Penrith coach Ivan Cleary played down a late tackle by dominant forward Viliame Kikau that was put on report late in Friday night's win over Cronulla.
The Panthers extended their club record win streak to 10 games in the 38-12 victory in yet another sign the club could be on its way to its first premiership since 2003.
Cleary's men haven't conceded a point in the first 20 minutes in 14 straight games yet the way they finished their clash against the Sharks was a talking point after match.
With less than four minutes left, Sharks youngster Braydon Trindall was met with huge contact from Kikau after Cronulla prop Aaron Woods missed the rookie with an errant pass.
Trindall, playing in his second NRL game, felt the full force of the Penrith forward's shoulder to his mid-section and stayed down until the referee called a halt to play as the Panthers' Stephen Crichton scooped up the loose pass.
The Sharks playmaker eventually got up and kicked for touch after a penalty was awarded to the Sharks for the hit. Kikau was placed on report for the incident.
The loud thud could be heard on the broadcast, much to the shock of Balmain legend Steve Roach.
"Kikau has smashed him right there in back-play without the ball," said Roach on Fox League.
"I reckon he might hear about this and they might have a look at this.
"He's down and still there. Kikau absolutely garrotted him. I could hear him hitting the ground from up here.
"That's a car accident. Jeez, his head hit the ground. He's a tough little fella Trindall."
Fox League commentator Warren Smith compared Kikau's challenge to a "747 coming into land".
Despite the vicious contact, the Panthers coach didn't think there was any malice in the hit.
Cleary also said Kikau didn't have eyes on Trindall.
"I thought he had his head down Trindall put his hands up to catch the ball," Cleary told reporters. "It was a bit clumsy, a bit more fatigue than anything he didn't hurt him so hopefully he's alright."
Sharks coach John Morris seemed unhappy about the hit and described the tackle as a "really big knock" and said Trindall was "a bit crook".
"It was a really hard knock," Morris told reporters in his post-match press conference.
"Obviously it's on report so that will get looked at. I haven't had a chance to check him yet but he finished the game."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/nrl-news-viliame-kikau-on-report/e8e7728e-0d69-4715-bd98-ebd57bda8dbb
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