It was high drama in the second half of the Canberra Raiders and South Sydney Rabbitohs preliminary final - and an injury to star forward Sam Burgess will have red and green fans very anxious.
After a lazy high tackle on Canberra captain Jarrod Croker, the English international ran off the field in pain after looking to have injured his pectoral - later confirmed to be a bicep issue.
The penalty hurts no doubt - but the potential loss of Burgess for the rest of the game (and potentially next week) could be even worse.
Instant Karma for Sam Burgess.
— FOX LEAGUE (@FOXNRL) September 27, 2019
Clips Croker high and injures his shoulder in the process.
📺 Watch it live on Fox League NOW! pic.twitter.com/cTCJKV3igs
Concern for Sam Burgess by video is left anterior shoulder injury (biceps/pec strain>contusion) after arm caught during tackle. Reportedly a chance to return, traumatic tackles like this often cause significant strain/tear so hopefully not the case #NRLRaidersSouths pic.twitter.com/LHWK1QPKhO
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) September 27, 2019
There was plenty of emotion in the air at GIO Stadium, and the game was ebbing and flowing as you'd expect in a grand final qualifier.
Some fans on social media had little sympathy for the controversial hardman.
Leave it up to Sam Burgess to coat hanger an opposition player and injure himself in the process. Ol dumb dumb. #NRLRaidersSouths
— Jordan Patu (@Jordan_Patu) September 27, 2019
Just a regular Sam Burgess tackle... #NRLRaidersSouths pic.twitter.com/E9SuCNttUg
— Gareth Olver (@GBO26) September 27, 2019
Burgess returned with 15 minutes remaining and the Bunnies behind 10-6 - and time will tell just how bad the injury is.