The NRL is set to investigate the Penrith Panthers following a stoppage incident involving forward Viliame Kikau during Friday's clash with Cronulla.
As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, the Panthers could be fined by the league after their gun second-rower brought play to a halt after requiring attention from medical staff.
The stoppage ended the Sharks' attacking trip at the time as a Penrith trainer called for play to be brought to a momentary pause in order to assist Kikau.
The intrigue that has drawn the NRL's attention is that Kikau has since been sidelined with a hamstring injury and will subsequently miss his side's clash with the Roosters in Round 15.
As per the league's rules, trainers must only bring play to a halt should a player suffer a head injury or serious setback.
The NRL will now need to decide whether the injury required the stop in play, with clubs being fined by the league in the past for incorrect calls to pause matches by medical staff.
Speaking post-match, interim Cronulla coach Josh Hannay expressed his frustrations from the incident but was still delighted to land the one-point win.
“I thought the rule was for serious injury that play could be stopped, and if it was deemed not serious, play would go on,” Hannay said, per The Herald.
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“I know it’s a difficult one for the people in charge out there, you’re dealing with people’s health, but it looked like it wasn’t a serious injury. We could have put the game away there if it was allowed flow. Thankfully we’re sitting here celebrating a win.”
Sharks veteran Shaun Johnson was able to boot the match-winning field-goal in the dying minutes of the match to hand the Penrith their second loss of the season in successive weeks.
Cronulla will face North Queensland in Townsville this weekend, while Penrith will welcome back a host of Origin-calibre stars for their clash with the Chooks, with both games scheduled for Friday night.
