Canberra winger Jordan Rapana could miss the first two games of the Raiders‘ NRL campaign if he is unable to overcome a shoulder charge sanction stemming from Saturday’s All Stars game.
Rapana, who played for the Maori in 16-10 win, has been hit with a grade one charge after a hit on Indigenous backrower David Fifita.
The 32-year-old was also put on report and sent to the sin bin in the first half for a shot on Jesse Ramien which sparked a melee but will face no further sanction.
Indigenous prop Andrew Fifita wasn’t charged for his role in the coming-together.
If suspended Rapana would miss games against Cronulla and North Queensland.
The NRL is also yet to sanction the winger after he escaped conviction for drink driving in September.
After conceding the opening try, the Maori ran in three unanswered four-pointers before hanging tough amid a last-ditch Indigenous surge at CommBank Stadium on a wet Saturday night.
David Fifita suffered a minor rib cartilage injury while teammates Josh Curran and Will Smith failed HIAs.
Maori co-captain and prop Joe Tapine collected the Preston Campbell Medal as man of the match with a try, 127 metres and 31 tackles.
Gold Coast forward David Fifita wowed as the 21-year-old bulldozed three defenders during a 50-metre burst to assist a Ramien try in the 12th minute before being cleaned up by Rapana.
“We didn’t do enough of trying to get him one-on-one,” Indigenous coach Laurie Daley said.
“We sort of played like under 12s where you just give it to the big kid and want him to do everything.
“But I tell you what, if the Titans can do that (get him one-on-one), he’s such a damaging player.”
The Maori side struck back when halfback Kodi Nikorima strolled over the line thanks to a couple of smart offloads from his co-captain Joe Tapine and prop James Fisher-Harris.
Esan Marsters put the Maori in the lead early in the second half before Tapine crossed in the third quarter.
St George Illawarra youngster Tyrell Sloan pulled a try back for the Indigenous All Stars in the final term as he zoomed onto a lovely kick from five-eighth Nicho Hynes.
Indigenous captain Josh Addo-Carr went close to pouncing on a grubber to potentially salvage a draw in the dying moments but Reimis Smith beat him to the ball.
Maori coach David Kidwell dedicated the performance to the trailblazing Olsen Filipaina, who died aged 64 on Thursday.
Daley indicated David Fifita was likely to only miss a trial with his rib complaint while the man himself said: “I’ll just have to assess it on Monday when I get back to my club”.
AAP
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