‘Not looking good’: Knights sweat on Jackson Hastings scans as Jacob Preston faces lengthy ban for ugly hip-drop tackle

Raiders fullback Jordan Rapana has avoided a ban for tripping Reimis Smith, but Jacob Preston isn’t so lucky with the Bulldogs rookie facing two games on the sidelines for an ugly hip-drop tackle that forced Jackson Hastings from the field with a potentially season-ending ankle injury.

The Knights playmaker’s 2022 campaign was ruined by a hip-drop tackle by Brisbane’s Patrick Carrigan, and the club is now sweating on scans to determine the extent of the injury as it charges towards the finals.

Preston was at the centre of a hip-drop controversy earlier in the year when he was sent to the sin bin for a tackle against South Sydney but wasn’t charged.

It’s a different story this time with the back-rower facing a 2-3 game ban after he was hit with a grade 3 dangerous contact charge for the first-half incident that left the Bulldogs down to 11 men on Sunday.

“I can’t argue with it,” Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said after the match.

“That’s not the reason we lost the game.”

Hastings did not return to the game, which Newcastle won 42-6, and Knights coach Adam O’Brien wasn’t overly confident when discussing the injury in his post-match press conference.

“Not looking good, he is in there with a boot now so they are talking syndesmosis. Fingers crossed on that one, he will get scans tomorrow,” O’Brien said.

“Sometimes you are just trying to bring a guy down. I haven’t had a good look at this one but naturally disappointed it has caused an injury.”

Meanwhile, the Raiders are breathing a sigh of relief after Rapana was offered a $3000 fine if he takes the early guilty plea for a dangerous contact (tripping) charge.

This is his third charge of the season, with the veteran facing a two-game ban if he fights it and loses it at the judiciary.

Rapana was not charged for dropping his knees as Eli Katoa slid in for a try in Sunday’s big win, while teammate Matt Timoko has also been offered a $750 fine for a high shot on Melbourne’s Young Tonumaipea.