I don't understand how people can claim raising your leg in this manner is an acceptable method of contesting the ball in the air (regardless of RL, RU, AFL or Soccer). Raising one leg and bending your knee and keeping it close to your body ....yes. Raising a leg and sticking it our perpindicular to your body......NO WAY. Not only does it throw you off balance and make your landing very difficult, its only intent can be to deter opposition from contesting the ball for fear of copping a boot....just like last night. I don't want to see that style of bomb catching become common place, because it is cynical and against the spirit of the game (pretty much sums up Billy Slater though). Fullbacks have been offered the protection of the rules of the game by outlawing tackles in the air, they don't need to resort to this.
As for the "he wasn't looking at the player so it couldn't have been intentional" defence. Please... that would last about 5 secs in the court of common sense. Slater knew what he was doing when he threw his leg out, he doesn't have to be looking. All that shows is that he didn't have a definitive target in mind. It's like saying lobbing a grenade over your shoulder is not intentional because I didn't see where it landed.