Melbourne Storm head coach Craig Bellamy has suggested Penrith Panthers boss Ivan Cleary should write to the NRL and ask for a rule change if he feels so strongly about the penalty try controversy.

The two coaches have taken differing angles on the issue this week, with their two clubs to meet on Thursday evening in the Round 24 opener.

In what is a crunch Round 24 game with enormous top-four ramifications, Penrith can move further clear of the New Zealand Warriors in the race for a second bite at the cherry in the finals.

Having to do it in Melbourne creates a headache for the Panthers, but so too, in the opinion of Cleary, does the recent penalty try epidemic for players being tackled in the air.

The most recent came over the weekend when Tyrell Sloan was ruled to have illegally stopped Cronulla forward Teig Wilton from scoring – a decision that was blasted by fans of both clubs in the aftermath.

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Cleary said the height of Melbourne’s star State of Origin winger Xavier Coates could give Melbourne an advantage in the game while admitting on Tuesday that he believed the rule had gone too far.

“I’m not comfortable,” Cleary told reporters when asked his thoughts on the rule in its current interpretation.

“I think it’s one of those ones where the rule was originally made, we tend to forget why it was made, and we drift off and it becomes something else.

“That rule is all about player safety. That’s why it was brought in.

“I think some of the ones you’ve seen have nothing to do with safety, so I think there’s a little bit of common sense needed around that rule.

“As long as it’s deemed safe, I think you should at least get the opportunity to try to stop a try in that situation. But that’s not going to happen now, so we’ve got to deal with it the best way we can.

“Anyone who matches up against some of these wingers, including Xavier, it’s a tough ask. But there are many ways that we can try to combat things like that.

“The best way is to not let them down there too often.”

Adding to the headache for Cleary is that Brian To’o is currently set to match up against Coates, giving up a 12-centimetre height advantage.

But Bellamy said his side aren’t breaking any rules, and that Cleary should write to the NRL to ask for a change.

“That’s the rules, doesn’t matter what I think,” Bellamy said.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.

“It’s the guys who are making the rules. It’s the rules.

“If he wants to put in an application to get the rules changed, let him do it. But again I’m not going to worry about that – they’re the rules that’s what we got to play to.”

Bellamy couldn’t be drawn for comment on whether he thinks the rules were doing enough to protect players.