Trent Merrin will miss St George Illawarra’s NRL match against Penrith on Saturday after taking the early guilty plea on a striking charge from State of Origin II.
Merrin’s tussle with Queensland winger Brent Tate sparked a second-half melee after which both players were sent to the sin bin alongside Blues backrower Greg Bird and Maroons centre Justin Hodges.
Merrin was hit with a grade-one striking charge by the match review committee for punching Tate in the 54th minute of Queensland’s series-squaring 26-6 win in Brisbane.
Even with the early plea on Thursday Merrin earned enough penalty points to incur a one-game suspension.
Hodges received a grade-one contrary conduct charge over the same incident.
The Brisbane star also took the early guilty plea but will be free to play in the Broncos’ match against the Warriors in Auckland on Sunday.
Merrin has been one of the struggling Dragons best players this year and his loss is a big blow for the joint venture club who sit 14th on the NRL ladder ahead of their round-16 trip to Penrith.