St George Illawarra's Jordan Pereira is facing a stint on the sidelines for a sickening hit on James Tedesco during the Dragons' 34-10 NRL loss to the Sydney Roosters.
In another concussion concern for the Eastern Suburbs club, the Roosters captain missed the second half of the blockbuster Anzac Day clash at Sydney Cricket Ground after failing his HIA.
The dangerous hit was put on report, cost Pereira 10 minutes in the sin-bin and activated the 18th-man rule for the second time in less than 24 hours.
With the Roosters on the attack chasing down a 6-4 Dragons lead, Tedesco smoothly tapped on the ball before he was blindsided by Pereira's swinging arm while falling.
The tough fullback stayed down obviously rattled by the hit and went on to fail his head injury assessment during the halftime break.
Controversy raged over Ashley Klein's decision to simply bin Pereira instead of sending the Dragons winger off.
"The question is 'could he have pulled out of that tackle?', and I think he could have," Mal Meninga told Fox League.
"He's gone through with the tackle, the ball's gone past Tedesco with a touch of the hands to the winger.
"It's late, and I think it should have been a send off."
Regardless of Pereira's punishment, the head knock is a concern for the Roosters who have had more than their fair share of concussion problems this season.
Skipper Boyd Cordner is sidelined as part of a conservative return to play process, while Jake Friend was forced to retire due to ongoing concussions.
Forwards Sitili Tupouniua and Lindsay Collins have also spent time on the sidelines this year after heavy head knocks.
It is also a worrying sign for Tedesco who was knocked out and heavily concussed in 2020's final State of Origin match at the end of September.
The moment sparked a huge turning point in Sunday's game.
Down to 12 men, the Roosters pounced twice in five minutes, first through Tupouniua's power running close to the line and then when halfback Sam Walker put Nat Butcher through a gap.
The Roosters took the halftime lead at 16-6 and did not look back.
Teenage half Walker again defied his limited NRL experience to star for the Roosters, scoring a try of his own to earn the Anzac Medal in front of the 37,620-strong crowd at the SCG.
Sam Verrill's return from an ACL injury was a huge success, playing the last half an hour of the game and setting up Collins for a try.
Tedesco's replacement Joey Manu and Daniel Tupou also got across the line in a convincing victory.
Meanwhile, Jack Bird's move to the halves from centre had little effect on the Dragons' attack despite an arm wrestle in the first half.
And they could be missing more than Pereira when they face Wests Tigers next Sunday, with Mikaele Ravalawa put on report for a first-half shoulder charge on Josh Morris.
Forward Tyrell Fuimaono will also be anxiously waiting on the NRL's charge sheet on Monday after being put on report for a high shot on Tedesco in the third minute.
