'Not sure what they are trying to achieve': Gould's plea to NRL after Joey unleashes on 'embarrassing' crackdown

Phil Gould wants the NRL to recalibrate its crackdown on high contact before Magic Round after NRL icon Andrew Johns was left fuming over a sin-bin "joke" in round eight.

A total of 18 sin bins stole the thunder of on-field action over the weekend, prompting the eighth Immortal to go to town on head office's crackdown on high contact.

The issue reached boiling point at Leichhardt Oval in the last game of the round, when Tigers prop Fonua Pole was binned for seemingly innocuous contact with Cronulla's Tom Hazleton.

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The Tigers were up 18-12 at the time and the Sharks quickly took advantage of the mismatch to score, levelling things at 18-18.

"Oh no... don't tell me that's it," Johns said in commentary after seeing the Pole tackle for which he had been binned.

"No, no, no... that is just...I can't. That's a joke."

Perhaps luckily for the Bunker and referees, the Tigers managed to win the game in extra time thanks to a penalty goal.

The incident came a few hours after Johns unleashed on the sin-bin mayhem on Nine's The Sunday Footy Show.

"They want players to defend low, but if (Penrith forward) Scott Sorensen goes low on (Manly's) Nathan Brown he's gonna knock himself out as cold as a spud," Johns said pointing to an incident that resulted in Sorensen being put in the sin bin in the clash won by the Sea Eagles.

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"If he wraps his arms, he will dislocate his shoulder - he has to brace and get himself into space. I have no idea what the NRL want this tackle to be and they have to come out tomorrow and explain what tackle they want in this situation.

"For that to get two weeks is absolutely farcical, the crackdown of this and sending players to the bin is farcical. It's beyond a joke and it's embarrassing and the over-analysis of the Bunker in play … it should only be used for try-scoring opportunities.

"Going back eight plays where the referee, touch-judges and players don't see it and send someone to the bin is absolutely farcical.

"Next week, we are going to Magic Round. We are a working class game, our fans are working class people, they save up all year to go to Magic Round and for them to go out there and make a farce of this game, will be disgraceful if it happens this week.

"I am so frustrated by it and I reckon the players would be frustrated by it.

"Who owns the game? The fans. And without the fans watching on TV, there is no broadcast rights and without fans going to the game, there is no money.

"I'd imagine they are more frustrated than I am.

"You can not eradicate accidents from the field … I don't know how we got here or whose decision it is, but you need to come out tomorrow and explain why they are doing it."

Gould on Monday agreed the NRL needs to re-evaluate things before Magic Round, which begins on Friday.

"There was probably three times as many penalties as well, they were very stop-start all weekend," Gould told Nine's Today.

"I'm not sure what they are trying to achieve and whether they've achieved their objective.

"We have got Magic Round this weekend , I hope they get it all sorted out before we go and put the game on display to the entire world.

"It's frustrating."

The NRL previously implemented a similar crackdown on high contact several seasons ago, but it was effectively scrapped weeks later after a similar outcry.