Dolphins mid-season recruit Josh Kerr will begin his off-season early unless he can have a dangerous contact charge overturned at the NRL judiciary.
The forward, who made the switch from the St George Illawarra Dragons to Redcliffe ahead of the NRL's mid-season transfer deadline, was one of two players placed on report during Friday evening's heavy loss to the North Queensland Cowboys.
The 34-10 loss saw Kerr sin binned during the first half and the NRL's match review committee have elected to slap a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge on him for the hip drop tackle.
The tackle's recipient, Queensland State of Origin winger Murray Taulagi, was able to continue playing and saw out the 80 minutes in the crucial win for the Cowboys, which keeps them in the mathematical finals hunt.
Kerr faces a week on the sidelines for the tackle with an early guilty plea, or two if he heads to the judiciary and loses.
It's likely he will accept the early guilty plea however given he would only wind up risking Round 1 next season, and the Dolphins have nothing to play for next week.
The other player placed on report during the game was Zac Laybutt, however, he was not charged by the match review committee.
The committee also handed out no charges from Friday's earlier game as the New Zealand Warriors managed to record and 18 points to 6 victory over the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Kerr has until midday (AEST) on Sunday to decide his plea to the Grade 2 dangerous contact charge.