North Queensland's crucial finals match against Cronulla will take place without co-captain Reuben Cotter. This follows his sin binning during Saturday's encounter with the Raiders, where an early high tackle on Josh Papalii earned him disciplinary action.
Cotter aimed to establish dominance in the game but misjudged his timing, delivering a high hit to Papalii, who subsequently exited for a head injury assessment.
The Cowboys forward now faces a grade two careless high tackle charge. Accepting an early plea could lead to a one-game suspension, while contesting the charge unsuccessfully could see him sidelined for two matches.
"Obviously there's a lot of emotion in this first carry. The big man takes the carry, rolls into the tackle and Reuben Cotter plants both feet, jumps directly and hits him flush. He said he copped one flush on the chin... I do see him potentially missing a week or two," an analyst noted, suggesting Cotter would likely face consequences.
Despite the incident, both Cotter and Cowboys coach Todd Payten expressed a level of optimism following the game.
"It was a big collision, definitely. Watching it again a couple of times, it looked like head on head," Payten remarked, noting Papalii's ability to return to the field after being cleared from his HIA assessment.
The coach emphasized that this outcome was positive for Papalii, especially considering his impending retirement from the sport.