QUEENSLAND forward Nate Myles hasn't shaved since being handed a six-week suspension for his spear tackle on NSW's Ben Cross in State of Origin III. "Just a little punishment on myself," the hirsute Roosters enforcer said yesterday.

But Myles believes that should almost have been punishment enough, claiming the penalty that the NRL match review committee slapped on him was too hefty. And he's adamant he won't change his tackling style despite being rubbed out for a similar tackle during last year's Origin series.

"I'm not going to change my tackling technique for that," said Myles, who makes his return against Cronulla at Toyota Stadium tomorrow night.

"I knew I was going to get something. And that was fair, to get time off for the way he [Cross] ended up. But six weeks, I thought, was a bit rough."

The 39th-minute incident immediately prompted NSW captain Danny Buderus to howl at referee Tony Archer to send Myles from the field. The next day, leading orthopaedic surgeon Merv Cross described the tackle - in which Cross was flipped vertical and landed on his head - as the worst he had seen.

Myles, who insisted there was no malice, considered fighting the charge and was prepared to use concussion suffered seconds beforehand as part of his defence. But at the 11th hour, the Roosters decided he should accept his punishment.

"If anyone wants to comment on it, if they want to watch it again, he ran at me only because I was knocked out two tackles before," Myles said.

"There was no intent in me spearing him into the ground. My legs don't straighten. I tackle him low and fall backwards. He falls over the top of me.

"It's no surprise that he [Cross, who plays for Newcastle] was spear tackled and put into a dangerous position on the weekend [against Canberra]. It's the way he runs. He runs with a lot of force and straight at people. I'm not saying that's a bad running style. But if you watch the tape, I've got hold of both legs, there's no hands between the legs, nothing illegal. It's just the way he ends up."

He downplays the significance of his absence, but Myles - along with Setaimata Sa and Craig Fitzgibbon - returns at a perfect time: his side has lost four of the the six matches it has played since the Origin decider.

"They're classy players, no doubt," said Roosters coach Brad Fittler. "It's just nice to get blokes back who have played in big games and know what attitude is about."

If anyone is panicking about the Roosters' fall from grace in recent weeks, including last Friday night's loss to premiers Melbourne, it's not Fittler.

"The club's in a very healthy position," he insisted. "There's no panic. Not in my eyes anyway.

"I thought we were good against Melbourne. They were a little bit understrength. We were just outclassed. In the attitude stakes, I thought we were good."

That said, Fittler continued his early morning starts since the loss to the Storm, making them walk along the cliffs surrounding Coogee Beach yesterday. It came on the back of a 6am video session on Tuesday and a 6.30am wrestling session on Monday. "And this is our day off," Myles said.

And when will he remove the bum fluff from his chin?

"I'd keep growing it until I play again," Myles laughed. "I'll see how I feel after Friday night."