Port Macquarie Sharks president Zac Newcombe would have preferred to know how long they will be without Chris Piper sooner rather than later.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But that won't be the case after Piper's judiciary hearing was set down for May 13 instead of May 6.
The Sharks forward was sent off by referee Bayley Dimarco during the second half of last Saturday's 34-20 victory over Old Bar.
Piper was involved in the incident with Pirates lock Isaac Worboys who was forced to leave the field with a jaw injury and took no further part in the game.
"From a club point of view, so we know what we need to do going forward, when you lose a marquee player you've got to work around that," Newcombe said.
"We would have liked to have seen (the hearing) happen this Thursday, but we'll run with it and go down next Thursday and have a go at a downgrading."
The grading for the offence was serious, meaning the matter has to be dealt with by the judiciary.
"We've got a plan in place with a club solicitor that will represent Chris at the hearing," Newcombe said.
"It's not a hearsay 'he said, she said' situation, but with no footage it also affects our club's defence as well."
Group Three chairman Wayne Bridge said the hearing has been delayed until next Thursday due to the availability of judiciary members.
He confirmed Piper will be stood down from playing until he appears before the panel.
Port Macquarie plays Wauchope in the Ged Roods Memorial Day at Wauchope on Saturday.
What else is happening in news, sport?
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark our website
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- You can support us with a subscription
- Follow us on Twitter: @portmacnews
- Follow us on Instagram: @portmacnews
- Follow us on Google News