Max King to undergo surgery on broken jaw as Casey McLean banned for high shot

Panthers star Casey McLean has been offered a one-game suspension for a high shot on Bulldogs prop Max King that reportedly left him with a broken jaw.

After back-rower Viliame Kikau opened the scoring for Canterbury on Thursday night, there was heavy contact from the ensuing kick off as King carried it back.

King was met by multiple defenders but got back up and played the ball, with the set of six continuing on as normal without any stoppage in play.

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However, once the ball was back in Penrith's possession, referee Gerard Sutton called time off as he went back-and-forth with the Bunker.

McLean was then called out by Sutton, alongside captain Isaah Yeo, with replays showing the shoulder of the Panthers gun clipped King in the jaw.

"He might be going to the bin here," Billy Slater said on Nine.

Sure enough, the young centre was then given his marching orders by Sutton.

On Friday morning, McLean was slapped with a grade two careless high tackle charge and offered a one week ban. He'll get a second if he fights the charge at the judiciary and loses.

9News' Danny Weidler also reported King played out the rest of the match with a broken jaw, and will undergo surgery.

Penrith were allowed to keep the ball given the incident had occurred in the prior set, but turned it back over to the Bulldogs immediately with an error.

"It's not happening for the Panthers at the moment," Slater said.

Jacob Kiraz then added to the lead for the Bulldogs with a one-man advantage, before Sam Hughes made it a surprising 16-0 buffer.

"If anyone is known for an ambush, it's the Bulldogs," Andrew Johns said.

Kurt Mann was then placed on report for high contact after clashing heads with Scott Sorensen, which left the eighth Immortal fuming in the commentary box.

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"What's this for? It's a head clash," Johns said.

"This is a total accident, it's a head clash. You can't take the accidents out of the game.

"What's he supposed to do? He's going for a tackle, he moves late and it's a head clash."

Mann was also charged on Friday morning, but offered only a fine.

Penrith then surged back into the contest before the break as Tom Jenkins continued his stellar start to the season with another try and Dylan Edwards joined him.