Tim Sheens was left seething over Jackson Hastings’ high shot on Tigers centre Tommy Talau last weekend — and it’s clearly still a sore point for the veteran coach.

Speaking to media on Saturday, Sheens took aim at Newcastle after he was informed of a report that claimed a Knights tip-off saw Tigers player Isaiah Papali’i suspended.

Papali’i, who Sheens said is in New Zealand over the weekend to deal with a personal matter, had been charged by the match review committee for a hip drop tackle on Jack Johns.

Although a report from News Corp earlier in the week claimed that Papali’i had initially been left off the original charge sheet, later added after Knights officials reached out to the NRL.

When told about those claims, Sheens said it was “news” to him.

“It’s a bit disappointing but at the end of the day the tackle had a little bit of that hip drop look about it,” he added.

“I didn’t think it was as bad as a grade two, but that was the grading. We have to live with that and move forward.”

But the Tigers will be moving forward without Talau for at least another two weeks after the centre suffered a broken nose as a result of the high shot from Hastings, who was only fined.

The fact Hastings is not spending any time on the sidelines too did not go down well with Sheens.

“He’s recovered from it,” Sheens said, giving an update on Talau.

“It was a nasty one actually, he couldn’t breathe out of the nose so it might’ve been accidental as the perpretator said but in real terms it still broke his nose and we’ll miss him for two more weeks.

“So I think the grading was pretty lucky there or unlucky for us.”

With all that in mind, Sheens seemed to suggest next time he too may consider contacting the NRL if he doesn’t believe a sufficient punishment will be handed down.

“If what you said is right and they’ve gone to the review committee over a particular tackle, I should’ve probably gone back and said, ‘Well the kid’s going in for surgery. He’s going to miss two weeks’,” said Sheens.

“But I’m not into that sort of garbage. But in saying that, I’ll protect my players.”

The Tigers are 0-2 to start the season and will be looking to pick up their first win of the year against the same very coach they had initially targeted to lead the club in a new direction.

A report from News Corp this weekend lifted the lid on how the Bulldogs won the battle for Ciraldo and the key mistakes that led to the Tigers missing out.

In it, the Bulldogs’ major sponsor Craig Laundy said that the Tigers’ inability to keep contract talks with Ciraldo secret played a major role in his decision to head to Belmore instead.

Sheens though said there would no focus on his end on the coaching battle with Ciraldo this weekend.

“We were actually laughed at for offering him five years,” said Sheens.

“No one said anything when Canterbury signed him for five years. Good on him, he picked his club. I’m not focused on a one-on-one with Cameron, both of us have got a lot of footy in front of us and trying to improve sides that didn’t have great years last year.”

In team news for this weekend, Sheens said five-eighth Adam Doueihi is expected to overcome a footy injury while new recruit John Bateman should also make his debut.

When asked about halfback Luke Brooks though, Sheens once again leapt to the defence of the under-pressure playmaker, as has been consistent in his time at the Tigers.

“I just want to see Brooksy doing his job,” he said.

“People expecting him to score three tries or set up five tries is ridiculous. He just needs to do his job and inside doing his job things will happen.”