Hull FC’s Luke Gale sat out last night’s fixture against Leeds Rhinos because of a five-match ban that he had picked up in round two.
The halfback hit St Helens’ Jonny Lomax high with a boot to the leg when Lomax had attempted a kick.
Gale was subsequently sent off, but now he has revealed – live on Sky Sports last night – that he meant nothing bad by the incident.
“It was a rush of blood, I thought I could trap the ball and block it and I caught him on the follow through on my home debut,” Gale said.
“It wasn’t how I envisaged my home debut to go and I apologise for touching Jonny after it, there was never any malice intended.
“I’ve copped a five game ban, I’ll do the time and I’ll get back on the pitch in three games.”
After making the move to Hull from Leeds in the off-season, Gale was eager to hear the vociferous Hull crowd at the MKM Stadium.
“The lads spoke about it quite openly, playing against the Hull teams, the crowd is a hostile environment.
“But, I only saw 20 or 30 minutes of that in the St Helens game!”
