Cowboys star set to undergo scans following ‘Cannonball’ tackle

Cowboys middle forward Tom Mikaele will be sent for scans following a left knee injury sustained in the NRL season opener in Las Vegas.

The on-site assessment suggested a suspected MCL sprain, with pressure applied by Tyson Frizell from an awkward angle, allowing the knee to buckle.

The tackle can also be described as a 'cannonball' tackle, where a third defender enters the tackle from a blind angle.

It is expected that Mikaele will miss anywhere from two to eight weeks, depending on the severity of the damage.

Cowboys coach Todd Payten was left disappointed with the officiating of the incident, indicating that he felt it was worth a harsher call and called for consistency in the rulings.

"I'm really disappointed with how the Tom Mikaele incident was handled," Payten said in his post-match press conference.

"Considering you know, Kalyn gets up and plays on and Tom's out for the next six weeks.

"I'd just like a bit of consistency, but we'll see what happens through the week.

"It (Mikaele's injury) did hurt us. We had to use four interchanges prior to halftime even though the plan was to use three."

When asked about the incident, Frizell said there was no bad intent in the injury and hopes it's not as severe as it could be.

"I'm not too sure I'll leave that with them. It's unfortunate as it's not something you want to see happen to a player and there was no intent to hurt him in any way," Frizell said.

Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater was also in the wars during the match, suffering a rib cartilage injury mid-way through the first half. 

Although the crafty fullback was able to play through the pain, he wasn't able to move freely for his side.

"He had to get needled. He'll be sore," Payten said.

"Given the nature of rib cartilage injuries, you can needle that.

"We've got two weeks before we play again. I don't know the severity of the cartilage damage, but it's certainly inhibited and affected his flow and rhythm."