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Wighton, Lawton reveal decision over charges

Jack Wighton and Karl Lawton were both hit with dangerous throw charges.

Published by
Scott Pryde

Jack Wighton and Karl Lawton have both elected to take the early guilty plea after being slapped with dangerous throw charges for incidents over the weekend.

Lawton, who was hit with a Grade 3 charge for a tackle which saw him sent from the field on Cameron Murray in just the eighth minute of Friday night's clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, will serve four weeks on the sideline.

Wighton, on the other hand, was handed a Grade 2 charge for a tackle early in Saturday's controversial finishing clash against the New Zealand Warriors, with the Canberra Raiders' star to spend two weeks out of the game after accepting his early guilty plea from the NRL's match review committee.

Lawton will miss matches against the Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos, Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm, while Wighton will sit out clashes with the Canterbury Bulldogs and Cronulla Sharks.

Wighton, who was among the best in the losing effort against the Warriors on Saturday for the green machine, could not have picked a worse time to be suspended, with his club desperately attempting to turn around a five-match losing streak and rescue their position from the bottom four.

The club have continually slid their way through second halves, with just eight points scored compared to 94 conceded during the second halves of their losing efforts this year.

It's likely Sam Williams or Matt Frawley will be called upon to replace the star half, forming a new combination with Brad Schneider for the next fortnight.

The Sea Eagles, on the other hand, will likely use a straight swap for Lawton, with Haumole Olakau'atu set to return from a week suspension of his own.

Teams for Round 9 will be confirmed at 4pm (AEST) on Tuesday.

Published by
Scott Pryde