Penrith centre Paul Momirovski has been banned for three matches for his high and late hit on Tom Dearden after rolling the dice at the NRL judiciary.
Originally hit with a grade-two charge for his contact after the kick, Momirovski could have accepted a two-match ban for the hit but instead opted to try and downgrade it to a fine.
In a 70-minute hearing, Momirovski's defence lawyer Nick Ghabar argued the initial contact was with Dearden's shoulder and only went wrong as result of a deflection.
He also used a similar hit from Jake Friend on Adam Clune from last year to aid his case, which was classified as a grade-one at the time.
"Contact may have been marginally higher than (Dearden's chest if not for the deflection), but certainly nowhere near his head," Ghabar said.
"Momirovski actually opens his hand to try and catch Dearden so there is no likelihood of contact with the back of Dearden's head and the ground.
"This tackle isn't even on the same level as Jake Friend's."
But the three-man panel of Dallas Johnson, Bob Lindner and Ben Creagh took 15 minutes to side with the NRL's counsel Peter McGrath, who claimed Momirovski launched himself at Dearden.
McGrath also successfully argued that a key difference between this hit and Friend's was that Momirovski's arm was also going in an upward direction.
"He launches himself into the tackle," McGrath told the panel.
"At that speed he lost control. It was highly careless.
"The risk of injury to player was moderate. He was a kicker in a vulnerable position."
It means Momirovski will miss Thursday's clash with Newcastle, as well as games against Manly and Cronulla.
Penrith have named centre Robert Jennings on their extended squad for this week, while Dylan Edwards could also return early and allow Stephen Crichton to return to his usual spot out wide.
His hearing kicked off a marathon night at the NRL judiciary, with Latrell Mitchell and Victor Radley also set to face the panel.
Canterbury prop Jack Hetherington had earlier paid a hefty price for his poor disciplinary record, accepting a five-match ban for his high tackle on Valentine Holmes.
On Tuesday the Canterbury enforcer pleaded guilty to a grade-three careless high tackle charge, the highest level available without referring a player straight to the judiciary.
The resulting suspension becomes his sixth ban in a 29-game NRL career. He has already missed 10 matches through bans alone.
By the time Hetherington is eligible to return - in round 12 against his former club Penrith - the 24-year-old will have bans tallying more than half of the number of NRL games he has played.
Hetherington was sent off for the hit, and if not for his poor record he would have been able to cop a two-game ban.
