Huddersfield Giants boss blames ‘fear’ for red card v St Helens

Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Luke Robinson has argued that fear among those running the game about the ongoing lawsuit put forward by former players has been a contributing factor to this season’s surge in red cards.

The Giants found themselves down to 12 men when prop forward Fenton Rogers was controversially sent off just before halftime after being deemed to make high-force contact to the head.

At the time of the send-off, Huddersfield were leading 10-6 but St Helens would score 12 unanswered points in the second half to see off the Giants 18-10.

It marked a second loss in two weeks and the ninth in eleven as their second-half-of-the-season collapse continued. Robinson attested that he believed his side had a very strong chance of winning the game at 13 versus 13, as he rued the send-off when speaking post-game to the media.

“We gave ourselves way too much to do, going down to 12 men for 40 minutes,” he explained.

“I know this is the way that rugby league is going at the moment but I think that’s four yellows, one red and a green card in the last three games. We’ve played with 12 men for 25% of the previous two games, one in which we played with 11 for a little while, and then 12 men for 40 minutes today.”

Huddersfield Giants boss reveals ‘fear’ that rugby league is consumed by

Whilst he confirmed that he had not seen it, the Huddersfield Giants players had made it clear to Robinson that they felt it was a “harsh” red card for Rogers.

Robinson explained: “I haven’t watched it yet. The players and the people around me who watched it thought that it was really harsh. They thought it was a harsh decision.

“The people up top, the analyst, he thought it was a yellow. There was contact with the head but he thought that it was yellow. I haven’t seen it yet.

“I saw it on the big screen like everybody else but I haven’t had a close-up look. It’s unfortunate for us, that’s three games now playing with men down.”

Pushed on whether there was an agenda for referees to get players off the field, Robinson hit back and argued that the people to blame and the reason why there has been such a surge in red cards is those orchestrating a lawsuit against the RFL.

He argued: “The problem is probably the former players that are putting lawsuits forward that are affecting the game more than anybody else.

“I don’t think (the referees) are refereeing with fear. I just think that they’re refereeing how they have been told to referee. The fear comes from the game itself about being sued, the refs can only do what they’re told.

“I think the fear comes from the insurance of the game and the longevity and future of the game. It’s a tricky position for everyone to be in.”