NRL officials will not consider any changes to the sin binning rules after Manly were forced to play a man down for 10 minutes following the dismissal of prop Josh Starling for a punch thrown in retaliation for a chicken wing tackle by Canterbury forward Josh Jackson in Saturday night's semi-final clash at Allianz Stadium.
The tackle will come under scrutiny from the NRL match review committee on Monday. If charged, Jackson is set to miss next Saturday night's preliminary final against Penrith at ANZ Stadium, as he has 20 per cent loading and 67 carryover points from a grade one tripping offence in round 19.
However, many feel that the Sea Eagles have paid a heavier price for the incident as they were forced to play a man short for 10 minutes at a time in the first half when they trailed 16-0 before eventually going down 18-17 in extra time.
Manly coach Geoff Toovey described the rule as "ridiculous", while former greats Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler, Darren Lockyer and Peter Sterling were all critical of the NRL edict requiring referees to sin bin any player who throws a punch.
"I just think when a chicken wing is deemed less serious than the punches, I think that is a concern based on what I saw last night," Sterling told Channel Nine's Sunday Footy Show.
But NRL head of football Todd Greenberg said all players were aware before they took the field of the consequences of throwing a punch, and retaliation was no excuse.
"The rule is simple: if you throw a punch you will be sent to the sin bin," Greenberg said. "There is no ambiguity on this one and no discretion.
"Retaliating is not an excuse. Players know the consequences. We have no plans to consider any changes."
Starling said he was left feeling "awkward" and "vulnerable" in the tackle by Jackson, but admitted he had "overreacted" by throwing the ball at the Canterbury second-rower before other players came racing in.
However, he feels it was unjust that a punch could be considered worse by the on-field officials.
"It's one of those rules you don't understand too well, but you've got to get on with it," Starling told AAP.
"It's the first time I've had [a chicken wing]. It does feel awkward and you do feel pretty vulnerable about what's going to happen ... but I probably overreacted a bit.
"You don't want to see him rubbed out for the finals series. He's a good player and a crucial player in their team, so hopefully he's all right. I'm fine with it. Hopefully he should be too. You shake hands and move on."
Bulldogs interchange forward Reni Maitua was sin binned late in the match for another punch but the victim, Manly's James Hasson, said he had to use great discipline not to also throw his fists.
"To be honest, I would have liked the boys to let a few go, but that's just the game these days and that's why I couldn't throw any," Hasson said. "I'd like to see play on, no sin bins."
Toovey told Saturday night's post-match press conference: "The whole thing is ridiculous, we all know that. Nothing is going to change. A bloke can ... arm bar a bloke and not get 10 minutes. The whole thing is out of control."
However, his Canterbury counterpart, Des Hasler, who suggested Jackson would escape charge by the match review committee, said the decision by on-field officials Gerard Sutton and Ben Cummins to sin bin Starling and Maitua should remind players not to throw punches in the remaining finals matches.
"It's within the rules," Hasler said of the sin binnings. "Always in the heat of the battle players forget [the automatic punch and sin bin rule]. It serves as a warning."
