Elliot Minchella verdict will be hugely pivotal for Hull KR with past giving clues
Elliot Minchella's outcome following disciplinary considerations could be crucial in the fate of Hull Kingston Rovers' season - and they have to hope there will not be another relatively heavy-handed punishment, which would be tragic in a sporting sense for the Robins captain should the worst happen, as they target top-level silverware for the first time in nearly four decades.
Minchella was sin-binned after a swinging arm and high shot on Matt Moylan in Rovers' 24-0 win at Leigh Leopards on Friday night and, as is often the case with these types of incidents, the dynamics look worse when viewed in slo-motion and zoomed in on than they do when seen live by long-time rugby league fans.
The circumstances of the sin-binning were another case of video referee involvement, causing the detection of dissatisfaction from an officiating perspective. The incident unfolded with Jez Litten - impressive on the night - launching a high kick and Moylan, having a tough night, being caught out again, which was followed by Tom Opacic chasing the ball and touching down.
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While the video referee was checking out that Opacic effort, overturning it, Minchella was deemed to be worthy of a sin-binning for his high shot. Moylan had jumped to try to catch the ball and mis-judged his attempt to take it, and, already going to ground, knees bent, the on-rushing Minchella's left arm then connected with the back of the Leigh full-back's head. A positive to come out of that situation was that Rovers passed a test with 12 men, with a big lead already built up, as they still maintained a nilling of the opposition, having suffered the previous weekend at Wigan Warriors when down to 12.
But the problem now is that Minchella could be out of not just a critical fixture on Friday night against Leeds Rhinos at home but possibly more, judging by the way the sport has been dealing with this issue in recent times. This Friday's game is important enough in itself - with a home semi-final on the line for Rovers and possibly even the League Leaders' Shield - let alone the sudden-death nature of the play-offs.
Minchella's importance to the side is obvious, leading them with heart and starting at loose forward in 26 of the 29 league and cup games this season. The last time that he was left out for a rest, against London Broncos in late-July, he publicly admitted that he did not want to be rested. When he has not started this season, the starting loose forward has twice been Dean Hadley - against London and also Warrington Wolves away in early May - and once it was Jai Whitbread against Catalans Dragons in early July. Those Warrington and Catalans games were both rare losses for Rovers this season. This past track record gives indicators as to just how important he is to the team. Meanwhile, a month ago, Litten had a cameo at loose forward in the convincing home win over Castleford Tigers, which Peters praised.
Just a fortnight ago, there was evidence of how strong the Match Review Panel's response can be to head contact related incidents, when Warrington Wolves' Paul Vaughan was handed a three-game ban after his controversial red card against Leigh, which was a game that the Wire lost. Looking at the way the table is now, that incident and its repercussions could turn out to be very costly for Warrington - and Rovers will have to hope they are not now facing a significant blow themselves. After that game against Leigh, Warrington coach Sam Burgess had called that decision "embarrassing" and believed there were mitigating factors.
There is a lot of talk about protecting safety of the players but contact to the head has always been considered seriously in the sport; the difference now is that the current framework is leading to cards and suspending that is being viewed as excessive by coaches - and that is the fear when the outlook on Minchella is considered. At Leigh, Rovers had Jai Whitbread out suspended after his sin-binning following head contact on Wigan's Tyler Dupree.
After Minchella's sin-binning at Leigh, Rovers coach Willie Peters pointed out in the press conference that it was "accidental" then the home team's head coach Adrian Lam said that "I don't think those incidents are sin-bins but the way that we've been this year it's the way that that is", which is consistent with how the former Wigan boss has been viewing punishments.
For Rovers' sake, they will have to hope that the decision-makers view Minchella's incident with some similar leniency.
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