With the hip-drop tackle remaining the talk of the rugby league world, other sports have begun to notice how the game deals with its dangerous nature.
Most notably, the NRL's head of elite competitions, Graham Annesley, confirmed that the NFL has contacted the NRL for advice on how to deal with hip-drops when their season begins later this year.
“It's not just a problem in our game – a game that's quite similar to ours in many ways, the NFL, is dealing with exactly the same problem, more recently than us,” Annesley told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We have been dealing with it for the last three years or so. It's a current issue in the NFL right now, they're in their off-season, so they haven't made any final decisions yet, but they've been in contact with us.
“We have also had contact from the media in the United States about how we have been dealing with it here. We have provided as much information as we can to them, and we're not constantly in contact with them but they have reached out, and we have responded.”
This has not been without issue, however, with the NFL players association releasing a statement last month urging the competition not to enforce a rule change for the sake of the fans.
“While the players have consistently advocated for health and safety advancements, any prohibition on the hip-drop tackle technique is unfair to players and unrealistic to implement,” the statement read.
“It places defensive players in an impossible position by creating indecision in the mind of any tackling player, puts officials in an unreasonable situation that will result in inconsistent calls on the field, and confuses our fans. We call on the NFL to reconsider implementing a rule prohibiting the hip-drop tackle.”
The hip-drop remains legal in the NFL at this stage, with the competition yet to make its decision. It became an issue in the USA when stars like Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes were sidelined after a tackler's weight dropped on his legs.
The NRL has been dealing with the hip-drop since 2020 and is ahead of the game when it comes to keeping players safe from them.
However, coaches, players and fans are still confused about what the NRL wants players to do instead, with St George Illawarra Dragons coach Anthony Griffin and suspended Cronulla Sharks forward Dale Finucane expressing that the unintentional nature of the tackles needs to be taken into account.
Despite this, the rules remain in place, and suspensions and sin-bins will continue until the defenders learn to eradicate it from the game.