Controversial reason why St Helens star Konrad Hurrell was banned

“What a hit” was the caption as Sky Sports shared a big tackle from St Helens star Konrad Hurrell on Ricky Leutele.

The Leigh Leopards centre stormed towards the line only be met by a St Helens brick wall as Konrad Hurrell proved to be the immovable object that stopped Leutele’s surge towards the tryline.

However, on closer inspection it seemed to be a case of the dreaded head on head contact from Hurrell that saw Fa’amanu Brown sent off last week.

His was accidental after the initial contact which led to a rule change that would protect players from these kind of accidents.

There is now confusion over whether Hurrell would be protected. This is because Leutele himself was low as Hurrell made contact but Hurrell’s contact was the initial contact unlike Brown’s last week.

So, a controversial ban followed suit with Hurrell set to miss St Helens’ next game with the Saints looking to extend their unbeaten run.

Why St Helens star Konrad Hurrell was ban

Hurrell was hit with the following charge by the RFL Match Review Panel: “Konrad Hurrell (St Helens) – Grade B Head Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice (Higher end of grade)”

His ban was secured by the fact Hurrell was hit at the “higher end of grade” like Bentley and other players as a number of players copped suspensions after Round Three of the Betfred Super League season.

The Saints are looking to get back to being the Super League Champions again after losing their crown to Wigan Warriors last year following their semi-final defeat to Catalans Dragons.

They have started the season with wins over London Broncos, Huddersfield Giants and Leigh Leopards this is despite illness problems within the squad such as Matty Lees with Waqa Blake missing the game against Leigh Leopards which creates a problem with Hurrell banned.

The Saints may be aggrieved by the fact Hurrell was suspended for this somewhat accidental head on head contact whilst John Asiata escaped a ban despite his low tackle on Sione Mata’utia similar to the tackles that he made last year which sparked a major controversy after the Challenge Cup semi-final against the Saints.