V’landys vows to eradicate hip drop

ARL Commission boss Peter V’landys has vowed to eliminate hip-drop tackles as North Queensland star Jeremiah Nanai faces a suspension that could wipe him out of Origin I.

In another blow for Queensland, Nanai is in danger of being rubbed out the Origin series opener on May 31 after being charged with a gradethree hip-drop tackle in the Cowboys’ 44-6 loss to Cronulla on Thursday night.

The Cowboys will decide over the weekend whether to fight the charge.

Nanai will be banned for five matches if he loses at the NRL judiciary, while the Cowboys and Maroons back-rower will miss four games with an early guilty plea.

The latter scenario would see Nanai ruled out of Origin I in another setback for Maroons coach Billy Slater, who is already without veteran winger Corey Oates (knee) for the series opener against NSW at Adelaide Oval on May 31.

While the Cowboys have been in dismal form, Nanai is a Maroons incumbent, playing all three games last season after making his Queensland Origin debut in the 2022 series opener in Sydney.

Nanai’s tackle on Cronulla prop Braden Hamlin-Uele may cost him an Origin jumper, but ARLC chairman V’landys is making no apologies, declaring the NRL will press ahead in their determination to stamp out the hip drop.

“At the moment, this hipdrop tackle has crept into the game and we need to eradicate it,” V’landys said.

“Last night’s one (Nanai’s hip drop on Hamlin-Uele) was a pretty clear-cut one.

“There’s no crackdown as such, but it’s simple – don’t do the hip drop and there won’t be a penalty or a suspension.

“We are 100 per cent behind eradicating it.

“We will always look after the welfare of the player, no matter if it’s a hip drop, headhigh tackle or cannonball.”

The NRL has witnessed a spate of sin-binnings, reports and suspensions for the hipdrop tackle over the past 12 months but there is confusion over what constitutes a hipdrop indiscretion.