Panthers coach Ivan Cleary expressed strong concerns regarding the evolving interpretation of the hip-drop tackle rule, emphasizing that Mitch Kenny's sin binning was unjustified for the incident that led to Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi's suspected syndesmosis injury.
Iongi will undergo scans to assess the damage after leaving the field early in the second half, raising fears for teammate Matt Doorey, who exited with a suspected ACL tear that may end his season.
"There's not much to say about it. It's a suspected ACL, and 'Issy' is a suspected syndesmosis (injury)," noted Eels coach Jason Ryles.
He added, "Someone else gets an opportunity at their misfortune."
Last week, the Eels also lost J'maine Hopgood to a serious ACL injury, truncating his 2026 season, while Dragons forward Ryan Couchman received a four-match ban for a hip-drop tackle at the judiciary on Tuesday.
Ryles pointed out that incidents like these are increasingly common due to the faster pace of the game, largely driven by more frequent set restarts this season.