St Helens forward Morgan Knowles is free to play in Saturday’s Betfred Super League Grand Final after his two-match ban was lifted following a successful second appeal but it’s brought widespread outrage ahead of the competition’s biggest night of the season.
The England international was sin-binned for an alleged ‘chicken wing’ tackle when twisting the arm of Salford’s Chris Atkin in Saturday’s 19-12 semi-final win.
He was charged by the Rugby Football League’s match review panel with a Grade B dangerous contact offence and handed a two-match penalty notice. An independent tribunal rejected Knowles’ initial appeal against the ban on Tuesday evening but the champions still felt they had a case to get their player free for the Grand Final against Leeds Rhinos.
They launched a second challenge last night, claiming the tribunal’s conclusion was “unreasonable” based on the evidence presented, and it proved successful meaning Knowles is not only free for Old Trafford but also England’s World Cup warm-up game against Fiji.
The RFL said: “Tonight’s tribunal accepted that while there was some twisting to apply pressure to the limb of an opposing player, this did not exceed the normal range of movement and therefore could not have posed an ‘unacceptable risk of injury’.”
But the decision has caused an outcry of disbelief from rugby league folk, many of whom have long criticised the vagaries of the sport’s disciplinary processes arguing punishments have become too tough – or, in this instance, too lenient – and often inconsistent.
That is especially so given Leeds’ Rhyse Martin recently had his appeal against a one-game ban – for a high tackle largely deemed innocuous – increased to two matches for a ‘frivolous’ appeal. Ironically, he returns for Rhinos in the Grand Final.
The RFL has stated it will publish the full minutes of last night’s hearings on its website this morning.
