The Newcastle Knights are set to be without Tyson Frizell for next week's clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs as the NRL season reaches crunch point.
The Knights have the inside running on one of the last two spots in the finals following yesterday's victory over the Cronulla Sharks, but it's still not over and done with.
While the Sharks have fallen four points behind the Newcastle Knights, they are still in the race, and with the Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans both just two points back from the Knights, the pressure is on in a big way.
Frizell was penalised for a careless high tackle in the tenth minute during Sunday's clash at Redcliffe, and although he wasn't put on report at the time, the match review committee found reason to charge him.
Frizell's penalty would remain at one match whether he took the early guilty plea, or went to the judiciary and lost.
The second rower, a veteran approaching 200 games to go with his 14 appearances at both State and international level, has been in excellent form since his shift to the Knights at the start of this season.
The Knights run home is one of the simpler ones, but the Bulldogs could still present a banana skin for them next week, particularly given Daniel Saifiti is also likely to join Frizell on the sidelines with a medial ligament injury. The following match against the Gold Coast Titans could be critical in the final make-up of the top eight.
His absence means the Knights will be down two Origin forwards for the crunch clash with Canterbury, who were competitive in a loss to the New Zealand Warriors yesterday.
The news could have been far worse for the Knights given both Connor Watson and David Klemmer were also put on report, however, the duo have escaped charges.
