Rugby League

McLean cops NRL ban for hit that broke Dog's jaw

Apr 10, 2026

Penrith centre Casey McLean is facing a one-week suspension for his high shot which left Canterbury prop Max King with a broken jaw.

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McLean was sent to the sin-bin in the first half of the Bulldogs' 32-16 win on Thursday and was hit with a grade-two careless high tackle charge on Friday morning.

McLean was sin-binned retroactively with referee Gerard Sutton stopping play and sending the Panthers youngster for a 10-minute cool-off several plays later.

"My initial thoughts were based around the pub test where none of the players see it or feel it," said Penrith coach Ivan Cleary.

"It might have been shoulder then head and a bit of whiplash … there's not much vision so it's hard to say."

Cleary is now likely to be without the 19-year-old McLean for the Panthers' trip to Darwin to face the Dolphins next week.

If McLean accepts the suspension with an early guilty plea he will miss a week, while he risks a further match on the sidelines if he fights and loses his case at the NRL judiciary.

Any hopes of an appeal will no doubt diminish with news of King's broken jaw.

The reliable Canterbury prop is set to head for surgery as a result of McLean's hit just when the Bulldogs had looked to have turned a corner.

Canterbury utility Kurt Mann was also charged with a high shot on Scott Sorensen but will escape with a $1000 fine.