The NRL's match review committee have slapped Parramatta Eels prop Junior Paulo with a Grade 2 careless high tackle for his shot on Alexander Brimson during the club's narrow win over the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday evening.
The charge means Paulo is facing the prospect of a week on the sideline with an early guilty plea, or two if he fights the charge and loses.
It was a tackle with drew the ire of referee Peter Gough and the officials in the bunker, with Paulo sent to the sin bin.
That was despite the tackle appearing to make first contact with the shoulder of Brimson before bouncing up, with Brimson also clearly emerged from the incident holding his shoulder, rather than head or jaw.
The situation only became murkier when the independent doctor in the NRL bunker allowed Brimson to stay on the field, rather than coming off the park for a head injury assessment.
Eels coach Brad Arthur opened up on the decision during his post-game press conference, saying he didn't know what he would say to Paulo.
“My job is to teach these players how to tackle. What do I say to Junior? He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I need to watch it and slow it down, but Junior has worked hard on his target area and we’re not a team that wants to give away penalties,” Arthur said.
Should Paulo take the early guilty plea, it means he will miss next week's Easter Monday clash with the Wests Tigers, while fighting the charge and losing would see him miss the Round 7 clash against the Newcastle Knights as well.
Should he be ruled out, it's likely Oregon Kaufusi would move into the starting side, with Shaun Lane also likely to return to the side in a not so direct swap for Paulo.