Newcastle Knights forward Mat Croker is set to spend the start of the 2023 NRL season on the sideline after being hit with a Grade 3 dangerous contact charge for a hip drop tackle against Siosifa Talakai.
The tackle left Talakai hobbling to the sideline with an ankle injury less than a week out from their qualifying final with the North Queensland Cowboys at Shark Park next Saturday evening.
While he will await scans to ascertain the damage - likely a syndesmosis injury - Croker found himself in the sin bin for the tackle and now is facing a two-match ban to kick-off the 2023 season if he takes the early guilty plea.
Should he head to the judiciary and fight, but lose the challenge, then he will be up for a three-week ban.
Three other charges were handed out from Sunday's games, with Corey Horsburgh the only finals-bound player under the microscope.
The Canberra forward was pinged for a Grade 1 careless high tackle against Jock Madden, which, with a three-year incident-free discount, will see him pay a fine of $750 with an early guilty plea, or $1000 if he heads to the judiciary and loses.
Horsburgh's Grade 1 charge would have been eligible for a fine regardless of whether it was a Grade 1, 2 or 3 charge based on the fact it was his first offence under the NRL's new rolling 12-month judiciary record system.
Two Tigers players have also picked up fines, with Jake Simpkin and Zane Musgrove both hit for Grade 1 dangerous contact charges. Simpkin will pay $1800 with an early guilty plea for his second offence of the year, while Musgrove will pay $1000 with it only being his first charge of the year.