Jack Wighton's hopes of claiming NSW's left centre spot have taken a hit with the Canberra star charged for a dangerous throw on Reece Walsh.
Wighton was issued with a grade-two charge on Sunday, set to cop a two-game ban with an early guilty plea while risking a third match if he fights it and loses.
It means Wighton will likely have just two more matches to make his case to fill in for Latrell Mitchell in Origin I, with South Sydney's injured marquee man expected to miss the series opener on June 8.
The Wighton charge comes just two days after Manly second-rower Karl Lawton was sent off for his dangerous throw on Cameron Murray.
Manly were still considering whether to fight Lawton's four-game ban on Sunday, with a decision needing to be made by midday Monday.
Wighton's throw, in which he lifted Walsh's leg in a two-man tackle with Hudson Young, did not end up as dangerous as Lawton's.
The fact Wighton was not sin-binned could also raise eyebrows with the NRL, given he has been handed the more serious grade-two charge.
Wighton's case for the NSW No.3 jumper has not been as strong as the likes of Stephen Crichton, Siosifa Talakai or Kotoni Staggs but he is a genuine option for Brad Fittler having been selected there previously.
He played centre for the Blues two years ago in 2020, and played off the bench for NSW in the first two games last season before being called in at five-eighth for Game III.
