Sydney Roosters flyer Dom Young is set to be sidelined for at least two games after the NRL charged him over his high shot on Canterbury's Blake Taaffe.
Sent off for the hit in the first half of the Roosters' 30-26 loss to the Bulldogs on Friday night, Young suffered further bad news on Saturday when handed a grade-three charge by the match review committee.
The winger will miss two games if he pleads guilty, and would risk a third match on the sideline if he contests the charge and loses.
The ban would mean Young misses a first clash with his former club Newcastle on Thursday night, as well as the blockbuster against Melbourne the following week.
The Roosters are already without captain and fullback James Tedesco and halfback Sam Walker for the Knights clash, after both suffered concussions against Canterbury.
While Young's charge comes as bad news for the Roosters, it will be the NRL's decision not to sanction lock Victor Radley that may frustrate them more.
Radley was sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle on Stephen Crichton when the surging Roosters were down 30-20 with eight minutes left in the match.
Replays showed it did not meet the usual indicators of a hip-drop tackle, and AAP understands the match review committee deemed it accidental and not careless.
Connor Watson's involvement was also considered, given he played a significant part in how the tackle ended.
The Roosters did continue their comeback with Radley off the field, getting back to 30-26, but eventually fell short with only 11 men left on the ground.
Afterwards, Roosters coach Trent Robinson hit out at the decision by the bunker to sin-bin Radley.
The (Radley) one was ridiculous," Robinson said.
"Connor is the one that tackles (Crichton) from behind and twists his ankle, and then (Radley) falls on that ankle.
"How they got there, to that decision, that's incredible. That was below par."
It marks the second week in a row the Roosters have had a crucial call go against them.
Last week the NRL admitted they were wrong to deny a Joey Manu try against Penrith through an incorrect obstruction decision.
The Radley no-charge is also the latest in a line of incidents where the bunker and match review committee have disagreed on hip-drop tackles.
Canterbury second-rower Jacob Preston was sin-binned on Good Friday last year against South Sydney, allowing the Rabbitohs to run away with the game.
The Bulldogs were then incensed when Preston avoided charge the next day, with the NRL conceding it was an error to sin-bin him.
Weeks later, Payne Haas was cleared of a hip drop by the bunker in a match for Brisbane last April, before then being charged by the match review committee the following day.
And Broncos forward Patrick Carrigan was sin-binned against Melbourne last May for a hip-drop, before also being cleared of wrongdoing by the NRL.
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo admitted on Friday night he thought the decision to sin-bin Radley was "harsh".
"Accidents happen. And we've been on the other end of them a few times," Ciraldo said.
"So I've got sympathy for a bloke who gets sent to the sin bin for hip drops."
