He will miss four matches if he unsuccessfully fights the charge at the judiciary, but can also seek a downgrade to a grade one, which would be just a $3000 fine.

The sanction gives Waerea-Hargreaves a chance to play again in the NRL before he heads to the Super League next year, but it might not be until the preliminary final if the Roosters win their opening match of the finals.

Trent Robinson’s side is on track to host a qualifying final at Allianz Stadium after moving to second spot on the ladder with a big win over the Titans.

Waerea-Hargreaves was only playing his first match back from a four-game suspension, incurred for a high shot on the same day he broke the Roosters’ all-time record for most games. He was sin-binned for the tackle as part of a crazy afternoon in which four other teammates were also placed on report.

Is eight too many? NRL club boss leads call for bunker overhaul

Warriors chief executive Cameron George has called on the NRL to reduce the number of officials who occupy the bunker after the Stephen Crichton fiasco.

Following a weekend that saw Bulldogs star Crichton escape the sin bin for a high tackle which ended Roger Tuivasa-Sheck’s season and confusion over the eventual binning of Cameron Murray, George has led a push for the NRL to revamp its officiating protocols.

Eight different officials were used in the bunker across the weekend for men’s matches – six of those also had on-field refereeing duties in other games – and the NRL is also expected to have some of their top whistleblowers doubling up during the finals.

But George said the time has come for the NRL to consider reducing the pool of people its draws upon to run the video review technology which is so crucial to the game. He says between three or four people should be on a permanent rotation in the bunker, overseeing multiple matches each round.

“We’re all after consistency, from fans through to club owners and the NRL to be fair,” George said.

“To get consistency, you need a smaller pool of people applying the interpretations. When you broaden the pool of people interpreting the rules, you’re going to get inconsistency in my view. You just are.

“In any industry, consistency is usually generated by a small group of general managers or CEOs or a board. This should be the same. Back in the racing days, Ray Murrihy was the chief steward at Randwick on Saturday as well as Rosehill on Wednesday, so you had consistency.”

Bunker official Liam Kennedy is set to pay the price for his failure not to advise referee Wyatt Raymond to send Crichton to the sin-bin for his high shot on the Warriors’ Tuivasa-Sheck.

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Crichton was hit with a grade two careless high tackle by the match review committee, which carries a one-match ban for an early guilty plea.

On Sunday night, the Bulldogs were considering legal advice about whether to seek a downgrade, which would free Crichton for the blockbuster against the Sea Eagles on Friday night.

If he seeks a downgrade and is unsuccessful at the judiciary, he will be banned for two matches.

There was confusion over South Sydney captain Cameron Murray’s sin-binning in the Rabbitohs’ loss to the Knights on Saturday night, with it taking the bunker an entire minute after Murray was initially placed on report before referee Chris Butler sent him from the field for 10 minutes.

Murray was issued a grade two careless high tackle charge for the hit on Tyson Frizell, which carries a two-game suspension with an early guilty plea. He won’t play again this season if chooses not to fight the charge.

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