Paul Gallen has labelled the NRL's decision to charge Will Kennedy for colliding with referee Adam Gee as "insane", as the Cronulla fullback faces a one-game ban.
Kennedy was on Saturday slapped with a grade-two contrary conduct charge, after running into Gee while in support play early in the big win over Wests Tigers.
After Kayal Iro made a break down field, Kennedy attempted to sprint up in support play before being obstructed by Gee after the referee stopped on the spot.
The incident went without any penalty on the field, but the match review committee came down hard on Kennedy on Saturday morning.
The charge is the fourth this season for a player making contact with a referee, after Sydney Roosters pair Siua Wong and Luke Keary both copped fines.
Jahrome Hughes also copped a one-match ban for pushing over referee Chris Butler in March, as he scurried to make a try-saving tackle.
Kennedy's contact was by far the most forceful, knocking over Gee, but Gallen was adamant on Saturday the contact was clearly incidental.
"I thought is this April Fools (when I saw the charge)? Can you believe he has been charged for that?" Gallen said on 2GB.
"It is absolutely insane. Some of the decisions in all areas of the game at the moment are so questionable.
"It's called incidental contact. Things just happen in this game at such a high sped. He is running eight or nine metres a second.
"What player in the game goes out there and thinks I am going to make contact with a referee?"
Kennedy will miss Cronulla's round-21 clash with North Queensland if he accepts the ban, and would risk a second game out if he fights it at the judiciary and loses.
Gallen, who at times acts as a consultant to the Sharks' coaching staff, predicted it was unlikely Cronulla would fight the charge and risk an added week.
Any suspension would cause headaches for the Sharks, who are already without halfback Nicho Hynes.
Daniel Atkinson would ordinarily be the most likely to move to fullback, but he's currently playing in the halves in place of Hynes.
Kade Dykes would have been another option, but he's out for the remainder of the year after undergoing knee surgery.
Teenager Liam Ison could be drafted into the No.1 jersey, unless centre Iro moves to the back and Siosifa Talakai returns to the centres.
