Wayne Bennett’s call for a crackdown on “cannonball” tackles was ignored on Monday, with South Sydney’s Nathan Peats escaping a charge from the match review panel.

Newcastle backrower Alex McKinnon suffered an ankle injury on Saturday night following a tackle in which Peats came in as the third man, driving low into McKinnon’s legs.

The tactic raised the ire of Knights coach, and seven-time premiership winner, Bennett who wants to see it rubbed out of the game.

The “cannonball” tactic of attacking the legs of a player already wrapped up by defenders was outlawed in 2011 following incidents involving South Sydney players Chris Sandow and Issac Luke.

But players are still able to join tackles as the third player, and the line between a “cannonball” and a legal tackle is a fine one – something Bennett wants reviewed.

Despite the match review committee absolving Peats of any punishment, Bennett did find an ally in Manly coach Geoff Toovey, who agreed it was a dangerous tactic and something which needed to be reviewed at the end of the season.

“I think there’s a dangerous situation there that needs to be looked at,” Toovey said on Monday.

“But I don’t want to rush into anything. I’d hate to change rules again mid-season.

“(But) it’s something that needs to be looked at, yes.”

Manly second-rower Justin Horo said it was a concern when players’ legs were being attacked, and supported moves to get rid of those type of tackles from the game.

“I’m not a big fan of (the cannonball tackle),” Horo said.

“You can kind of see it coming … I try to protect myself the best I can.

“It obviously hurts when you get hit around the knees.”

Meanwhile, Canterbury star Ben Barba can also escape a suspension for his knees-in-the-back tackle on St George Illawarra’s Jamie Soward with an early guilty plea.

Barba was on Monday handed a grade one dangerous contact charge for unnecessary use of the knees after landing on Soward’s back as the Dragons five-eighth scored a try in Friday night’s NRL match in Sydney.

The charge carries 100 points but the reduction for an early guilty plea would be enough to avoid a one-match ban.

Less fortunate is Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau who faces a one-match suspension for a grade two careless high tackle on Bulldogs prop Aidan Tolman unless he successfully contests the matter.