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How the new Super League disciplinary system will work in 2025

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The disciplinary system in rugby league will undergo a huge overhaul in 2025 which will massively change how bans work in Super League.

Rather than every offence being viewed purely as a standalone incident, a new points-based system will be introduced meaning player’s indiscretions will tally up over the course of 12 months with the idea being to punish those repeat offenders more harshly.

Previously, players would receive charges and depending on the grade of said charge, they would receive a certain punishment. To an extent, that is still the case but each charge adds points to a player’s and points then mean possible suspensions.

There are a lot of moving parts in the process with certain loopholes included as well but we’ve run through the system to highlight everything you need to know about the new Super League disciplinary system.

How the new Super League disciplinary system works

Hull KR Jai Whitbread Super League disciplinary

Credit: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com

The two biggest factors in how the new system works are the charges and what how many points they carry and then the ‘points tariff’ – which is to say how many points equates to which level of ban.

Charges

Similar to the previous system, each charge will carry a respective grade, however, in the new system – the higher the grade then the higher the points.

– Grade A – 1 point
– Grade B – 3 points
– Grade C – 5 points
– Grade D – 12 points
– Grade E – Refer to Tribunal

Points Tariff

Once a player has been charged, the respective points tally is then added to their record. Points will remain on a player’s record for 12 months meaning that they will add up throughout the season, before being wiped 12 months after they were first added to the record.

Once a player receives a certain amount of points then the respective punishment will be handed down. Bans start being enforced after six or more points on the system and cap out at a twelve-match ban for 54 or more points.

The points tariff is as follows:

– 0-2 No further action
– 3-5 Fine
– 6-8 1 match suspension
– 9-11 1 match suspension and a fine
– 12-14 2 match suspension
– 15-17 2 match suspension and a fine
– 18-20 3 match suspension
– 21-23 3 match suspension and a fine
– 24-26 4 match suspension
– 27-29 4 match suspension and a fine
– 30-32 5 match suspension
– 33-35 5 match suspension and a fine
– 36-38 6 match suspension and a fine
– 39-41 7 match suspension and a fine
– 42-44 8 match suspension and a fine
– 45-47 9 match suspension and a fine
– 48-50 10 match suspension and a fine
– 51-53 11 match suspension and a fine
– 54 + 12 match suspension plus and a fine

It’s important to note that points do not reset after a ban has been served so for example, if a player hits 26 points, they will serve a four-match ban. Upon returning to play, if they are charged with a Grade C offence (worth five points) then that takes them to a five-match ban automatically.

Other factors

Whilst the system so far is relatively simple in that charges carry points and points carry bans, there are a few other factors at play which can either add to or subtract from a player’s points total.

Causing injury – A key one is that if an opposition player is removed from the field and cannot return as a result of charged misconduct then three additional points are placed on the offending player’s record.

Put simply – if you cause injury whilst offending then you are punished more. An obvious example would be causing an opposition player to fail a HIA as a result of a high tackle. The offending player would receive points for whatever grade the high tackle was and a further three points.

Dismissed players – There will also be leeway for players who are sent off in a game, given that they effectively miss action during the game in which they are dismissed. Players dismissed in the first half will see two points removed from their record, whilst those dismissed in the second half will see one point removed.

In the unlikely circumstance that a player does not have enough points on their record for points to be subtracted then they reset at zero points.

Appeals – There will also be punishment for players if they unsuccessfully appeal their bans. Clubs that unsuccessfully challenge charges at Grade A to D level will see five points added to that player’s record. For example – a player handed a Grade A charge (worth one point) would see six points added to that player’s record if they challenge unsuccessfully.

The intended consequence there is to prevent appeals that have little to no foundation meaning frivolous appeals will be punished.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. baz

    January 13, 2025 at 8:09 pm

    If it works as it should I’m all for it.

    For a long time I have thought that persistant offenders should be banned for more games than first timers

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