Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson has called for referees to take the impact on the attacking player into account when dishing out sin-binnings for hip-drop tackles as he warned games could be reduced to "10-a-side".
The Roosters are set to be without back-rower Nat Butcher for their Anzac Day meeting with St George Illawarra after he was offered a one-match suspension for a hip-drop tackle on Cronulla's Briton Nikora.
Butcher risks missing two games by challenging the charge at the judiciary.
Nikora played the game out, even scoring the final try in the Sharks' 22-12 win on Friday.
Robinson has been a strong critic of the hip-drop tackle but has conceded mistakes can happen in the heat of battle.
The Roosters coach argued officials dishing out on-field sanctions should factor in the impact of the tackle, which is defined by a defending player dropping his weight onto the back of an attacker's legs.
"There's no injury whatsoever but the cause of what happened in that moment, Butch gets 10," Robinson said.
"If you did every one of those we would be having 10-a-side.
"I understand the ones where the attacker is injured but there was no injury.
"He (Nikora) played for 70 minutes and came off that left foot and scored a try, so I think he was okay."
Meanwhile, Brandon Smith has escaped suspension for his high shot on utility Cameron McInnes despite being sent to the sin bin in the final minutes.
The New Zealander's previous record means he faces a $3,000 fine for his grade-one careless high tackle and will only spend time on the sidelines if he challenges the charge at the judiciary.
Robinson argued Smith's shot didn't warrant suspension.
"I don't really have an issue with what's happening (in the game), but I don't feel like that was loose or careless in any way," Robinson said.
"It was just guys spinning out of a tackle and a guy going in to make a tackle.
"We don't want head high contact in our game."
