He’s only recently returned to Kristian Woolf’s injury-hit Dolphins squad following a suspension for an ugly high shot on Cowboys playmaker Tom Duffy.
Now, former Maroons and Storm enforcer Felise Kaufusi looks set for another disruptive two-week stint on the sidelines after being hit with a dangerous contact charge from the closing stages of the Round 22 match against the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
Referee Ashleigh Klein had no hesitation sin binning Faufusi in the 74th minute after he arrived late as third man attacking the lower legs of Warriors forward Jacob Laban, who left the field for treatment and has subsequently been sent for further scans.
“Unnecessary contact, high risk of injury, clearly dangerous, in the bin for ten,” Klein said.
MORE: Dolphins' season plunged into 'real jeopardy'
With the Dolphins trailing 18-16, Kaufusi’s actions left his teammates to chase victory with just 12 men—a task they remarkably completed through a last-gasp try to winger Jamayne Isaako.
While the Dolphins triumphed against the odds to keep their season very much alive, the short-handed squad was placed in a difficult position by its errant forward leader—who is already one of the most suspended active players in the NRL.
Kaufusi will miss the Dolphins’ next two NRL matches against the Roosters and Broncos with an early guilty plea and risks missing three should he challenge the charges unsuccessfully.
The NRL’s most suspended active players
Of current NRL players, Kaufusi, 33, already tops the list with career suspensions of ten matches before his latest charge—along with a long list of fines—ahead of Nelson Asofa‑Solomona, Spencer Leniu and Scott Sorenson.
So far this season, Bulldogs forward Sitili Tupouniua has sat out the most games from suspension with six weeks, followed by Jack Wighton who has been slapped with two separate suspensions totalling five weeks.
Jacob Preston, Toafofoa Sipley and Leo Thompson have all been rubbed out for four weeks in 2025.
Who are the all-time NRL bad boys?
No doubt to the relief of NRL and club bosses, no active players come remotely close to the game’s all-time bad boy John Hopoate who was rubbed out for a staggering 45 weeks during his playing career.
When it comes to the largest individual penalty, former Melbourne Storm player Danny Williams holds that dubious honour following an 18-game suspension handed out for a shocking king hit to the head of Wests Tigers forward Mark O’Neill back in 2004.