Canterbury players say send offs appear to have disappeared from the NRL and they weren't surprised St George Illawarra forward Tyson Frizell didn't get marched.
Frizell struck Canterbury's Tim Browne flush on the jaw with a swinging arm when second man in to tackle him during Sunday's NRL game, leaving him unconscious on the ANZ Stadium turf before being stretchered off.
Referee Ben Cummins put the incident on report but match commentators believed that Frizell should have been sent off and controversy ensued.
The match review panel seemingly backed Sutton, deeming the tackle careless rather than reckless or dangerous, albeit worthy of a grade five charge and two-match ban.
The last player sent off in the NRL was Newcastle prop Kade Snowden for a hit on North Queensland's Ray Thompson back in round 24, 2013.
Speaking on Tuesday, Bulldogs forward Greg Eastwood said: "No one gets sent off nowadays. I wasn't that surprised when he just got put on report.
"I don't really know what is going on with the refs.
"It is really tough for them and they have been under a lot of criticism lately. I guess it is getting a bit tough for them to make any decisions.
"In saying that, it was probably an accident. We will just let the judiciary take care of that."
Canterbury utility back Sam Perrett, who has played over 200 games, said it was an ugly incident to witness.
"It was pretty scary being out there on the field, it was one of the worst I have seen," he said.
"It was a real bad one, it was a clean shot across the chops there. To be honest I can't pick what the refs are going to say and do these days.
"It has been a while since a send off and you could say they are not really favouring it these days."
Frizell visited Browne in the changerooms after the match to apologise for the tackle.
Frizell has pleaded guilty to a careless high tackle, but will front the NRL judiciary on Wednesday to contest the grade five charge.
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