Matt Prior takes early guilty plea for shoulder charge

After examining the incident from all available angles Matt Prior and the Sharks have decided to accept the early guilty plea on the grade one shoulder charge from last Friday’s game against the Dragons.

Prior was charged for a hit on Dragon Joel Thompson in the 20^th minute of the match, with the 150-point penalty meaning Prior will now miss the game against the Cowboys on Thursday night.

Had he challenged and been unsuccessful the 200-point penalty would have seen Prior miss two matches.

With Prior now unavailable the Sharks will rely on their depth, with Jeremy Latimore, Sam Tagataese and youngster Kurt Dillon to come into contention for a spot in the team this week, while Chris Heighington will also return after missing the Dragons match due to a family issue.

The Sharks and Cowboys play at Southern Cross Stadium on Thursday night.