Penrith ​Panthers general football manager Phil Gould confirmed that forward Reagan Campbell-Gillard had fractured his back and would be sidelined for three months after a tackle against the Gold Coast Titans.
Gould said Campbell-Gillard was in good spirits, and was waiting on doctors to give him the all clear to fly home.
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Moylan field goal books finals ticket
Matt Moylan slots the field goal to ensure Penrith will feature in the postseason, while the Titans will have to stave off the hungry Wests Tigers and Warriors.
Coach Anthony Griffin was in no mood to celebrate after the Panthers cemented a NRL finals berth, with key forward Reagan Campbell-Gillard taken to hospital with a suspected back fracture, which was later confirmed.
A furious Griffin has urged the NRL to review Gold Coast prop Ryan James' 59th-minute tackle on the front rower in Saturday night's game at Cbus Super Stadium. It was not penalised at the time.
Campbell-Gillard being loaded into an ambulance took some of the gloss off the Panthers' thrilling 15-14 win over the Titans.
X-ray confirms Reagan has fractured his L2 and L3 transverse process on right side of his back. 3 months recovery https://t.co/CRYpbUEA0l
— Phil Gould (@Gus10Gould) August 27, 2016
REAGAN CAMPBELL-GILLARD:
— Phil Gould (@Gus10Gould) August 28, 2016
Update. In good spirits. Team mates visited hospital. Needs to take it easy. Dr will inform us when he can fly home
Penrith skipper Matt Moylan kicked a match-winning field goal two minutes from fulltime, after the Titans had clawed back from a 14-0 deficit to level at 14-14 in the 76th minute.
News Corp Australia is reporting it was contacted late on Saturday night by Griffin who expressed his disappointment.
"They've stood Reg (Campbell-Gillard) up and then Ryan James hits him in the ribs while he's unprotected," Griffin said.
"He's gone to hospital and they think he's got a broken disc in his back.
"I'd really like the NRL to review it. I'm not happy with how Reg has ended up injured.
"I watched it at the time and thought it was a bit crook, so they need to look at it.
"He can't move. They had to stretcher him out of the sheds," Griffin told News Corp.
The Penrith prop was held by Chris McQueen and Nathan Friend when James came in as the third man and made contact using his right shoulder.
James, only two weeks ago, avoided suspension for breaking the jaw of Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco.
On the match itself, Griffin was also unhappy about Penrith's "dumb" first-half performance which allowed Gold Coast back into the contest.
The game seemed to be heading into golden point after Tyrone Roberts kicked a penalty goal four minutes from time following a high tackle by Penrith's Chris Grevsmuhl - ironically on James.
"It was terrible the way we let them back into the game," Griffin said.
"It was a very dumb half of football.
"It's nice to know that we're definitely there (in top eight), but it's going to have to be a lot better than that if we're going to do something with the (finals) spot."
Griffin praised Tyrone Peachey, who made the crucial line break, bringing the ball to within 20m of the tryline and allowing Moylan to kick the one-pointer to snatch the game.
In Jarryd Hayne's first match at fullback for two years, he was outshone by his opposite number Moylan, who scored the Panthers' first try in the eighth minute.
The lead was doubled in the 17th minute when Waqa Blake dived over wide.
Hayne had a chance to score the first try of his NRL return just before the break after an offload from Leivahu Pulu, but the Panthers' No.1 stopped him close to the line.
Just after halftime, the Titans were back in it when Pulu was fed by Greg Bird 5m out and he carried three defenders over the line for his first NRL try.
Bird set up a dramatic finish when he stretched out over the line to make it a two-point game.
The Titans need to beat North Queensland in Townsville next week or hope other results go their way.
Coach Neil Henry will keep an eye on Sunday's Warriors-Wests Tigers clash, but backs his team to get a result next Saturday against the Cowboys.
"It's not over. The destiny's in our own hands," Henry said.
AAPÂ
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