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North Queensland face being without star backrower Jeremiah Nanai after he was sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle that has Cronulla sweating over scans on prop forward Braden Hamlin-Uele.
Nanai is likely to be charged by the NRL on Friday after his tackle left the Sharks prop on crutches after Cronulla's 44-6 win.
The Sharks suspect Hamlin-Uele has suffered an MCL injury.
The severity of an injury is factored into the match review committee's charging system, although Nanai's coach Todd Payten said the backrower had been unfortunate to finish Thursday's game in the sin bin.
"Nanai I didn't think he made a great deal of contact on the back of his leg," Payten said.
"I thought his ass and hips were away from the back of his leg.
"Braden jumped up pretty quickly to throw the ball at him, so it mustn't have been too bad initially."
The suspension could impact Nanai's chances of winning State of Origin selection for Queensland and he could be joined on the sidelines by Coen Hess.
The prop was sin-binned for tripping Jesse Ramien but Payten was adamant the tough forward had been hard done by.
"I think Hess was really unlucky," Payten said.
"I think it was a penalty, but it is what it is."
Scott Drinkwater was also placed on report for leading with his elbow into a tackle with Siosifa Talakai.
Things don't get much easier for the Cowboys after a 3-6 start to the season.
Chad Townsend limped off at Shark Park with a calf injury and promising fullback Tom Chester suffered an ACL tear.
"He had a couple of niggles, had a fitness test and he wasn't moving well and complained about it," Payten said of Townsend.
"Given there is a 10-day turnaround, we just made the smarter decision around moving forward over the next week or two."
The Cowboys will certainly be without Jason Taumalolo, Griffin Neame and James Tamou when they face the Sydney Roosters in the NRL's Magic Round next weekend.
