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Isaah Yeo calls out NRL over controversial 'hip drop' debacle

The Penrith Panthers forward has called out the issue surrounding the game.

Riley Morgan
·Sports Reporter
·3-min read
Penrith star Isaah Yeo during a game and Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam making a tackle.
Penrith star Isaah Yeo has questioned the penalties being awarded for hip drop tackles after clash between the Eels and the Broncos, which saw a number of sin-bins. (Images: Getty Images/Fox Sports)

Penrith star Isaah Yeo has questioned the penalties being awarded for hip drop tackles after Friday's night's clash between the Eels and the Broncos. Both J'maine Hopgood and Broncos five-eighth Ezra Mam were sin-binned for hip-drop tackles, despite the Eels star's act appearing unworthy of time on the sideline.

Later, Payne Haas escaped punishment for what appeared to be a similar incident, which injured Reagan Campbell-Gillard and could leave the Eels star out for a few months. Following the tackle, Yeo reached out to his former teammate and confirmed on Triple M that the forward had been cleared of a fractured hip.

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However, the Penrith star questioned the NRL's stance on hip-drop tackles and how it was being enforced. He brought up Mam's tackle and claimed a sin-bin for a tackle like that can impact a game.

"There's definite confusion," Yeo said on Saturday. "There needs to be more common sense. If it's 50/50 don't sin-bin the bloke. Put him on report. I feel like the referees don't even know sometimes."

Haas was on Saturday hit with a grade-two dangerous contact charge, after he fell on the legs of Campbell-Gillard. The forward will miss one game with an early guilty plea, or two if he attempts to fight it at the judiciary and loses.

Mam received the same level grading as Haas on Saturday, despite the bunker determining his tackle was illegal and Haas's was not.

On Saturday the match review committee deemed Hopgood's tackle not as bad as Haas', with the Eels player copping just an $1,800 fine. "I'm not an expert on hip-drops but to me all three of them looked pretty similar, and I know which one had the worst result," Parramatta coach Brad Arthur said after the match.

"If their (the defender's) feet are off the ground then that's what happens."

Hip drop tackles sparks chaos for the Broncos and Eels

Controversy erupted when Haas escaped the sin-bin for a tackle on Campbell-Gillard that has all but ended any hope of the forward earning a State of Origin recall. Campbell-Gillard went down in pain after Hass dropped in the tack, but it went unpunished.

The incident occurred just as the Eels were beginning to recover from the Broncos' fast 22-6 start.

Payne Haas running the ball.
Payne Haas (pictured) escaped punishment for what some perceived to be a hip drop tackle on Friday night. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images) (Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images)

“I think Payne Haas will be gone here too... Campbell-Gillard in all sorts,” Steve Roach said in commentary. “That’s exactly what Ezra Mam did moments ago, given what we have seen tonight... this should be 13 vs 11,” Smith said, before the decision.

However, Haas escaped the sin-bin, which left Warren and the NRL world in shock. “That is remarkable and honestly hard to believe given what we saw barely 60 seconds ago,” Smith added.

with AAP

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