It was already a night to forget for Brisbane, and Kotoni Staggs made sure it ended on a poor note.
With the Broncos trailing 30-24 and desperately chasing the game in the 70th minute, Staggs was shown the door after lifting his elbow and striking Hugo Savala in the back of the head, an ugly moment that shifted attention away from the contest and onto the judiciary.
The incident drew an immediate response from Adam Gee, the referee, with Staggs sent from the field and leaving his side to finish the match a man down in their 38-24 defeat.
The NRL's Match Review Committee has handed the centre a Grade 2 Dangerous Contact charge, meaning SDtaggs is staring down a two-match suspension if he takes the early guilty plea.
Should he choose to fight the charge at the judiciary and lose, that ban stretches to three games.
It's a costly lapse in discipline for both player and club.
With Adam Reynolds and Deine Mariner taken off the field with injuries prior, this compounds the damage to their troops.
Staggs will now have until Tuesday to decide whether to accept the charge or roll the dice at the judiciary.
The Broncos centre will be available for State of Origin.
Meanwhile, Victor Radley did not get charged after he was put on report three times during the match.
Radley was put on report in the 13th minute after a crusher tackle on Cory Paix.
He was then later put on report the second time for a potential hip drop that forced Josiah Karapani from the field, and then for a high tackle on Broncos front rower Ben Talty.
How on earth does Radley not even get a fine? The fact he was laughing about it on the coverage. Absolutely no issue with the ban for Staggs, what he did was stupid but the inconsistencies in this sport just continue to frustrate.
Not only is the in game officiating laughable, they double down on it by being inconsistent outside the game. I’m sure one-eyed fans couldn’t do a worse job than these guys that actually get paid to do it.