Technically its not.

By the letter of the law you can still drop the ball to your feet to play the ball. You dont need to put it on the floor by hand.

Does that mean he can drop it on to the floor, then for it to roll forward before he rolls it backward to play the ball

AFAIK you have to hook the ball back as it bounces on the floor. Kind of like a drop kick but playing the ball backwards. I remember Ken Senior doing it many years ago at Fartown.

saw a game today in oz where the centre dropped the pass onto the groung near his feet, but he just kicked the ball as in a drop kick and the try was given