NSW back-rower Liam Martin looks in extreme doubt for State of Origin II after being KO'd in Penrith's latest NRL rout of the Sydney Roosters.
Penrith fired an ominous warning to their title challengers with a crushing 30-6 victory at Allianz Stadium but Martin's category-one concussion was the major talking point on Saturday night.
Martin demanded a promotion to the Blues' starting side with a powerhouse performance before rushing out of the line and reeling out of an attempted tackle on Jarad Waerea-Hargreaves with a bloodied head.
A mandatory 11-day stand-down period for a category-one concussion would leave Martin unable to train before game two at Suncorp Stadium on June 21.
The 26-year-old's fate appears to lay in the hands of an independent doctor.
It would take a huge leap of faith from NSW coach Brad Fittler to pick Martin should the severity of his concussion be confirmed.
But Penrith captain and Blues teammate Isaah Yeo believes it's a punt worth taking.
"Look, 11 days is a long time," Yeo said.
"So I feel like by the end of it, he'll be doing just about everything but maybe contact so he'd still be able to be part of every session so I feel like that would be fine."
The sickening collision further adds to Fittler's injury woes, after Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary was last week ruled out for the rest of the series with a hamstring tear.
South Sydney stars Latrell Mitchell (calf) and Cameron Murray (groin) are also under fitness clouds.
Martin's condition and an explosive incident late that resulted in Waerea-Hargreaves and Penrith firebrand Spencer Leniu both being sin-binned overshadowed the Panthers' big win.
Waerea-Hargreaves sprayed water over Leniu, then threw the bottle at him after Leniu took exception to the Roosters prop seemingly catching his Panthers opposite Moses Leota with a cocked elbow.
The match review committee is sure to scrutinise the incident, which almost sparked a melee between the two sides.
Despite the tensions, it was a case of no Cleary, no worries as the Panthers underlined their premiership favouritism with the five-tries-to-one rout.
Penrith's other six NSW Origin stars - including Martin - all stood up in the injured Cleary's absence to help the Panthers improve their winning record to 10 from 12 without their main man.
The runaway victory comes just a month after Penrith thumped the Roosters 48-4 in round 11 and propelled Ivan Cleary's side back to the top of the competition.
The statement win also came on the same day that Souths, supposedly Penrith's biggest title threats, faltered against St George Illawarra and Brisbane survived a huge scare against Newcastle.
While the Panthers continue to purr, the Roosters remain languishing in 11th spot.
"We're not firing enough bullets at the moment," said Roosters coach Trent Robinson.
"We're not scoring tries and we're not even pressuring teams at the end of sets.
"So we were well beaten tonight. To concede 30 (points) and to only score six, that's disappointing."
Despite utterly dominating first-half possession and territory, the Panthers only had a 4-0 lead until a power play from Martin broke Roosters hearts just before the break.
In a destructive 40-metre burst, Martin surged past four defenders and steamrolled over Blues skipper James Tedesco before finding Dylan Edwards looming in support to extend Penrith's advantage to 10 points.
But the competition's most potent attack clicked into gear in the second half, with Isaah Yeo, Brian To'o and Izack Tago all crossing during a six-minute blitz to put the result beyond doubt.
