'That looked ugly': Dolphins forward in hot water after 'horrific' hip-drop

Dolphins lock Max Plath is staring down the barrel of a suspension after being sin binned for a hip-drop tackle during Saturday evening’s NRL game against the Titans on the Gold Coast.

In the 26th minute of the Round 4 contest at Cbus Super Stadium, Plath was involved in a tackle that saw Titans winger Philip Sami trapped in an awkward position with his legs bending back behind his torso.

Sami, who has a history of knee and ankle injuries, was in considerable pain as team medics rushed onto the ground, with the incident sparking a brief scuffle between two sides.

“That looked ugly,” Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane said.

“Max knows he’s made a boo boo here.

“That looked horrific.”

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After match officials reviewed the footage, Plath was sent to the sin bin and put on report by referee Belinda Sharpe. The 22-year-old, playing his fifth NRL game, was booed by the Gold Coast crowd as he trudged off the field, with Sami eventually returning to his feet.

Plath, now at risk of a suspension, faces a nervous wait ahead of the Judiciary’s verdict.

“The only saving grace for young Plath is that Sami stayed out there,” Melbourne Storm legend Cooper Cronk said on Fox League.

“It will be interesting to see what the Judiciary do off the back of this, but that was a bad one.”

Speaking to reporters in the post-match press conference, Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett declared that Plath’s hip-drop tackle wasn’t intentional, but didn’t argue against the referee’s decision.

“They’ll have to look at it. It’s a difficult area, that hip drop,” Bennett said.

“Max Plath hasn’t got a dirty bone in his body. It wasn't intentional, we don’t coach it, we never talk about it. We don’t practice anything like that.

“If it’s gone wrong, it’s gone wrong. We’ll just have to pay the consequences.

“Max is such a valued part of the team, and the boys feel so highly of him.”

Gold Coast scored the first two tries of the match but then conceded 30 unanswered points as the Dolphins ran riot in a 30-14 triumph.