A glut of sin-bins stole the headlines last weekend, as officials placed high contact firmly under the microscope.
The 18 sins were the most ever dished out in an NRL round, leading to an outpouring of discontent amongst players, coaches, fans, and the media.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo quickly got on the front foot after Round 8 to admit the policing had gone too far, although fellow powerbroker Graham Annesley sang a different tune when asked about it.
Amid the dissection, it emerged that Gold Coast had been the most penalised team in the competition for high tackles.
MORE: Crackdown or not? NRL boss responds to sin-bin frenzy and suggests big change coming
Titans star opens up on high tackle and sin-bin controversy ahead of Magic Round
The Titans have copped 18 penalties against them throughout the first two months of the season.
In response, Des Hasler addressed his side’s supposed ill-discipline while questioning the legitimacy of some of the calls made against them.
The under-siege coach certainly didn’t miss the administrators of the game when he declared the goalposts had been moved mid-season and the alleged crackdown on high contact had negatively impacted upon the integrity of the comp.
"I don’t really know what I can say without getting in trouble," AJ Brimson said when the five-eighth was quizzed on the topic ahead of Magic Round.
"I’m massive on head and brain safety. I think it’s the number one thing you want after footy. You want a long, happy life.
"But accidents happen and when people are slipping, you generally can’t control it."
The Titans have been charged eight times so far by the Match Review Committee with all eight of those charges filed under the careless high tackle category.
Jaimin Jolliffe has been cited two times with his most recent charge from Round 8 drawing a two-match suspension.
Tino Fa'asuamaleaui was rubbed out for one game for a high tackle which also saw the captain sent to the bin in Round 5.
Meanwhile, Brock Gray has been cited three times with one-match bans for two separate charges and a $1,000 fine hitting his back pocket.
Beau Fermor and Klese Haas have also had to pay fines for grade one high shots in the past.
MORE: NRL Judiciary - Latrell Mitchell, three Bulldogs banned as Scott Sorensen challenges unsuccessfully
"I’m all for player safety but it’s frustrating when people are just making a tackle and they kind of run at your shoulder," Brimson said.
"I don’t think any of them you can really avoid.
"Ones with malice or intent, I’m happy to see go for 10. But complete accidents and ones that aren’t even careless - losing someone for 10 minutes is pretty heavy."
Abdo stressed that no guidance had been handed down to officials to implement a crackdown on illegal high contact during his media commitments ahead of Magic Round.
Yet Brimson didn’t sound convinced of this notion when he declared that the NRL needed to increase the threshold for high tackles resulting in a player being sent for 10 in the future.
"To go down to 12 men…it makes life very hard to win a game of footy," Brimson said.
"I think they’re overdoing the sin-bins.
"To lose players when people are slipping and falling, it’s not ideal.
"Eighteen sin-bins last weekend is quite a lot. Obviously, it’s something they’re trying to bring in but we’ll see."