St George Illawarra forward Tariq Sims will plead not guilty to a dangerous contact charge in a bid to keep his NSW jersey for the State of Origin decider.
Sims copped a grade two charge for high contact on Michael Morgan which forced the North Queensland captain from the field in the second half of the Dragons’ 22-14 win on Friday.
The 29-year-old is the first player to face tougher penalties introduced by the NRL, which wants to crack down on late hits and crusher tackles.
Sims would be suspended for two matches with an early guilty plea, ruling him out of Origin III against Queensland in Sydney on July 10.
If his challenge is unsuccessful, he’ll be banned for three weeks.
Blues coach Brad Fittler is likely to name Sims in his squad later on Monday and hope the charge can be downgraded or dismissed at a hearing on Tuesday night.
The tough forward came off the bench in the first two games of the series.
Tuesday’s judiciary will also deal with the eye gouging allegation against South Sydney forward George Burgess, which was referred straight to the panel.
Burgess is potentially facing a lengthy ban for the incident involving Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah early in the Rabbitohs’ 14-9 loss on Thursday.