Elliot Minchella’s agent slams appeal decision as Hull KR man’s ban upheld

The agent of Hull KR man Elliot Minchella has slammed the decision to uphold the loose-forward’s two-game ban.

Minchella was handed the suspension after being deemed to catch Leigh Leopards full-back Matt Moylan recklessly high in the penultimate round of the regular season. The Rovers skipper was shown a yellow card at the time but the Match Review Panel felt more punishment was needed.

As such, Minchella missed KR’s last outing against Leeds Rhinos through suspension ahead of an appeal hearing this week, with the club keen to see the loose-forward’s ban reduced to free him up to compete in their play-off semi-final next week.

However, the RFL confirmed on Tuesday night that Minchella’s ban had been upheld by an independent Operational Rules Tribunal, with the severity of the Grade C ban put down to his previous record.

It means that Minchella, who has been named in the England squad for this autumn’s internationals, will miss what is arguably the club’s biggest game in recent history and he will only play for KR again this season if the club make it through to the Grand Final.

Reacting to the decision, his agent Graeme Taylor tweeted: “Games gone..as a sport we constantly try and make sure our best players are not playing in big games, all because a few ex players who are short of a few quid and want to get a payout, time these players names are published and see them removing their claims, it’s not tag rugby.”

KR have the opportunity to escalate the appeal and contest the decision once more, but it remains to be seen if they will take it further.

Willie Peters’ side will have a week off this week as they prepare for their play-off semi-final, which will be held at Craven Park against the highest ranked side to emerge from the eliminator round.