Panthers star Viliame Kikau faces ban, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves avoids suspension
Just hours after celebrating a rousing victory over the Roosters, high-flying Penrith have been brought back to earth with news they could be missing their star enforcer for the preliminary final.
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He was one of the last players to join Penrith in the pre-season.
But now Kurt Capewell could prove the club’s most important inclusion with the Queensland Origin squad member the front-runner to replace Panthers powerhouse Viliame Kikau.
In a major blow for the minor premiers, Kikau is set to miss the club’s grand final qualifier after being charged with a dangerous throw Friday night’s epic 29-28 victory over the Roosters on Friday night.
The NRL match review committee have penalised Kikau for his lifting tackle on Roosters prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
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Even with an early plea Kikau will miss one match, ruling him out of Penrith’s preliminary final in a fortnight.
Kikau would need to beat the charge at the NRL judiciary to escape a ban.
Capewell, who was a key member of Cronulla’s premiership campaign in 2016, joined Penrith in the last week of November last year, wasting no time in impressing head coach Ivan Cleary with his training-ethic.
However, a serious knee injury has limited his appearances to just six games this season, including his most recent from the interchange bench on Friday night.
Capewell’s experience in big matches with the Sharks and ability to play back-row would make his selection an easy one for Cleary who will also give strong consideration to Tyrone May and Billy Burns.
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Penrith skipper James Tamou said there was no denying the significant loss of Kikau.
“He’s a gamebreaker,” Penrith captain James Tamou said on ABC Grandstand.
“You give him the ball with a passive defensive line and he can do all sorts of things. Kiks (Kikau) and Stephen Crichton really compliment each other. He can just do things out of nothing.
“But the depth out of Penrith - we’ve got Capewell there and Spencer Leniu, who’s a pocket rocket. I don’t think we have a problem there, but we’d rather have him.”
Clive Churchill medallist Luke Lewis added: “He’s (Kikau) a huge loss, especially when you’re coming into a game to get into the big dance, you need your best team out there fit and firing.
“He’s got silky skills and there’s always something going on around him. It’s a huge loss.”
The Roosters received much better news from the match review committee with Hargreaves escaping a suspension for his high shot on Penrith fullback Dylan Edwards.
Hargreaves will be available for the Roosters must-win semi final on Friday night after he was hit with a $850 fine.