Jack Wighton's hopes of claiming NSW's left centre spot have taken a hit after the Canberra star was charged with a dangerous throw on Warriors fullback Reece Walsh.
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Wighton was issued a grade-two charge on Sunday and is set to cop a two-game ban with an early guilty plea while risking a third match if he contests it and loses.
It means Wighton will likely have just two more matches to make his case to fill in for Latrell Mitchell in Origin I, with South Sydney's injured marquee man expected to miss the series opener on June 8.
The Wighton charge came two days after Manly second-rower Karl Lawton was sent off for a dangerous throw on South Sydney's Cameron Murray.
Manly were still considering whether to fight Lawton's four-game ban on Sunday, with a decision needed by midday Monday.
Wighton's throw, in which he lifted Walsh's leg in a two-man tackle with Hudson Young, did not appear to end up as dangerously as Lawton's.
The fact Wighton was not sin-binned in the Raiders' 21-20 loss could also raise eyebrows with the NRL, given he has been handed a grade-two charge.
Wighton's case for the NSW No.3 jumper has not been as strong as those for Stephen Crichton, Siosifa Talakai and Kotoni Staggs but he is a genuine option for Brad Fittler having been selected there previously.
He played centre for the Blues in 2020, and played off the bench for NSW in the first two games last season before being called in at five-eighth for Game III.
Origin aside, the charge comes as another hit for the desperately out-of-form Raiders.
Already without injured No.7 Jamal Fogarty, they are likely to have to field Matt Frawley at five-eighth alongside rookie halfback Brad Schneider if they lose Wighton.
Sam Williams could loom as another option, with the Raiders having lost five on the trot and sitting second-last on the ladder.
Meanwhile Canterbury lock Billy Tsikrikas has copped a one-game ban for a hip-drop on Sydney Roosters forward Sitili Tupouniua.
The regular school teacher could normally have taken a fine for the grade-one offence, but is ineligible as he is not a member of the Bulldogs' full-time squad.
Warriors prop Matt Lodge is facing a fine for a raised elbow on Canberra's Corey Harawira-Naera as he tried to bump him off, avoiding a ban with a grade-one charge.
Australian Associated Press
