After Parramatta’s Junior Paulo was controversially charged for a “hip drop” tackle, NRL head of football Graham Annesley claimed the type of tackle was nothing new.

“Over the last three years we’ve had charges laid for that type of offence.

When the Match Review Committee sorts through footage, the goal is to stop certain types of tackles from trending.

“We have a responsibility to make sure the game is as safe as possible.

“The contact in our game is hard enough without types of incidents that can potentially place plates at greater risk of injury.

“We’ve changed a lot of practices in our game. We’ve virtually wiped out dangerous throws.

“Of course there are accidents that occur around these types of tackles.

“On the hip drop, there have been 125 tackles reviewed this year and we’ve only seen 6 charges. So there are many incidents where the Match Review Committee review these types of tackles and decide that they are nothing more than accidents and charges aren’t laid.