Judiciary sends hip drop message with Sipley ban

Sea Eagles forward Toafofoa Sipley apologised to Dragons winger Mat Feagai after receiving a four-match suspension as the NRL judiciary sent a strong message over hip drop tackles.

Sipley pleaded guilty after being referred directly to the judiciary on an ungraded Dangerous Contact charge for a hip drop tackle that has sidelined Feagai for three months after undergoing surgery for a broken leg.

Despite accepting evidence that Sipley may have been "stunned" after his head connected with Feagai's shoulder in the initial contact between the pair, the panel felt a deterrent was needed to help eradicate hip drop tackles from the game.

"Obviously you can see that they are trying to take the hip drop tackle out of the game, so I guess it is just one of those cases where it is what it is," Sipley said.

"I do feel [sorry] for injuring Mat, I did send out a message to him, and I will just do the four weeks."

The judiciary panel members, former referees boss Greg McCallum and ex-player Tony Puletua, decided the offence was worthy of a five-match suspension but gave Sipley a one-game deduction for pleading guilty.

Judiciary chair Geoff Bellew SC said in his Summary of Reasons that the panel wanted Sipley's ban to serve as a warning to other NRL players about the dangers of hip drop tackles.

"The panel took into account the fact that this kind of contact gives rise to a significant risk of injury and that in this case, that risk materialised," Bellew wrote.

"The panel were prepared to accept that the player was, to use a neutral term, “stunned” by the contact but did not consider that the evidence was sufficient to support a conclusion that he was affected to the point where he had lost control of his faculties although they certainly did not consider that the player’s actions were intentional."  

Sipley's legal counsel Nick Ghabar had used a tackle by former Raiders second-rower Elliott Whitehead in Round 26 of last year's premiership as a comparable incident - but it did not help Sipley's case.

Whitehead received a three-match ban for the tackle which left Roosters hooker Brandon Smith with a ruptured ACL and with another player now seriously injured the panel believed a heavier penalty was needed.

"Whilst the panel had regard to the circumstances of the tackle involving player Whitehead, the panel had in mind that this occurred in 2024," Bellew said.

"Given that it is now season 2025, the panel took the view that the only available conclusion was that penalties such as those imposed on player Whitehead were not acting as a sufficient deterrent.

"In these circumstances, the panel considered it necessary to send a clear message to all players that dangerous contact of this kind will, if established, meet with significant penalties."

Sipley said he had been dazed from the initial contact in the tackle and underwent a HIA while in the sinbin over the incident before being cleared to return.

However, the NRL's legal counsel Patrick Knowles noted that there was no medical evidence to indicate Sipley had been affected.

McCallum and Puletua also rejected suggestions that the involvement of fellow Manly prop Sio Siua Taukeiaho in the tackle had caused Sipley to land on Feagai's leg.  

"The panel also had some doubts about the materiality of any contribution by any other player," Bellew said.