Melbourne Storm captain Christian Welch has been handed a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge by the NRL's match review committee for a hip drop tackle during the club's big win over the Cronulla Sharks on Sunday afternoon.
The 54 points to 10 win, which, based on historical stats, puts the Sharks out of the running for this year's premiership, was soured for the Victorian-based outfit as Welch was sent to the sin bin for a hip drop tackle on Sharks' prop Royce Hunt.
The tackle saw Hunt leave the field immeditaely with injury, and Welch would follow him into the dressing rooms for an early shower.
The match review committee, in assessing the tackle, appeared to agree with the bunker and referee's version of events, slapping a Grade 2 charge on the Storm captain.
That will leave Welch, even with it only being a first offence, looking at a week on the sidelines if he takes an early guilty plea, or two weeks if he heads to the judiciary and loses.
Welch, if he is picked for Queensland's State of Origin team on Monday, would need to challenge the tackle to have any chance of playing in what would be a series-clinching game at Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
If not, Welch would miss Saturday's clash against the Wests Tigers for Melbourne before being able to return.
Welch may yet challenge the tackle, with his comments at the post-match press conference admitting the tackle was ugly, but that he believed he had landed on the ground first rather than applying his own weight to the back of Hunt's legs, as has been the definition of a hip drop tackle.
"I don't know. I haven't really watched it to be honest, but I think I landed on the ground first and I think it was just a bit of an ugly tackle, but I don't know," Welch said during the post-game press conference.
A decision on whether Welch will take the early guilty plea or head to the judiciary on Tuesday evening will be made by midday on Monday (AEST).
