MacDougall facing NRL judiciary charges
Two incidents less than one minute apart in Monday night's win over Gold Coast seem certain to rule veteran Newcastle centre Adam MacDougall out of Sunday's NRL trip to Canberra.
MacDougall was put on report twice midway through the first half of Monday night's 32-12 victory, a win which lifted the Knights back into the top eight.
The match review committee slapped two grade one offences on the veteran three-quarter as a result, the first for a head slam and the second for a dangerous throw.
On their own neither charge would see MacDougall spend any time on the sidelines with an early guilty plea, but put together they amount to a one-match ban.
And it could be a costly game to miss with the Knights capable of leapfrogging the Raiders into sixth should they emerge victorious in the nation's capital.
The Knights have until midday on Wednesday to decide whether they will contest either or both charges, which would see MacDougall risk a two-game ban.
The other players charged from the weekend matches all took the early plea, with Wests Tigers prop Todd Payten suspended for three matches.
Payten was charged for a dangerous throw on Matt Cooper in the win over St George-Illawarra Dragons on Friday night and won't return until the final round of the regular season against Gold Coast.
"In looking at the charge I think the charge was fair considering the tackle," Tigers coach Tim Sheens said.
"He had some loading and that sort of thing as well so when you really look at it, three games he's probably pretty lucky.
"It's disappointing for everyone because at this stage of the season you'd like to have everyone available, particularly the smarter players, your better players and your senior players.
"He falls into that category, he'll be missed."
Dragons backrower Lagi Setu will miss Friday night's match against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium while Bulldogs halfback Daniel Holdsworth and Melbourne winger Anthony Quinn both escaped suspension.
Post a comment about this article
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.