Sydney Roosters enforcer faces missing finals after being put on report just 11 minutes into his return game from his last suspension

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is in danger of not playing again until late in the NRL finals after being handed a minimum three-match ban for a high tackle.

After a weekend of drama surrounding the bunker and match review committee, Waerea-Hargreaves was given a grade two aggravated tackle charge on Monday for his shot on Gold Coast’s Sam Verrills.

He was sent onto the field after just eleven minutes in his comeback match after his latest suspension.

The departing Sydney Roosters prop will miss three games if he files an early appeal, or a fourth if he unsuccessfully attempts to have the charge appealed.

Assuming the Roosters finish in the top four, an early application means Hargreaves will not play again until the Tricolours play in a knockout match in week two or three of the finals.

It also means he could have just one more game left in his NRL career before the Roosters’ most capped player heads to Super League.

Cronulla midfielder Jesse Ramien also faces a one-match ban for his high shot on Jack Bird. If he were to appeal the suspension and lose, he would be banned for two games.

The Sydney Roosters enforcer has been a magnet for suspensions and punishments throughout his career

If Jared Waerea-Hargreaves withstands the onslaught and loses, he may not be back until late in the NRL finals series

Rooster couple Daniel Tupou and Victor Radley were also charged on Monday but could face a fine.

This came after Gold Coast coach Des Hasler stated there was “a lot of confusion” among NRL teams over what constituted a “high shot” in 2024.

The issue came into the spotlight when Canterbury captain Stephen Crichton was not sent to the penalty box against the Warriors on Friday night for a shot that left Roger Tuivasa-Sheck concussed.

Crichton was later charged with second-degree assault and faces a one-game suspension.

“Players don’t have a lot of confidence in what’s a high shot and what’s not, what’s considered a high shot and what comes back (from the officials),” Hasler said.

‘There are a lot of nerves on both sides at the moment.

‘The officials seem to be a bit lacking in confidence at the moment and that’s something we probably need to address quickly heading into the final.’

Cronulla Sharks star Jesse Ramien will also miss a week in a major setback for the Cronulla Sharks

Waerea-Hargreaves was only sent off from the penalty box on Sunday after the bunker reviewed his tackle on Verrills in the build-up to a try by Titans winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira.

The incident was missed on the field, much like South Sydney captain Cameron Murray’s high shot on Newcastle forward Tyson Frizell earlier in the round.

“If you watch the game you can see referee Chris Butler made no mistake by giving a high shot (from Murray) to Frizell,” Hasler said.

‘A minute or two later there was a call from somewhere and the other player (Murray) was put in jail.’

There have been calls for a summit between coaches, officials and administrators to resolve such issues.

“I have every confidence in Peter (V’landys) and Andrew (Abdo), but it is something we have to address. There is a lot of confusion,” Hasler said.

‘We really need to have confidence in that part of the game because there were a lot of penalties today and a lot of players that had to be reported.’