"The only things that matters is Alex's wellbeing.
"I will say that if we make a quick reaction to every incident then we are going to get ourselves in trouble.
"It's not that simple. Whether it's changing the third-man tackle, kicking it dead, it's still a game and things happen.
"You can't make it black and white."
The NRL has made a series of rules changes over the past two years and Cleary acknowledged outlawing the shoulder charge and the cannonball tackle was a good thing.
But he said continuing to tinker with the game year after year was not a good approach.
"Every time we make a change to the rule the game changes again," he said.
"Players and coaches have to adjust to that. But it's already a great game.
"It's not too bad this year ... but we always have to be mindful that if you make too many changes it takes a while for everyone to get used to it.
"By mid-season everyone is flowing nicely, then next season things are changed again and we're back to square one ... we have to be mindful of that."
- AAP