Sydney Roosters players have thrown their support behind Dylan Napa after the firebrand prop's NRL season was potentially ended by suspension.
Napa copped a three-game stint on the sideline after he pleaded guilty to a dangerous contact charge over a head-first hit that knocked out Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough on Saturday night.
Napa, who trained with teammates on Monday, will miss the Roosters' clash with Parramatta on Saturday night and their first two finals matches, meaning he could potentially only return if they reach the grand final.
Co-captain Jake Friend maintains the prop's contact during the Roosters' loss was accidental.
"Dylan is a gentleman off the field and he is a big gentle giant," Friend said.
"He plays the game hard and I think everyone loves that and that's why he is the player he is and people enjoy watching him. It just went wrong.
"He doesn't go out there on purpose to lead in with his head and hurt and tackle people."
Monday's plea avoided him risking a fourth game on the sideline, which he would have faced if he had unsuccessfully challenged the level-three charge.
McCullough, who played with Napa in State of Origin for Queensland this year, left the field in a medicab following the the tackle and was ruled out of the game.
It marked the second such incident this year for Napa.
He made a similar head-on-head contact with Korbin Sims' jaw in a loss to the Broncos in May but wasn't charged.
On that occasion, NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg admitted the match-review panel got it wrong by not charging him.
But Friend, who's played with Napa since his debut in 2013, maintained the fiery forward didn't need to completely overhaul his tackling technique.
"Obviously there are bit he will look at," Friend said.
"But also he's made plenty of tackles that we all watch and love. And he's on nearly every highlight reel for big hits and we all love those.
"And there are plenty more of those than the two we are talking about right now."
Fellow forward Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is expected to make a return from a rib injury against Parramatta on Saturday night after getting back to full contact training.
The Roosters need to win to wrap up a home final in the top four, which would allow them to stay in Sydney throughout the finals as long as they remain victorious.
