NRL match review commissioner Greg McCallum has vowed to remain tough on shoulder charges despite Brisbane fullback Karmichael Hunt's judiciary escape on Wednesday night.

McCallum believes there is a misconception among NRL players that they will not be the subject of judiciary scrutiny if they use their shoulders in tackles - which would only have been exaggerated after Hunt beat a grade-three high tackle offence after a controversial hit on Sydney Roosters five-eighth Braith Anasta last Friday night.

Hunt's hearing was something of a test case for new laws which make contact with an opponent's head using a shoulder open to a charge. But McCallum denied the panel's decision to exonerate Hunt would make it more difficult to convict players, and said the match reviewers would maintain the rage on high shoulder contact.

"It won't change our perception, it won't change where we're coming from," McCallum said. "We believe we need to protect the players and that's what the code's there for.

"The players got a really fair hearing [on Wednesday night]. Good luck to them. But it doesn't mean we'll be changing our tact. Elements of Karmichael Hunt's tackle required fairly stringent investigation, and that took place. If something similar happens this weekend, there's no reason why we wouldn't charge again."

The judiciary chairman's directions were altered at the end of 2006, making the use of shoulder charges illegal if contact was made with the head - even by accident. But McCallum conceded many players seemed to be unaware of the change.

"It was endorsed by the NRL board that the shoulder is clearly defined as being part of the arm and it can't be used as an excuse," McCallum said. "The code of conduct is very strong. There doesn't need to be anything changed. The mechanics are there to deal with it. We'll continue to look for players that make careless, reckless or intentional contact to the head. The rules now are very clear. Contact with the head with any part of the arm or hand or shoulder are one and the same. If you're going to make a tackle, you've got to go in with due care."

The fact that North Queensland centre Ashley Graham pleaded guilty to a similar, although slightly more serious, charge after a shoulder charge knocked out Wests Tigers skipper Brett Hodgson will act as a deterrent, McCallum said.

"There were two charges," he said. "One player took a plea to a higher-grade charge, and another player felt that he wasn't guilty and he was able to present evidence. They [Hunt's legal team] put together a pretty good case. And you couldn't run the same case as [Wednesday night] every time because every case is unique."

Meanwhile, Cronulla prop Ben Ross is likely to know on Tuesday week whether his hit on Storm half Cooper Cronk - which led to a seven-match ban - will cost him more than $100,000.

Every NRL player can be deducted 1/26th of their salary for every week they spend on the sidelines through suspension, and the issue is likely to be discussed at the Sharks' next board meeting. If the Sharks do agree to deduct money from Ross, it will cost the 27-year-old more than a quarter of his $400,000-a-season salary.

The Sharks have publicly expressed their disappointment at Ross's actions, which have left the club without a forward for a significant period of time in a week the club lost second-rower Reece Williams for the rest of the season. "We'll deal with it if it comes up," Sharks chief executive Tony Zappia said.

Ross yesterday found an unlikely ally in Bulldogs prop Kane Cleal, whose jaw he broke and was suspended for last year. On that occasion, Ross accepted an early plea for a grade-five reckless high tackle charge after collecting Cleal in round 17 at Toyota Park. Cleal was sidelined for the remainder of the year with an injury veteran Bulldogs doctor Hugh Hazard described as "the worst I have ever seen".

"But he's not a thug," Cleal said. "I'm not sure what his intentions were in the tackle on Cooper Cronk, but he apologised straight after it. You don't do that if you're intention is to hurt someone.

"I never got an apology from him when he broke my jaw but I know he was trying to find me and say it to me. I don't think being a thug is in his game."