LUKE Thompson got placed on report during his NRL debut for Canterbury Bulldogs against Brisbane Broncos.

The former Saints prop faced an anxious wait to see if the sport's disciplinary chiefs in Australia handed him punishment for a first-half shoulder charge on Brisbane's Tongan front rower Tevita Pangai Junior.

But Thompson was later cleared by the Match Review Committee.

England and Great Britain international Thompson and Pangai had a match-long duel as the St Helens native got his first taste of life in the competition regarded as the best in the world.



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He started at loose-forward but switched to the front-row during his opening 50-minute stint in what was his first game back since Saints' defeat at Castleford Tigers on March 15.

Thompson arrived in Australia over three weeks ago but had to spend his first two weeks in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel, as per travel protocols at the time as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week's loss to South Sydney Rabbitohs was seen as a week too early for him but on Saturday he was unable to help his new team record a much-needed win, with Broncos running out 26-8 victors at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

It was a fifth straight defeat for bottom-of-the-table Canterbury Bulldogs, who fought to bring Thompson over early after initially signing him for 2021.

In the end Saints agreed a fee for his early release, which led in turn to James Graham rejoining his boyhood club from St George Illawarra Dragons for the rest of 2020 and his debut is expected in the Red Vee against Catalans Dragons when Super League resumes on Sunday, August 2.

Incidentally, St George will be Thompson's next opponents this Saturday morning and he will have a caretaker head coach as Dean Pay's timeย in charge of Bulldogs has come to an end.