Warriors prop Matthew Lodge looks to be in strife after he was reported and penalised for an elbow on Corey Harawira-Naera, during his side’s 21-20 golden point victory over the Raiders.
Lodge coughed up possession early in the second half when referee Chris Butler placed him on report for raising his elbow in a tackle, which made contact with Harawira-Naera’s head.
The moment stunned Balmain Tigers legend Steve Roach, who questioned whether Lodge should have been issued marching orders.
“That’s bad,” Roach said in commentary for Fox League.
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“You can have your bumper bars up and ready for the impact, but he’s used the elbow.
“I won’t be surprised if he’s not sent off… he’s thrown the elbow out.
“What are we saying if he breaks his jaw?”
Lodge had the final laugh when with just over a minute left in the match, he copped a sloppy high tackle from lock Corey Horsburgh, resulting in an easy penalty kick in front of the sticks to set the game up for golden point.
It was veteran playmaker Shaun Johnson who then slotted the game-winning field goal to hand the Warriors the win.
Meanwhile, send-offs in round eight haven’t been unfamiliar after Manly’s Karl Lawton was sent off during the Sea Eagles’ loss to South Sydney on Friday night.
Lawton is facing a four to five week ban for lifting Rabbitohs skipper Cameron Murray into a dangerous position during a tackle.