St George Illawarra captain Ben Hunt says it would be "very disappointing" if Tariq Sims' high tackle on Cronulla winger Connor Tracey marked the end of his career at the Dragons.
Bound for Melbourne next season, Sims' shoulder made forceful contact with Tracey's head early in the Dragons' 24-18 loss on Saturday night.
Tracey appeared to lose consciousness before he hit the ground and needed to be stretchered from the field; Sims followed shortly afterwards for a stint in the sin-bin.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said he was unsure whether the Dragons forward should have been sent off rather than sin-binned.
"I'm not sure," he said, "(Sims) did drop pretty low there."
Sims has prior loading from dangerous contact and careless high tackle charges incurred in round 17 so he faces a heftier suspension than otherwise.
Given the Dragons' finals hopes are now all but dashed, he could spend the last four games of the regular season on the sidelines if the match review committee hands down a grade three dangerous contact charge on Sunday morning.
Hunt said it would be a shame for Sims' 123-game career at the Dragons to end with a suspension.
"I've played a lot of footy with Tariq. I really respect Tariq, he's a good mate," he said.
"If that was his final game for the Dragons, it would be very disappointing."
Tracey was up and about in the dressing rooms after the hit but could also be looking at some time out of the game.
Lachie Miller, Mawene Hiroti and Matt Ikuvalu are three possible replacements on the wing for the Sharks, who have already lost first-choice winger Sione Katoa to a season-ending shoulder injury.
"We've got some players who can fit right in there if need be. It's a next-man-up kind of mentality," Sharks playmaker Braydon Trindall told AAP.
Sharks captain Wade Graham said teammates and opponents alike were feeling for Tracey.
"It's never nice in those situations, for either team. No player goes out there to hurt another player like that," he said.
"It didn't look great at the time on the field and both teams knew that.
"It was good to see him after the game in good spirits."
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