Prop Francis Molo wanted to set the tone for St George Illawarra.
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With the club under heavy scrutiny and a coach under pressure, Molo raced out of the line in the fourth minute of Sunday's 20-18 loss to the Gold Coast, wanting to rattle the cage of the Titans' Moeaki Fotuaika.
Instead, the shot was mistimed and not only was he sent to the sin-bin for 10 minutes, he now faces three weeks on the sidelines with an early guilty plea.
It means he will miss a crucial trip to Canberra, the annual Anzac Day showdown with the Roosters and the Bulldogs battle in Wollongong, at a time when Anthony Griffin is trying to prove he deserves a contract extension by building the Dragons into finals contenders.
It was the third similar incident for Molo, so he will miss four weeks if he contests the charge.
"We've just got to be smarter and better than that," Griffin said.
"We can't sit here and complain about the rules.
"I thought in general the way we went about that game and finally wrestled it the way we needed it (was good).
"But in the end those little things count, if you let the opposition down your end of the field as many times as they did and you've got a bloke in the sin-bin, it puts a lot of pressure on you."
The on-field issue comes after Molo pleaded guilty in February to a domestic violence charge from an incident before Christmas.
However, there is some relief for the Dragons, as second-rower Jaydn Su'a avoided a ban for a hip drop tackle on Gold Coast halfback Tanah Boyd.
Su'a was placed on report at the time, but stayed on the field and the match review committee decided an $1800 fine was sufficient penalty.
St George Illawarra slipped to 11th on the NRL ladder after the thrilling 20-18 loss. Griffin admitted the hip drop situation continues to be a grey area.
"I think we have always struggled with it for the last two or three years," Griffin said.
"They are not intentional. Sometimes when they haven't got a decision to make at the time, whether they fall that way or not they are just trying to get the player to the ground.
"It is something that as a game we have got to get some certainty about, because accidents happen when you have got people with a lot of power and the way the game is played these days."
Captain Ben Hunt scored a try to put the Dragons in front with three minutes left, but the Titans hit back after a short kick-off and the halfback's knock-on in the final scramble sealed their fate.
While there has been a lot of discussion about the cause and injury impacts of hip drop tackles, Dragons captain Ben Hunt leapt to Su'a's defence.
"When you're chasing a bloke down from behind, tackling him from behind, there's obviously no intent, (we're) just trying to get blokes on the ground," Hunt said.
"I understand it's dangerous and people are getting hurt from it, but i don't know how else he was meant to get him down there."
It comes after Bulldogs back-rower Jacob Preston avoided sanction after being sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle against Souths on Good Friday.
"The MRC did not identify the important key indicators of a hip drop in this incident," committee chairman Luke Patten said.
"The MRC believed that Preston was attempting a one-on-one steal and fell away from the ball, accidentally landing on the ankle, foot of player Thompson."
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Tim Barrow
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
When it comes to sport - at professional and community level - in the Illawarra, I'm here to provide insight, context and opinion, as well as the latest news you won't find anywhere else.
