Luke declined to comment but Sheens was highly critical of the tackle.
"It's a tackle that's a bit controversial in Australia," he said. "It's certainly one we're not very happy with. The same kid did it in Newcastle. [It's] a hard tackle to outlaw but, by the same token, it's a worry to everyone in the game. Everyone's talking about how to get rid of it."
Shillington immediately worried about what damage had been done.
"Because it's the same movement I've done before when I've done my cruciate, I thought, 'that's my season over, another year on the sidelines'. It feels good now.
"It's one of those tackles where you can't see people coming at your knees, you're trying to wrestle up top."
Asked if he thought Luke's action was deliberate, Shillington said: "It's hard to say. He did it the other week against Sam Thaiday. It's happened again this week. If it keeps happening, I guess so."
Brisbane's Thaiday, who was the target of a similar tackle by Luke in the 42-6 drubbing of the Kiwis in Newcastle a fortnight ago, said: "I'm not going to bag him or come at Issac Luke but it is a dangerous tackle and you can put blokes out doing those types of things.
"We don't want it in the game. It happened to me in Newcastle. I kind of crapped my pants a little bit there. You just don't know what's going to happen. If your feet are planted on the ground, you get hit the wrong way, your knee's gone. We don't want someone's knee to be wrecked because of a dangerous tackle like that. It needs to be addressed now."
The tackles, tagged 'cannonball' or 'kneecapper', occur when a player charges at an opponent's legs while he is being held up by a team-mate. They are often made from behind while the ball carrier and tackler are engaged in an upper body wrestle.
The NRL banned the cannonball tackle in July - though no-one has ever been brought up on such a charge.
The NRL said at the time that the ban was not designed to stop people tackling around the legs but to stop a dangerous situation developing.
The tackling style was thrust into the spotlight after Chris Sandow's cannonball tackle during the Rabbitohs-Broncos match in Perth. But it had spread to all levels of the game, including junior league where a young player had his leg horribly broken by a kneecap tackle. The sport's leading knee doctor, Merv Cross, called for kneecap tacklers to be banned for three months in a bid to stamp it out.
Coach Stephen Kearney, happy with his side's improvement from the flogging in Newcastle a fortnight ago, defended his hooker's actions which were the major flashpoint of the match.
"If Issac goes in with the legs and two other guys are trying to pull him another way, what's he supposed to do? Does he let him go? I couldn't see there was a great deal wrong with that.
"Do we tell them not to tackle around the legs any more? The refs didn't seem to have a problem with it. The one against Australia in Australia looked far worse than tonight's did."
Kiwis second-rower forward Simon Mannering said tackles like that had been going on for years, with players aiming for the legs and forcing players onto their backs.
"I don't think Issac went in with any malice at all. It's just what you're taught. Any league player will tell you you're taught to pin the legs so it's easier to get the wrestle.
"You don't want to see a player get injured, though."
