RUGBY LEAGUE
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Canberra fullback Jack Wighton's season may be over following his massive hit that left Penrith's Jamie Soward concussed.
Wighton, who wasn't penalised for the tackle during the Raiders' 34-18 defeat of the Panthers on Monday night, was on Tuesday handed a grade-two careless high tackle charge by the match review committee.
Whether he accepts the early guilty plea - which will result in a one-match ban - or fights the charge at the judiciary and loses, Wighton will miss the final-round match against Parramatta on Sunday.
The shuddering hit - at the end of the first half - resulted in Soward leaving the field on a medicab after a brace was placed on his neck. He was taken to hospital for tests.
Raiders prop David Shillington believes Wighton's hit on Soward, which left the Panthers' five-eighth unconscious, was a "cracker shot".
Soward was blindsided and felt the full force of the Wighton hit as he looked to charge forward late in the first half of Canberra's 34-18 victory.
"From our point of view it looked like a cracker shot, so hopefully that's the case and Jack doesn't have much to answer to at the judiciary," Shillington told Sky Sports Radio.
His teammate Josh Papalii, however, was left dumbfounded after being penalised for a dubious shoulder charge on Bryce Cartwright.
Shillington added the NRL had done the right thing in cracking down on shoulder charges, but the rulings were sometimes over the top.
"It needed to happen, there was obviously a fair few tragedies happening so they've cleaned it up," he said.
"They might have gone a little bit over the top on a few of them, they're a little bit soft some of the charges."
Shillington said he believed the shoulder charge would be gone from the game by next season.
"All the players will get the hint," he said. "They don't want to spend one or two weeks on the sidelines."
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart has already started looking ahead to the 2016 NRL season, saying his side's 34-18 win over Penrith on Monday night marked the start of their new campaign.
"Our theme for the match was that we wanted to start 2016 tonight, and before the game we spoke about it," Stuart said after the Canberra Stadium win.
"We had to be professional, we weren't playing for anything outside pride, so the theme was to commence the first part of 2016.
"We know we're heading in the right direction.
"Over the last eight months it's shown, and we feel and we certainly hope our fans believe we're going in the right direction, too.
"We know we have a lot to work on."
Canberra star Blake Austin will miss the side's final game of the regular season against Parramatta due to a shoulder injury.
The five-eighth suffered a tear to his right shoulder in the second half of Monday night's win over Penrith. - AAP