19/03/2008 4:45 PM
NRL boss David Gallop has reinforced the message that all NRL clubs and players are on notice over the 'prowler' tackle, which saw star Rabbitohs recruit Craig Wing suffer a serious shoulder injury in Round 1.
"We're going to monitor these types of tackles, we don't want to see players injured," Gallop told Sportal on Wednesday.
"If a trend emerges that we need to do something about them we will but at the moment we're going to keep them under review."
At present, Roosters hooker Riley Brown's contentious third-man-in-shoulder-charge in the opening minutes of the season-opener against the Rabbitohs is an isolated incident
Asked what would constitute a trend Gallop admitted: "It's difficult to say."
"Obviously the whole issue of slowing down the play the ball has been something we're conscious of."
"It's led to things like the grapple and the crusher (tackles) coming under notice so we'll continue to look at these types of tackles in that context."
Gallop confirmed the NRL would consider confining the use of the shoulder-charge to one-on-one confrontations if the tackle is repeated in upcoming rounds.
And he is confident such a rule would be easily enforced.
"The referees already adjudicate on things where there's one or more tacklers so I don't see it being particularly difficult to police but that would be something that we'll talk to the referees about."
But Panthers prop Petero Civoniceva is not convinced changes are necessary.
"It's a difficult one in that our game's so physical," Civoniceva said.
"You start taking those kinds of tackles out of the game and then there'll be something else that they'll want taking out of the game - I mean where do you stop?"
"It's a difficult one (because) obviously Craig Wing's momentum had stopped in that tackle ... that might be an issue there that once a referee calls held or whatever you can't go into the tackle after that moment and if you do it's a penalty."
"We'll wait and see how the league wants to deal with it but again it's very difficult to police."
But if the need for change does arise, Gallop said the necessary modifications could be implemented 'relatively quickly'.
"There's a number of ways that you could implement that sort of prohibition," he said.
"Changing the laws of the game is obviously something that needs to go through the international board but there can also be directions around the contrary conduct rules of the game."