KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien will be sweating on the fitness of Kurt Mann after losing Phoenix Crossland to suspension for Sunday's clash with Wests Tigers at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Crossland, in his eighth NRL appearance and first in the starting line-up, was hit with a grade-two charge for a second-minute "crusher" tackle on David Fusitu'a in Friday's 20-16 win against the Warriors.
Knights officials took the early guilty plea and 20-year-old Crossland will miss the next two games.
Crossland's Newcastle teammate Tyson Frizell accepted an $1150 fine for grade-one dangerous contact, while Warriors prop Jamayne Taunoa-Brown will miss the next three NRL rounds for his crusher tackle on Newcastle winger Hymel Hunt.
Taunoa-Brown was facing a month-long ban if he fought the charge and lost at the judiciary.
Crossland's absence will become problematic for O'Brien if Mann is not cleared to return from a knee injury he sustained in the round-one win against Canterbury. Mann was named to play against the Warriors but dropped out of the squad late in the week.
The Knights are already without their first-choice pivot, Blake Green, after undergoing a knee reconstruction late last year.
Another possible five-eighth candidate, Kalyn Ponga, is yet to resume after off-season shoulder surgery.
If Mann was again ruled out, versatile Connor Watson would appear the logical candidate to wear the No.6 jersey, as he has done regularly throughout his career.
But O'Brien appears to prefer Watson as an impact player off the bench, especially as a middle forward.
The coach's other option might be to unleash 19-year-old Kiwi Simi Sasagi, rated one of the club's brightest prospects, in his top-grade debut.
Because of the NSW Cup's coronavirus shutdown last season, Sasagi has hardly played since some eye-catching performances for the Knights at the 2020 NRL Nines.
AAP reports: Canterbury winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Storm forward Felise Kaufusi and North Queensland's Kyle Feldt have all entered early guilty pleas and accpeted two-game suspensions.
New Zealand Test captain Watene-Zelezniak was sin-binned in Saturday's 28-0 loss to Penrith for a head-high tackle on Nathan Cleary.
Queensland Origin forward Kaufusi was handed a grade-two dangerous contact charge on Thursday after his elbow pushed down on the head of Parramatta's Ryan Matterson as he fell in a tackle. Feldt also faced a grade-two charge for a dangerous throw after up-ending St George Illawarra centre Jack Bird in the Cowboy's 25-18 defeat.
Meanwhile, Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has dismissed claims by former teammate Gorden Tallis that the club was "going to implode" because of internal turmoil.
Walters said his decision to tell players not to attend the races after last week's loss to the Titans was "a non-issue".
