Case Number:

ON/385/20

Ben Flower #14, Wigan

Competition:

Super League

Match:

Hull KR v Wigan

Match Date:

2020-09-03

Incident:

Dangerous Contact in the 55th minute (Lawler)

Decision:

Charge

Charge Detail:

Rule – 15.1(i)
Detail – Defender uses any part of his body forcefully to twist, bend or otherwise apply pressure to the limb or limbs of an opposing player in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player
Grade – B

Fine:

£500

Sanctions:

2 Match Penalty Notice

Decision On Charge

Player plea:

Not Guilty

Summary of CM's submissions on the Charge / evidence:

Following a Match Review Panel meeting held on 7th September 2020, the player was charged with misconduct for a breach of Law 15.1(i) during the above Match.

The Panel reviewed an incident which occurred in approximately the 55th minute of the above Match. In the Panel’s opinion the player made dangerous contact to the limb of an opponent (Lawler) whilst making a tackle. The Panel believed that the actions were unnecessary, had the potential to cause the opponent injury and constitute misconduct.

MRP Reviewed the footage from the Hull KR v Wigan match, and were concerned about the technique used by the player in the 55th minute.
The player can be seen to chase the contact from right side of his opponent Mr Lawler and make a grip with his arms around the opponent’s waist. Mr Lawler is still making forward progress and at this point the players momentum is seen to be naturally shifting from Mr Lawler’s right to his left. The players grip and body position are reasonable.

The player make a voluntary motion and jump up off the ground whilst maintaining the grip on the opponent’s waist. The player lifts both feet off the ground and moves his body to the right – this is all generated by the player not the momentum of the initial contact. However, the player then unnecessarily promotes both knees through the contact to swing his own body around Mr Lawler. Once the player has removed his feet off the ground, he has no control of his bodyweight and possible outcomes. Maintaining the grip on Mr Lawler, the player’s bodyweight then drops to ground through his left hip pushes the right foot of Mr Lawler through and then lands on, on to the back of Mr Lawler’s left ankle. This action applies pressure to the limb of an opponent, which is clearly shown in the footage.

The player has various other options in which to complete the tackle safely, but instead choses to make contact in this way;

The MRP considered this technique to qualify as a Grade B charge.
The Grade B charge was decided upon due to the fact that the player does take both feet off the floor, and the promotion of his knees into contact is deemed to carry reckless elements. This action shows the player applying pressure to an opponent’s limb (left ankle), which poses an unacceptable risk of injury to his opponent.

The MRP use the comparison clip for Joe Cator as to why they believe the charge has been issued and the grading decided upon noting the almost similar nature and end result of the tackle.

Summary of Player's submissions on the Charge / evidence:

Matt Peet, Assistant Coach at Wigan Warriors states that the player pleads not guilty to the charge. Mr Peet states that the player has lost the tackle and has he is spun around, goes to ground and his whole body reaches the ground. The momentum then generated by the opponent pulls the player along ultimately leading to the opponent’s foot being trapped under the body of the player. The Club received support by way of letter from the opponent. The Clubs use the comparison clip of Kenny Edwards which they submit was worse and only received a caution, citing the player was in control of his actions and it was almost premeditated. Referencing the Cator, Mr Peet states in this incident, the player comes straight down onto the opponent’s legs which is not the case with Mr Flower. It is submitted that this is an unfortunate incident.

Decision:

Guilty

Reasons for Decision:

The Tribunal have viewed the footage and are satisfied that the Dangerous Contact has occurred in this incident. The Tribunal were able to view 2 comparison clips, Joe Cator from August 2020 and Kenny Edwards from March 2019. The Tribunal believe that this incident has a number of striking similarities with the Cator clip and are satisfied that this charge has been graded correctly also at Grade B. Therefore the 2 match penalty notice imposed, is upheld.

Decision On Sanction (where found to have committed Misconduct)

Summary of CM's submissions on the appropriate sanction:

Summary of Player's submissions on the appropriate sanction:

Mr Peet states they believed the challenge was merited and was not a clear-cut Grade B offence and asks the Tribunal to consider this when reviewing the nature of the Penalty Notice Challenge.

Aggravating Factors:

Player has a number of incidents on his record with a most recent case for dangerous contact being in March of 2020 where he received a 2-match suspension for a Grade C offence.

Reasons for Decision:

The Tribunal as stated have reviewed the incident and think there were merits in a challenge however their decision is to uphold the Grade B decision issued by the Match Review Panel. The player will therefore receive a 2 match suspension but there will be no additional matches.

Suspension:

2 matches