Cronulla Sharks stars Wade Graham and Nicho Hynes have rallied around teammate William Kennedy after he became the second player to be sent off during the 2022 season.
Just a week removed from Karl Lawton being sent from the field for a dangerous throw on Rabbitohs' forward Cameron Murray, Kennedy was given his marching orders during the first half of a win against the Warriors on Sunday for a high tackle on Reece Walsh.
The tackle saw Kennedy wrong-footed, before throwing an arm in the direction of Walsh which made direct contact to his jaw.
Described by many as an "old fashioned coathanger," referee Todd Smith and bunker official Adam Gee saw no other option but to remove Kennedy from the remainder of the contest.
WATCH: Kennedy sent off for high shot
It didn't stop the Sharks though, who were still able to take the victory by 29 points to 10 over a disappointing Warriors' outfit, with pressure growing on head coach Nathan Brown.
Speaking after the game, Nicho Hynes said he was hoping Kennedy would only get a "week or so" when it came to the suspension.
"It looked bad but hopefully it will only be a week or so," Hynes said.
"He's not the type of guy to go out and hurt people."
At the post game press conference, Wade Graham explained the tackle.
"He's come up as a defender and got beaten a little on the inside - he hung out an arm. It's never a nice feeling," Graham said.
"You feel like you let everyone down. But we'll get around him and he'll bounce back. On a positive note we rallied and got the result despite that.
"He can keep his head up and move on."
The Sharks were at one point reduced to 11 players in the game when Jesse Ramien also found himself in the sin bin, but it didn't stop Cronulla from stopping a slide which has seen them lose two of their last three.
The NRL will reveal charges for Sunday's games on Monday morning, with Kennedy likely to be looking at a few weeks on the sideline ahead of magic round, when Cronulla will take on the Canberra Raiders in the early game on Sunday.
