Wests Tigers captain James Tamou will front the NRL judiciary in a bid to play again this season after being charged for his verbal attack on referee Ben Cummins.
Tamou was sin-binned for dissent late in the Sydney Roosters' 72-6 thrashing of the Tigers but had his penalty upgraded to a send-off for calling Cummins "f****** incompetent" as he left the field.
The match review committe handed Tamou a grade-three contrary conduct charge and, while he has pleaded guilty to contrary conduct, he will seek to have his ban downgraded from two matches to one on Tuesday night.
Accepting the two-match ban could have spelt the end of Tamou's NRL career, given he is uncontracted for 2023 and will be 34 by the time the new season begins.
If successful in securing a downgrade, Tamou could play in the last-placed Tigers' final match of their season against Canberra.
Tamou's counsel appears likely to use his post-match apology to Cummins as grounds for a downgrading.
NRL captains are not required to attend post-match press conferences but a crestfallen Tamou fronted the media to take responsibility for his actions on Saturday night.
"I've let everyone down. I've let myself down. I'm embarrassed," he told reporters.
"I've got four kids at home and that's how they're going to see that their dad acts."
While he is currently in talks to extend his career by at least another year, the premiership-winning prop conceded post-match that the sledge may have ended his career.
"I didn't think of that until someone just mentioned it. My heart dropped," he said.
