St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has warned Magic Round will be remembered as "Tragic Round" if match officials don’t maintain the crackdown on high shots for the rest of the season.
With the suspended quartet of Josh McGuire, Tyrell Fuimaono, Tariq Sims and Mikaele Ravalawa enduring a fitness session as Griffin spoke on Thursday before the team’s final session for Friday night’s match against Cronulla, he called for consistency across all games, including Origin.
"They’ve got a couple of weeks to do some training now so we will just move on to tomorrow night," Griffin said.
"What happened last week has happened. Personally, I would prefer it didn’t happen but they are the rules and we have got to play by them.
"The challenge for us as a game is going to be what happens from here on now. We need to be consistent with it otherwise it is not going to mean much."
Sharks v Dragons - Round 11
Fuimaono, who hit Storm star Ryan Papenhuyzen high, was one of three players sent off during last weekend’s Magic Round in Brisbane, while McGuire (hip drop) was sin-binned, and they have been suspended for five matches.
Ravalawa also received a two-match ban for a shoulder charge and Sims will miss the Cronulla clash at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium because of a hip drop in last Sunday’s loss.
Griffin said his players were aware of the consequences of leaving the team short and did not need to train differently to minimise the risk of high contact in tackles but he wanted to ensure all matches received the same scrutiny.
Griffin previews Dragons v Sharks clash
"Just speaking as someone in the game, it needs to stay consistent now otherwise last weekend was Tragic Round," he said.
"As long as they are the same rules every week now, and for State of Origin and finals, we are all on the same page.
"Obviously we don’t coach our players to break the rules. It is unfortunate that that happened last week and a couple of them put themselves in a position where they went outside the rules, but it is not something that we have to spend a lot of time on.
"There is an awareness obviously that the rules have changed or the rules are going to be more heavily enforced but it is not something we need to go back to school on to brush up on techniques or anything like that."
Asked about McGuire’s ban, Griffin acknowledged his poor judiciary record was the reason for such a lengthy suspension and added: "If that tackle has got to be ruled out of the game I’m happy as a coach to go along with it."
With fullback Matt Dufty also ruled out with a shoulder injury, Cody Ramsey gets an opportunity to wear his preferred No.1 jersey, while Griffin will blood rookie prop Jaiyden Hunt and give boom five-eighth Talatau Amone a second NRL appearance.
Fuimaono sent off for high shot Papenhuyzen
"It is important that we can’t be victims in this situation," he said. "There are a lot of things we have got to learn about ourselves positionally and emotionally over the next few weeks and that will only make us a stronger club.
"We will build some depth and we will get people in positions we want to see them in. Weeks like this you don’t want to happen but there is an opportunity and it is important for everyone in our club that we represent ourselves well and we play well."
Griffin said it was unlikely new recruit Gerard Beale would be rushed into the side after joining the club on Tuesday to provide cover in the outside backs following the absence of Dufty, Ravilawa, Fuimaono, Zac Lomax (thumb), Brayden Williame (calf) and Mat Feagai (ankle).
Dragons finish with a long-range effort to Ramsey
Beale is on a training contract and is included in St George Illawarra’s second-tier salary cap while not taking up a spot in the top 30 squad.
Talks with Wests Tigers star Moses Mbye are not expected to progress unless he can gain an immediate release.
"He would have been good this week but I think they have gone cold on that," Griffin said.
When asked on Thursday about whether Mbye could be released to switch to the Dragons mid-season, Tigers coach Michael Maguire said the former Queensland rep would remain at the club for the rest of 2021.