Canterbury forward Corey Waddell has been referred directly to the NRL judiciary for allegedly gouging Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's eyes in the Bulldogs' round 19 defeat of Gold Coast.
Rather than suggest a fixed suspension, the match review committee has ordered Waddell to plead his case before the judiciary, usually comprised of two former players and chaired by Justice Geoffrey Bellew, this Tuesday.
Waddell's counsel appears likely to argue the second-rower did not realise his hand made contact with Fa'asuamaleaui's eyes as he attempted to tackle the Titans captain on Sunday.
"In tackle technique, we try to break the player's posture and get him down onto his back," Waddell told reporters.
"Obviously my hand wasn't in the best position. Once I realised it was on his face, I released it. It wasn't intentional, there was no malice there."
After the game, Waddell appeared confident he would not face further sanctions.
"A penalty I think is fair enough," he said.
"(The match review committee) will have a look at the vision but they'll see that I didn't have my fingers in his eyes or anything like that."
Fa'asuamaleaui said he held no ill will towards Waddell.
"That's footy," he said.
"Sometimes you don't know where your hand is.
"I guess it just happened to be on my forehead and hit my eye but it was just accidental."
