. There were a number of games that were extremely close, tight and difficult to referee.

“These are judgment calls that the referees and the bunker are called upon to make every single week in every single game.

“They have to adjudicate on the circumstances around those incidents and the seriousness of those incidents in deciding which of those levels of action are required in each case.”