Hull KR boss confirms details of Elliot Minchella appeal

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has revealed that club captain Elliot Minchella will not have his disciplinary hearing until next week.

Typically, disciplinary hearings and appeals are held on the Tuesday evening immediately after the Match Review Panel’s finding.

In Minchella’s case, that would have been tonight after he was handed a Grade C charge of ‘Head Contact’ yesterday by the Match Review Panel.

That charge carried a two-game ban, something that would rule the Hull KR captain out of the club’s final regular season game and one game in the play-offs. The Robins immediately confirmed their intent to appeal the grading.

As things stand, that play-off game will be a home semi-final meaning that Minchella would not return until either the Grand Final or pre-season.

Peters’ confirmation that the appeal will be hard next week was revealed in the club’s weekly pre-match press conference, ahead of Friday’s clash with Leeds Rhinos.

The Hull KR boss stated: “It’ll be next week now so it’s with people above me but the final decision will be made next week, but obviously missing Mini is a big loss to us.”

Elliot Minchella has been given a Grade C charge of ‘Head Contact’ by the Match Review Panel and received a two-match ban.

The club will contest the grading of Minchella’s ban. pic.twitter.com/i5c4S2yo07

— Hull KR (@hullkrofficial) September 16, 2024

How Hull KR can fill Minchella void

It’s a massive blow for Hull KR to lose their talismanic captain but Peters confirmed that it would be James Batchelor who steps into the role of skipper on Friday night, before offering suggestions on how he will solve his problem at loose forward.

“He’s been inspirational for us all year, on and off the field, and he’ll be missed but whoever comes in will certainly do the job,” Peters explained.

“I think Dean Hadley would be the obvious choice. He’s done it before, we’ve got Jai Whitbread as well. It just depends on who we want to start and how we want to play. We’ll look at that later on in the week.”

Specifically on what his side will miss, Peters opted to focus on what somebody else will bring with the Robins embracing a next-man-up mentality.

“It is what it is. We’re going to be without him, so we move on. We’ve been without Mini before this year. He’s obviously played the majority of the games and is very important in what we do, but we’ve always said we’re a squad, and whoever gets an opportunity will definitely grab that opportunity.”

Speaking further on why the appeal will be hard next week, Peters batted the question away: “It’s with people above me, and they’re taking care of that at the moment. So my focus, and the team’s focus, is Friday.”

Although he did joke that the suggestion of sending the England international on a dual registration deal with Featherstone “sounds alright”, however, it is not a loophole that Hull KR can utilise at this stage of the season.