Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak facing ban for ‘careless’ tackle during Melbourne Storm clash

Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is facing a one-game ban after he was sin-binned for a “careless” tackle during Saturday evening’s game against the Melbourne Storm in Auckland.

In the 60th minute of the Round 15 contest at Go Media Stadium, Watene-Zelezniak was put on report after his arm made contact with the neck of rival winger Grant Anderson, who was not in possession of the ball.

Referee Gerard Sutton stopped play and awarded the Storm a penalty before sending Watene-Zelezniak to the sin bin, leaving the Warriors with 11 men as fellow winger Marcelo Montoya was already on the sidelines for not being ten metres back for a quick tap.

“He doesn’t have the ball,” Sutton was overheard saying.

“Dallin leaves the ground and makes direct contact.

“It’s a very careless action.”

Watene-Zelezniak was later charged by the match review committee with a grade two careless high tackle and is looking at one game with the early plea and two if he is found guilty at the panel.

The Storm ultimately cruised towards a 38-24 victory over the Warriors, extending their lead at the top of the NRL ladder.

The Warriors, currently 11th on the NRL ladder, will next face the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday, June 22nd at 3pm AEST.