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Melbourne-bound back-rower Tariq Sims is unlikely to play again this season after accepting the early guilty plea for his high tackle on Connor Tracey.

Tariq Sims looks to have played his last match with St George Illawarra after accepting a four-match ban for knocking Cronulla's Connor Tracey out with his shoulder in round 21.

Melbourne-bound Sims was sent to the sin-bin for making contact with Tracey's head, leaving the winger motionless on the ground and in need of stretchering from the field.

On Sunday morning, the match review committee hit Sims with a grade three careless high tackle charge, which carried a four-match ban given the back-rower's history of two previous charges this season.

With the Dragons' finals hopes all but dashed, the decision to accept the ban means Sims is highly unlike to play again this season.

St George Illawarra are two games and points differential behind the eighth-placed Sydney Roosters, who will need to endure a form slump to give the Dragons any chance of qualifying for the finals.

Canberra and Manly are also standing between the Dragons and their first finals appearance since 2018.

And according to NRL head of football elite competitions Graham Annesley, Sims' Dragons goodbye could have been even more unceremonious, believing he should have been sent off for the brutal hit.

"They're very quick decisions that they have to make during the course of the game," he told reporters.

"I've spoken on many occasions about the differences in the process, a very quick decision on the field by the match officials and a much more deliberate and intensive examination of the facts that the match review committee ... but my opinion is he should have been sent from the field."

Had Sims unsuccessfully challenged his charge at the NRL judiciary, the ban would have stretched into the first game of his career with the Storm.

Tracey was up and about in the sheds after the hit but is looking at some time on the sidelines himself, with Matt Ikuvalu, Mawene Hiroti and Lachie Miller his potential replacements for this weekend's match against Wests Tigers.

Sims is likely to be replaced at lock by Jack De Belin, who played 11 games there this season before shifting to the front row.