The NRL has backed up its tough pre-season talk on eliminating the 'crusher' tackle from rugby league in a charge stemming from the opening round of trials.
Warriors utility Dominique Peyroux faces a two-game stint on the sidelines after being charged by the match review committee over an incident in the club's 36-18 loss to Gold Coast at Albany's North Harbour Stadium in New Zealand on Sunday.
As part of a series of new rules introduced to the NRL for 2014, the game's governing body declared "The Match Review Committee will be directed to charge crusher tackles at the higher end of the scale to provide a greater deterrent".
And the committee, newly headed up by former first-grade utility Michael Buettner, has followed suit, charging Peyroux with Grade 2 Dangerous Contact - Unnecessary Head/Neck Pressure over a tackle in the 10th minute of last weekend's fixture.
The charge carries a sanction of 250 points and therefore a two-game suspension.
With an early guilty plea, Peyroux will have that cut to 187 points and a one-game ban.
In other news, Canterbury centre Tim Lafai suffered a broken hand in the Bulldogs' 28-20 trial loss to South Sydney at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday and won't be fit until round two of the NRL competition.
