Canterbury are sweating on the availability of monster forwards Frank Pritchard and Sam Kasiano as they steel themselves for a do-or-die finals showdown with a giant Sydney Roosters pack.
Pritchard and Kasiano were both put on report in their nail-biting 11-10 golden point NRL qualifying final victory over St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.
Both are likely to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Committee for their heavy treatment of Dragons five-eighth Gareth Widdop late in the game.
After Widdop had his attempted field goal charged down, the Dragons playmaker fell on the ball only to be kneed in the back by Pritchard before Kasiano came over the top and put his head in a crusher tackle-like position.
The incident sparked a push and shove and afterwards Dragons captain Ben Creagh has some pointed words for the giant forwards.
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"I didn't think it was in the spirit of the game to tell you the truth," Creagh said.
"And they were penalised for it. Especially two 120 kilo guys going after a 90-kilo five-eighth."
The pair did receive some unexpected support from Widdop who said there wasn't much in the incident.
"It's rugby league, you just get on with it," Widdop said.
"I couldn't see what was coming but it's football."
The Bulldogs can ill afford to lose the pair as they prepare for their elimination semi-final with the Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Friday.
The Roosters have been the dominant side for most of the season due to their power game and strong forward depth and bench rotation.
Dogs coach Des Hasler declined to comment and said he would "wait and see" if his team had anything to worry about.
