SPEAKING on behalf of every rugby league player and supporter, a shattered Tyson Frizell urged the NRL to adopt a ‘’commonsense approach’’ when it came to the farcical rule involving players making contact with referees.

The NRL judiciary took just four minutes to find Frizell guilty of brushing past whistleblower Chris James, meaning the Origin backrower will miss tomorrow night’s crucial clash for St George Illawarra against Brisbane.

Frizell landed in hot water when he bumped into James while trying to return to the defensive line during last Friday night’s 13-10 loss to Canterbury.

What makes Frizell’s contrary conduct charge even tougher for Dragons fans is the fact Canterbury’s Josh Reynolds avoided a suspension out of the same game for tripping a player for a fourth time.

Round 20

“I’m pretty disappointed about the outcome,’’ said Frizell, who was rubbed out for one game.

“It seems like they’ve made the rule black and white now.

“Something we tried to put forward was it was an accident ... but any contact with the referee will give you a week on the sideline.

“Common sense needs to come in there.

“There was no malice at all, or going in to make aggressive contact towards the referee. It was purely accidental.

Tyson Frizell of the Dragons. Source: Getty Images

“I can understand the stance taken by the NRL towards referees.

“But anyone can see in my case there was no malice or intention to push the referee or anything at all, other than to walk past him and not make contact.’’

As revealed in yesterday’s The Daily Telegraph, NRL boss Todd Greenberg informed all 16 NRL clubs the contentious rule had been changed to allow players to avoid punishment for accidental contact.

That memo, sent just 48 hours before last Friday’s game, stated players could no longer argue they had acted against ‘’the true spirit of the game’’.

NRL counsel Peter McGrath said the contact was ‘’avoidable and unnecessary’’, and given it was only the fourth minute of the game, fatigue was not a factor for Frizell.

Nick Ghabar, who represented Frizell, said the Dragons enforcer looked at the defensive line _ not James _ and it was the referee who made the initial contact with the player.

NRL judiciary chairman Geoff Bellew told the three-man panel of Sean Garlick, Chris McKenna and Mal Cochrane for the charge to stick, two things needed to be satisfied under the new guidelines _ that there was contact, and the contact was careless.

“Whether the contact was gentle or polite doesn’t matter,’’ Bellew said.

The loss of Frizell, as well as tough backrower Joel Thompson, who was slapped with a one-match suspension for a high tackle on Josh Jackson, means the Dragons will start long outsiders against the Broncos at WIN Stadium.

Dragons coach Paul McGregor was a notable no-show at League Central last night.

But Frizell backed his teammates to get the job done, and said not being there to keep the club’s season alive was the hardest part.

The rule rolled out by the NRL this season was designed for players to show respect to the men in the middle, but innocuous contact made by the likes of Frizell has stunned most in the game.

It’s been a mixed bag when players have challenged the charge, with David Klemmer successfully escaping punishment for his contact, as did North Queensland fullback Lachlan Coote, while Penrith’s Sam McKendry — and now Frizell — have lost.