The NRL's crackdown on the shoulder charge has turned farcical, with Issac Luke, Jorge Taufua and Aidan Guerra all found not guilty of the controversial tackle by the judiciary.
The judiciary panel of Don McKinnon, Bob Lindner and Mal Cochrane took just 21 minutes in total on Wednesday night to throw out the respective grade-one shoulder charge counts against the trio.
After South Sydney hooker Luke, Manly winger Taufua and Sydney Roosters back-rower Guerra had pleaded not guilty after being cited over round-23 incidents, the night at the judiciary was to be a test of the NRL's new tightened shoulder charge laws, brought in two weeks ago.
That the governing body went too far, is now beyond doubt.
Guerra said the NRL needed to change its stance again following the not guilty verdicts.
"The fact that I was here showed that there is an over-correction in the rules," Guerra told waiting media shortly after his verdict was read out.
"The game is doing the right thing by stamping out the shoulder charge and a lot of the players are behind that. But there is too much grey area and we need to get on top of that, so there are not more busy Wednesday nights here.
"It is not embarrassing for the NRL. I would just say they have got it wrong and some review is needed to move forward to stop this in the future."
Defence counsel for Luke and Taufua, Nick Ghabar, summed up the mood of many in the game when he described Luke's tackle on North Queensland's Johnathan Thurston in the Rabbitohs' win in Townsville last Thursday as "essentially a collision".
Ghabar described the clash between Taufua and Canberra fullback Jack Wighton in the Raiders' in-goal on Sunday as "a normal garden variety circumstance behind the tryline when players are running for the ball".
The NRL will likely come under pressure from the clubs to again rejig their interpretation of the shoulder charge laws.
Luke will still miss Friday's match against Canterbury after taking the early guilty plea on a dangerous throw in the same game against the Cowboys.
"We came in with a plan and we got a fair trial and we're happy with how it went," Luke said after his hearing.
"There are different interpretations (of a shoulder charge). I'm just happy with how it went.
"I'm happy as. I can tell my kids."
When asked if he now knew what constituted a shoulder charge, Luke replied: "Do you?"
Roosters star Blake Ferguson was also found not guilty at the judiciary of his tripping charge.
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