Valentine Holmes has found himself in hot water, with the Cowboys star sin-binned for a high shot on Jayden Campbell in Sunday afternoon's shock loss to the Titans.
The 28-year-old was placed on report for the incident and has since been cited by the NRL judiciary on Monday morning, with North Queensland now facing the prospect of being without the Maroons speedster for three weeks.
Holmes wasn't the only issue for the visitors at Cbus Super Stadium, with their 22-13 defeat a massive speed bump on their road to the finals, likely ruling out any hope of a top-four spot.
And with a crucial clash against rivals Brisbane slated for next weekend, the premiership hopefuls are under the pump to turn things around and maintain their spot in the top-eight.
MORE: Jack de Belin, Tyrone Peachey facing bans following Round 22
Valentine Holmes sin-bin: Cowboys star penalised for high tackle
In the 21st minute of the clash with Gold Coast, Holmes was given his marching orders after rushing out of the line and collecting Campbell on the chin.
Watch the incident between Holmes and Campbell below.
Valentine Holmes has been sin-binned for this hit.
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Holmes was charged by the judiciary in Round 21 for a similar tackle on Mitchell Moses and escaped with a fine but wasn't as lucky this time around after being hit with a grade two careless high tackle, leading to a three-week ban.
Cowboys coach Todd Payten admitted the costly decision from the on-field was the correct one.
“I disagreed with his send off last week, but it’s hard to disagree with tonight’s call," he said.
"The kid was falling, Val has come in and made a tackle and it is what it is... it was really costly.
"We’ve had to do it like 10 occasions this year… that becomes draining on our energy."
Todd Payten reacts to Cowboys shock loss to Titans
North Queensland were on the wrong end of a 9-6 penalty count on the weekend, while their 48 missed tackles will also be a major concern for Payten moving forward.
The hard-nosed head coach pointed out the displays from his representative stars, including Holmes, and believes their discipline across the board was the difference.
“I’m really disappointed," Payten said.
"We fought really hard in that first-half to stay in front 13-10 at half-time, defending with 12 men again for the second week in a row. We gave away far too many penalties… I can’t argue with the penalties.
"We didn’t have enough field position, we didn’t make enough tough decisions in key moments, and they just ran harder and tackled harder and built pressure better than we were able to.
"Don’t get me wrong, the way we started the second-half was unacceptable… that’s the part that really hurts.
“That game was there to be won… I thought a couple of our Origin boys probably looked a little flat and this is the time of year it kind of happens. In saying that, we were outplayed and that’s what disappoints me."
