What happens now if a player does a hip drop in the grand final — should it take another catastrophic injury for the match officials to act?

The NRL has made a rod for its own back after the absolute confusion that followed Phoenix Crossland’s dramatic send-off and the decision to refer him to the NRL judiciary.

You only had to listen to the huge divide among commentators and fans on social media arguing whether Crossland deserved to be sent off or merely sin-binned to understand just how confused everyone is about where the line now sits for all hip-drop tackles.

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‘I didn’t think it was a send off’ | 03:28

Because the inconsistency over what constitutes a send-off, and what doesn’t even warrant a sin bin, was highlighted two nights earlier when Victor Radley escaped with nothing more than an on-field penalty and subsequent fine for his illegal tackle on Herbie Farnworth in the Roosters’ win over the Dolphins.

In the same match Isaiya Katoa was also put on report but also escaped suspension because there was not an injury.

Make no mistake, this is not intended to take away from the heartbreaking scenes of Nathan Cleary being stretchered from the field in such agony after suffering a compound fracture to his left leg.

You can only imagine what his father Ivan was going through in the coaching box, or what it was like for Cleary’s family watching from the grandstand at Accor Stadium.

Everyone in rugby league will be hoping Cleary makes a full recovery and we see him back on the field next year.

Yet to my untrained eye, Radley’s tackle in particular still looked more like the traditional hip drop we have come to recognise than Crossland’s did.

Emotional Ivan reacts to Nathan’s injury | 05:16

We should also remember Crossland has become the first player ever sent off for a hip-drop tackle, despite all the serious injuries we have seen from similar tackles in recent years.

I don’t for one moment believe Crossland intended to injure Cleary.

Just as I don’t believe Radley or Katoa set out to deliberately cause injury.

The obvious difference was Cleary was left with a horrific injury.

But should we really be waiting to see whether a player is seriously injured — or whether he stays down — before determining the on-field punishment for any hip drop?

I initially thought Crossland would be sent to the sin bin.

But once the seriousness of Cleary’s injury became apparent, I felt referee Gerard Sutton was left with little alternative but to send Crossland off.

But does that mean the system is right, given the different opinions we have heard about this tackle, as well as the decision not to sin-bin Radley or Katoa?

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Emotional Matty on Knights’ epic win | 01:45

If the NRL genuinely wants to eradicate the hip-drop tackle, it needs a more consistent approach to how it is punished on the field.

The action itself should surely determine the starting point for the punishment, not simply how badly the tackled player is hurt.

Because if one player stays on the field because his opponent jumps straight back up, while another is sent off because the player he tackled suffers a catastrophic injury, the confusion is inevitable.

Worse still, it encourages players to stay down and wait for officials to review the tackle.

And that is exactly the type of gamesmanship everyone says they want removed from rugby league.

Now we wait to see what happens if there is another hip-drop in the grand final.

Even if the tackled player is not injured, how can the NRL justify anything less than a sin bin for a hip-drop tackle when we know just how serious the consequences can be?

PONGA’S WALSH-LIKE INSPIRATION

There is simply no overstating how brave the Knights were to play a man down for 45 minutes and still walk away with one of the gutsiest victories in the game’s history.

Some of the defensive efforts late in the game were extraordinary given the amount of possession Penrith had in good field position.

The Knights had heroes across the park, but none more so than their inspirational captain Kalyn Ponga.

And nothing summed up the growth in Ponga’s game this year better than the huge shot he put on Moses Leota late in the contest.

Here is a player who has built his reputation on speed, skill and attacking brilliance.

Yet when his team needed him most, Ponga stepped up and absolutely rocked one of the toughest forwards in the game with a shot the great Paul “Chief” Harragon would have been proud of.

Ponga was also involved in that remarkable try-saving effort that denied Casey McLean when the Panthers centre was only millimetres away from grounding the ball.

They were the sort of moments that showed how much Ponga’s game has evolved.

In many ways, Ponga’s influence also reminds me of what Reece Walsh did for the Broncos throughout last year’s finals series.

Walsh had also always been known for his attacking brilliance.

But it was the way he took his defence to another level when the pressure went up last year that became one of the defining features of Brisbane’s premiership charge.

Ponga is having a similar impact on Newcastle.

That is why, for all the talk that the Knights surely can’t keep this fairytale going against the Roosters in the grand final, they remain a team you would be mad to write off.

WILL AN UNWANTED ROOSTER GET THE LAST LAUGH?

Justin Holbrook’s obvious influence has also spread right through this team.

Just look at how far Sandon Smith has come on.

The former Rooster played arguably the biggest game of his career, scoring two unbelievable tries to help send Newcastle into a grand final against the club that moved him on to make way for Daly Cherry-Evans.

You just can’t script this stuff.

When Smith was sent packing, there is no way he could have imagined he would one day get the chance to face his former club in a grand final.

Let alone in his first season at the Knights.

And enormous credit also has to go to Holbrook.

Smith stunner sends Knights to the GF | 00:43

What Holbrook has done to take a team that finished with the wooden spoon last season all the way to a grand final is without question one of the most remarkable coaching performances we have .

And to think he has done it despite losing his marquee halfback Dylan Brown as well as starting props Jacob Saifitiwitnessed and Trey Mooney.

It bloody phenomenal.

