Case Number:

ON/516/22

Fenton Rogers #13, Huddersfield

Competition:

Reserves Championship

Match:

Huddersfield v Castleford

Match Date:

2022-03-20

Incident:

Late hit on passer

Decision:

Charge

Charge Detail:

Law 15.1 (i)

Dangerous Contact - A defending player makes contact with an opponent after the ball has been released by an opponent in a vulnerable position which causes flexion to the head, neck or spinal column on an attacking player, which poses an unacceptable risk of injury to that player.

Grade D

Fine:

£50

Sanctions:

3-5

Decision On Charge

Player plea:

Guilty

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

Following a Match Review Panel meeting held on 21 March 2022, you are charged with misconduct for a breach of Law 15.1(i) during the above Match.

The Panel reviewed an incident which occurred at 28 00 Opta time of the above match after which you were sin binned for following the incident. In the Panel’s opinion you made contact with your opponent after the ball had been released, causing flexion to the head, neck area of your opponent. The Panel believe that your actions were unnecessary, against the spirit of the game and had the potential to injure your opponent.

In accordance with the RFL’s On Field Sentencing Guidelines, the Panel consider that such offence is a Grade D offence Dangerous Contact - A defending player makes contact with an opponent after the ball has been released by an opponent in a vulnerable position which causes flexion to the head, neck or spinal column on an attacking player, which poses an unacceptable risk of injury to that player. The normal suspension range for such offence is 3 to a 5 Match Suspension.

• Incident occurs in approximately the 28th minute of the match
• Player is sin binned following the incident
• Opposing player is hit late with extreme force
• Flexion to head/neck
• Vulnerability of opponent due to how late the contact was
• Player has failed in his duty of care owed to his opponent
• Actions are unnecessary and against the spirit of the game
• Graded at D – the highest bracket for this offence

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

Player in attendance alongside Ian Watson (Head Coach) and Andy Kelly (Rugby Manager). Player pleads guilty.

IW addressed the panel and talked through the incident. He explained that FR had a split second to make a decision and that he was an Academy International who is working on his timing. The club are educating him on what’s correct and as a prop who had started the match he was possibly fatigued at the time the incident happened.

The club believe that the last couple of years have affected younger players due to the amount of game time that they had missed out on. FR had trained well but needs more game time to work on his timings. The club feel that any suspension should be at the lower end of the grading. This could be a turning point in the players career as he is aiming for a first team spot and this won’t happen unless he can adapt. He is aware what the club expects.

The club also used a comparison clip (Eseh – Grade B).

FR then told the panel he was not a liability and that he was striving to get into the first team squad. He felt that a shorter ban would be best as he was out of contract at the end of the season.

Decision:

Guilty plea

Decision On Sanction (where found to have committed Misconduct)

Summary of CM's submissions on the appropriate sanction:

• Grade D due to:
- Reckless contact
- Vulnerability of opponent – contact was extremely late
- No duty of care shown towards opponent
- Potential for serious injury

Aggravating Factors:

19/08/21 – Dangerous Contact (5 matches)
03/06/21 – Dangerous Throw (4 matches)

Reasons for Decision:

The Tribunal thank both sides for their submissions. They have viewed and re-viewed the footage and are in agreement that after the opponent has released the ball he is hit in the back with force. There is no attempt to tackle and contact is late. The opponent appears to suffer a whiplash type movement from contact which is reckless and avoidable.

The Tribunal note that the charge is accepted, however, they are also aware that the player has a previous charge from the same offence just nine months ago. They also feel that the comparison clip used by the club differed especially as the players involved were far closer.

Whist the Tribunal accept that the player is young they feel that he is not learning quickly enough and that all players of a similar age have had to deal with the same situation over the last couple of years. They also note that clubs were again involved in a pre-season meeting regarding contact such as this.

The Tribunal therefore feel the player should be suspended for 5 matches and fined £50.

Suspension:

5 matches