Reuben Cotter is expected to be unavailable for the State of Origin opener following a charge from the match review committee. In a closely contested match against the Warriors that ended 30-26, the 26-year-old Cowboys forward was involved in a tackle on Marata Niukore early in the game. Although Cotter wasn’t penalised during the match, he was later placed on report, as the Warriors scored shortly after the incident through halfback Luke Metcalf.
On Sunday, the Maroons representative was hit with a grade two careless high tackle charge, resulting in a potential two-game suspension. If Cotter contests the charge and fails, he could face a lengthier absence of three matches, which would exclude him from the crucial fixture against New South Wales on May 28. Consequently, he will automatically sit out the next two games for North Queensland if he opts for an early guilty plea.
In other news from Saturday’s games at Suncorp Stadium, Rabbitohs front-rower Tevita Tatola was also reported for a grade one careless high tackle, which will earn him a $1,000 fine if he pleads guilty early.