NRL: Reece Walsh and Adam Pompey charged by match review committee after New Zealand Warriors' loss to North Queensland Cowboys

Reece Walsh has been a star since joining the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors could be without the services of star rookie Reece Walsh for their clash with the Melbourne Storm, with the 18-year-old fullback facing a suspension following their Friday night loss to the North Queensland Cowboys.

Walsh was cited for striking Cowboys' second rower Mitchell Dunn in the 35th minute of the match. Dunn carried the ball and, in trying to fend off the tackle of Walsh, made contact with the young fullback's head with his free hand. With the help of halfback Chanel Harris-Tavita, Walsh was able to make the tackle, but appeared to lash out with a forearm to Dunn's face when smothering him on the ground.

The play was not penalised during the match, but was cited by the match review committee. The charge carries with it 200 points, which equates to two matches on the sidelines. With an early guilty plea, Walsh will only be required to miss one match but will miss two if he challenges the charge and is found guilty by the judiciary panel. Dunn was also cited for his high contact on Walsh.

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With the Warriors having a bye next weekend, an early guilty plea would see Walsh miss the match with the Storm, while an unsuccessful challenge would see him also be unable to play against the Newcastle Knights.

Reece Walsh has been a star since joining the Warriors. Photo / Getty Images

Walsh is one of two Warriors facing suspension following the 29-28 loss in Townsville. Centre Adam Pompey was penalised for a crusher tackle on the next play after Walsh's charge, and also faces a week on the sidelines with an early guilty plea or two weeks if found guilty by the panel.

Utility forward Jazz Tevaga was also charged by the match review committee for dangerous contact after being put on report and sin-binned for a late hit against Heilum Luki, but faces a monetary penalty rather than suspension.

The charge has a base penalty of a $1350 fine, which would increase to $1800 if found guilty by the panel rather than entering an early guilty plea.

Warriors coach Nathan Brown lamented the sin-binning after the match, saying it was a fair call but also where his side lost the game.

"It helps when you've got 13 out there," Brown said. "The game was decided by the sin-binning and it was a fair sin-binning, but that's where the game was lost.

"We didn't handle the sin-bin. Last week we had two and handled it quite well with our defence. Today we came up short with 12 and paid the price for it."