OLD MATES LIKELY T O DECIDE ON SLA TER

A FORMER premiership winning teammate of Billy Slater and an ex- Roosters skipper could decide on the fate of Slater’s grand final dreams.

Dallas Johnson and Sean Garlick are among five judiciary panel members who have been used by the NRL this season and could be part of tomorrow’s panel.

Johnson, Garlick, Queensland legend Bob Lindner, Tony Puletua and Mal Cochrane are the five panel members used by the NRL this year.

Johnson spent seven years playing alongside Slater at the Storm, winning two grand finals, while Garlick played 64 games for the Roosters including a stint as captain.

It is understood Slater will be called upon to testify at tonight’s hearing. He has played a large role in mounting his defence.

The Storm will argue Slater’s tackle on Cronulla wing- er Sosaia Feki was not a shoulder charge but rather a collision as he attempted to make a tackle.

The Storm considered drafting in Feki as a witness but the optics surrounding Feki’s unrelated shoulder injury was a concern to Storm officials.

Instead they will use the highly fancied Nick Ghabar who flew to Melbourne to help mount Slater’s defence. Ghabar was successful in clearing Justin Hodges at the judiciary in the lead up to the 2015 grand final.

Teammate Cameron Munster said the outcome was a “50/ 50 call”.

“Hopefully the judiciary makes the right decision and lets him play,” Munster said.