Bradman Best was also tremendous, while young back-rowers Jermaine McEwen and Francis Manulelua produced performances well beyond their years on the biggest stage they have encountered so far.

WOULD PANTHERS HAVE WON HAD CLEARY STAYED ON THE FIELD?

If Nathan Cleary had stayed on the field, I have no doubt it would have been a completely different game.

And while I don’t want to take anything away from the Knights or their fans, I genuinely believe it would have been a different result as well.

Cleary made an immediate impact when he came on after about 26 minutes, and his run-first mindset was obvious from the moment he touched the ball.

It also didn’t help that Dylan Edwards was playing injured, Isaah Yeo was clearly hampered, while Blaize Talagi was forced from the field with an Achilles injury.

And while Jack Cogger and Jack Cole tried their hearts out, the Panthers simply lost the control Cleary brings to their attack.

When the game was there to be won, they just didn’t have the same composure without him.

WALKER WORTH EVERY CENT HE IS ASKING FOR

Now to the Roosters, and you also have to marvel at the mental strength of Sam Walker.

His ability to shut out the outside noise and respond with a masterclass like he did against the Dolphins reminded me of watching Andrew Johns and Shane Warne at the peak of their powers.

And keep in mind Walker only turned 24 this year.

Yet look at how he stood up for Queensland in State of Origin.

Now throw in this performance against the Dolphins just 27 days after suffering a syndesmosis ankle injury.

From the opening exchanges it was obvious the Dolphins were determined to test just how sound Walker’s ankle really was.

But the little halfback simply brushed it off and kept going at them until he was finally replaced with about 13 minutes left on the clock.

Sydney Roosters star Sam Walker put the Dolphins to the sword on Friday night. Pic: NRLSource: Supplied

By then he had scored a try, set up another and continually backed himself whenever he had the ball in his hands.

It summed up the enormous belief Walker has in his own ability.

When Walker initially knocked back the Roosters’ reported offer of $5 million over four years, plenty thought he was getting too greedy and that the gamble could blow up in his face.

Instead, he has just kept letting his football do the talking.

And it is making a pretty compelling case why he is worth every cent he is asking for.

UP WITH NRL’S MOST FREAKISH PLAYERS EVER

When you think about the greatest natural athletes of the NRL era, names like Greg Inglis, Jarryd Hayne, Billy Slater, Tom Trbojevic and Latrell Mitchell immediately come to mind.

Mark Nawaqanitawase has surely pushed his way into that conversation.

It’s astonishing to think Marky Mark is only in his second season in the game.

Yet he has already produced a highlights reel most players would only dream of.

And just when you think you’ve seen everything he can do, he somehow takes it to another level.

What he produced against the Dolphins was simply outrageous.

All up, 28 runs for 316 metres, two tries and another incredible try assist.

His first try showcased the cat-like reflexes that make him such a unique athlete, swooping on a Farnworth pass before racing 90 metres to score the intercept try that opened the scoring.

But somehow his try assist for Robert Toia was even more remarkable.

Did Marky Mark get lucky with this pass? | 00:31

Fair enough if you think he put his foot into touch, or if you believe the pass went forward. That’s another story.

But just to have that athleticism and awareness to somehow keep the play alive and get the ball away was extraordinary.

Then he topped it off with his second try, picking up Radley’s long bouncing pass before using his brute strength to power his way through the Dolphins defence and get the ball down.

What a performance.

ROOSTERS FORWARDS SET BENCHMARK

Across the board the Roosters forwards were absolutely brutal.

And it does make me wonder if the Knights’ makeshift pack will have the power to go with therm.

Two players who also deserve special mention were Naufahu Whyte and Reece Robson.

Whyte was tremendous getting them on the front foot, especially in his opening stint when he charged for 103m from 10 runs.

While Robson continued his outstanding finals series with another huge performance, laying on two tries with some clever dummy-half play, while working non-stop in defence with 33 tackles.

It was a completely dominant performance from the Roosters forwards.

Radley, Lindsay Collins, Siua Wong and Salesi Foketi were all outstanding, while Angus Crichton and Nat Butcher made a huge impact off the bench.

HOW NRL COULD LEARN FROM AFL GRAND FINAL

The NRL won’t want to admit it.

But you only had to watch the AFL grand final to understand why the continued overuse of the bunker robs our game of so much excitement.

And it only adds to the frustration when they still manage to get a decision like the Jamayne Isaako try so horribly wrong.

The AFL doesn’t get bogged down dissecting every controversial call.

They make a decision and immediately get on with the game.

Yet in the NRL we go back over the same incidents again and again, only to often arrive at decisions that leave everyone still scratching their heads.

I haven’t spoken to one person who didn’t think the ball touched the sideline at the same time Isaako grounded it.

Yet Ashley Klein reviewed it over and over, and somehow the try was still awarded.

It fair dinkum just does your head in.

Roosters book first GF since 2019 | 02:56

DOLPHINS WILL LEARN FROM HEARTBREAK

While the Dolphins missed their opportunity, they will take plenty from this year.

The early leg injury Katoa suffered after being buckled in a tackle certainly didn’t help their cause.

But the Roosters were just too powerful on the day.

I thought the way Kristian Woolf handled the disappointment after the game was also a sign of his class.

I have no doubt they will learn from the heartbreak and be a better team for it next year.