NSW captain Danny Buderus last night backed down from his on-field call during the Origin decider for Queensland forward Nate Myles to be sent off for a spear tackle on Ben Cross and claimed referee Tony Archer was right not to march him.

Myles is expected this morning to plead guilty to the ugly incident in the 39th minute of Wednesday night's game, but risks an eight-match suspension by contesting the grade-three charge at the NRL judiciary.

The tackle sparked a wild melee, prompted Cross to unleash a flurry of uppercuts in retaliation and forced Buderus to ask Archer: "What have you got to do to be sent off? I know it's Origin but that was a very dangerous tackle."

Archer opted to put the incident on report but the Sydney Roosters were adamant it was not as severe as many have claimed.

"There was no malice in it," Roosters coach Brad Fittler told the Herald. "We think there is grounds to have it downgraded. It's certainly not the worst there has been this season."

Myles, who has carry-over points after being suspended for two matches for a dangerous throw on Blues prop Brett White in the opening match of the series last year, was granted an extension from midday yesterday until 9am today to enter his plea. Myles will argue that the position of the Newcastle prop had made it difficult to pull out of the tackle.

Myles is also expected to claim he was semi-concussed from a tackle made minutes before his attempt on Cross, although it remains unclear whether that was the reason Maroons coach Mal Meninga benched the Roosters forward directly after the incident or if it was punishment for a moment of ill-discipline.

Buderus admitted his call for Myles to be sent off was made in the heat of the moment and part of gamesmanship to help his side before he took the extraordinary step of defending Archer's decision to ignore him.

"It was the right decision for him to stay on the field," Buderus told the Herald. "That comment was made in the heat of the battle. You wish things could stay in the middle but Sports Ears doesn't allow that sometimes."

Buderus was sensationally rubbed out for six weeks during the 2006 finals series for a tackle on Manly's Michael Robertson.

"Nate Myles wouldn't have meant it," he said. "I know when I was suspended for six weeks that time, I had no idea where he [Robertson] had ended up. Things happen on the field and it should be left to the judiciary."

The Myles incident was one of the major talking points to come out of the match and initiated debate about whether players should be dismissed from the field for dangerous throws.

It has been 14 years since a player has been sent from the field for the offence. North Sydney lock Gary Larson was marched after spearing David Furner into the turf during the 1994 preliminary final against Canberra.

The last player to be sent from the field in an Origin match was former Queensland skipper Gorden Tallis in 2001 for calling former referee Bill Harrigan "a cheat".

NRL referees' boss Robert Finch would not comment specifically about the Myles tackle because it was set to appear before the judiciary. But he said referees were disinclined to send players from the field because it was difficult for them to gauge if other players had been involved in the tackle.

"It can be a send-off offence but it is difficult for the referee if it's not a simple one-on-one tackle," Finch said. "Sometimes it's difficult to see if other defenders have been involved, and what impact they've had on the tackle."

Replays of the Myles incident show Queensland fullback Karmichael Hunt and back-rower Dallas Johnson involved in the tackle on Cross.

"If it's bad enough, a player should be sent off," Fittler said. "But the defender has to be intentionally trying to hurt the other player. Ben Cross came into a melee after it. I know it's Origin but if it was in the NRL he might have been in some trouble."

The NRL match review committee examined that incident, and a forearm from Blues back-rower Ryan Hoffman directed at his Storm teammate and Queensland captain Cameron Smith and a high shot from Blues back-rower Paul Gallen, but decided not to lay charges.