Api Koroisau's hopes of a State of Origin recall appear in tatters after the Wests Tigers hooker accepted a three-match ban for his hip-drop tackle on Noah Martin.
The Tigers spent the weekend deliberating whether to challenge the grade-two dangerous contact charge Koroisau received following Thursday's 33-14 win over Canberra.
A downgrade would have allowed Koroisau to escape suspension with a $3000 fine, but the third-placed Tigers erred on the side of caution, entering an early guilty plea on Monday.
It means Koroisau will not play again before the Origin series opener on May 27, missing clashes against Cronulla, Melbourne and Manly in that time.
Fighting the charge would have meant risking the addition of another week to Koroisau's suspension, which was already beefed up by prior offences.
Had he not been charged three times already this year, Koroisau could have accepted a one-game ban as a first offence.
The 33-year-old had appeared in the mix for a first NSW cap since 2023 given his excellent form for a vastly-improved Tigers outfit.
But a lack of game time over the next month could sway Blues coach Laurie Daley towards either Blayke Brailey or Reece Robson as his starting hooker.
Robson has been in great form for the Sydney Roosters, most recently helping the Tricolours to a 62-16 defeat of struggling St George Illawarra on Anzac Day.
Tristan Hope was pulled from Saturday's NSW Cup clash between Western Suburbs and Canberra and is likely to start as the Tigers' hooker against the Sharks.
The Tigers' decision to accept the sanction comes despite Benji Marshall venting his frustration over the referees' decision to sin bin Koroisau on Thursday night.
"I don't know what he's supposed to do in that situation," the Tigers coach said.
"He's making a cover tackle from behind, of course he's going to land on (Martin's) legs.
"There's heaps of things that didn't go our way, I just think the fans deserve some consistency around the interpretations of the rules, and we're not getting it."
Elsewhere, Parramatta hooker Tallyn Da Silva has escaped suspension for the dangerous throw that landed him in the sin bin during Sunday's loss to Manly.
In welcome news for the heavily depleted Eels, Da Silva can accept a $1000 fine as an early plea for up-ending Jake Simpkin.
