The Sharks and Nicho Hynes are facing a nervous wait after the star playmaker was placed on report for a hip drop tackle on Bulldogs flyer Marcelo Montoya.
The Canterbury winger was unable to continue and was in a “fair bit of pain” with his season set to be cut short after the incident.
Hynes, meanwhile, could be set for a stint on the sidelines, potentially missing Cronulla’s clash with the Roosters in the first week of finals.
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“It’s going to be looked at, there’s no doubt and the result of an injury will come into play,” Cooper Cronk said when analysing the tackle.
“If you think about what a typical hip drop is, it’s losing your legs and your hip dropping on the back of the legs.
“He loses his legs here Nicho Hynes, but it’s actually his knee that does the damage to the ankle… his knee comes through and twists that ankle.”
For league legend Braith Anasta, he believes the tackle was “dangerous” and the fact Montoya left the field injured will be a factor in the Match Review Committee’s decision.
Rabbitohs playmaker Jamie Humphreys was handed a two-game suspension for a hip drop tackle on Roosters gun Siua Wong in Friday night’s cross-town derby.
Meanwhile, Panthers centre Izack Tago was handed a one-game ban for a moment that was initially missed in his side’s win over the Eels in Round 19.
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“The concern Nicho Hynes has here, you can see he lands right on the back ankle… it’s dangerous,” Anasta said.
“It’s an accident… it is hard, but the injury does come into play. It looks like (Montoya’s) season could be over, and that does come into play with suspensions like this.”
As for Hynes’ suspension, Cronk was of the belief the MRC face a tough call.
“If I’m being put on the spot here, maybe one game, maybe it sits beneath that. But it’s a balancing act,” he said.
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