St George Illawarra have been dealt a massive blow with Jack de Belin failing to downgrade his dangerous contact charge at the NRL judiciary.
Valentine Holmes also had his attempt at a charge downgrade thrown out by the panel, following a careless high shot on Jayden Campbell during Round 22.
Valentine Holmes cops four-game suspension at NRL judiciary
Valentine Holmes failed at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night, with the Cowboys centre copping a four-game suspension for a careless high tackle.
The 28-year-old was sin-binned for the shot on Jayden Campbell and would have been free to play if he was successful at the panel, but the ruling was upheld and Holmes will now miss the remainder of the regular season.
Due to his prior record, Holmes would have missed three games with an early guilty plea, with the club opting to challenge the grading in a bid to clear the speedster for the fixture against the Broncos.
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Jack de Belin fails to downgrade hip drop charge at the judiciary
De Belin knew a possible four-match ban would be in store for him if he was to fail in his bid to downgrade a grade two charge and that is exactly what happened on Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old was controversially sin-binned during his side's 24-18 defeat to Manly and he was then subsequently hit with a three-game suspension for his tackle on Christian Tuipolotu.
However, the St George Illawarra forward elected to take a trip to the judiciary where he was hoping to get the hip drop tackle downgraded from a grade two to a grade one which would have resulted in a $3000 fine.
The Dragons lock will now miss the next four matches which encompasses meetings with Parramatta, South Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand before he will be eligible to play in their final fixture of the season against Newcastle.
"I’m bitterly disappointed," de Belin said after learning of his suspension.
"I think we showed that it probably should have been a grade one, but I respect the judiciary’s decision.
"That’s life and you’ve got to play the cards you’ve been dealt.
"If you watch it, I don’t actively or consciously do a hip drop. It’s kind of one motion and unfortunately, I ended up around his boot."
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Bulldogs duo charged after narrow Round 22 victory
Canterbury stars Jake Averillo and Reed Mahoney have both been charged by the NRL judiciary, but will avoid suspension following their narrow victory over the Dolphins.
The skipper has been charged with a grade one shoulder charge and will be fined $1000 with an early guilty plea, while Averillo will be fined $750 after being hit with a grade one dangerous contact charge.
Tyrone Peachey banned for high tackle
Penrith utility Tyrone Peachey will miss the next fortnight, after he was hit with a grade three careless high tackle charge on Jack Williams.
In the second-half of the Panthers big win over Cronulla, Peachey was penalised for a shot on Williams and will now be suspended for two weeks after taking the early guilty plea.
In the same clash, Sharks prop Braden Hamlin-Uele was cited for a grade one careless high tackle, but will escape with a $3000 fine.
Keaon Koloamatangi fined for shoulder charge on David Klemmer
Souths forward Keaon Koloamatangi has escaped without a ban following his shoulder charge on Tigers prop David Klemmer.
The NSW Blues representative will be required to pay a $1,500 fine, after entering an early guilty plea.
Koloamatangi's Rabbitohs teammate Davvy Moale has picked up a heavier $3,000 fine for a shoulder charge of his own on Shawn Blore.
Tigers youngster Aitasi James was the third and final player charged by the judiciary from the game, fined $1,000 for a high tackle on Cameron Murray.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Pat Carrigan receive fines for high tackles
Carrigan will need to pay a $1,800 fine with an early guilty plea for his grade one careless high tackle charge on Roosters winger Daniel Tupou, while Waerea-Hargreaves has been fined $3,000 for the same offence on Payne Haas.
