‘It’s pretty straightforward’ – Hull KR boss Willie Peters issues Karl Lawton ban verdict

Hull KR boss Willie Peters believes Karl Lawton got the punishment he deserved following Sunday’s win over Huddersfield Giants.

Rovers picked up their first Super League win of the season at the Accu Stadium, but the result didn’t come without incident, with Lawton being shown a yellow card for a cannonball-style tackle on Matty English.

English was forced off the field with a knee injury as a result of the challenge and the prop is due to have scans this week to determine the extent of the damage. There will be fears of a lay-off and it seems unlikely that he will be involved this week as KR head to Huddersfield once more in the Challenge Cup.

Lawton won’t be involved either, though, with the forward being handed a Grade E charge and 21 penalty points. As such, he will be banned for the next three games, ensuring he will miss the cup tie and Super League games against Catalans Dragons and St Helens.

Peters insists he will always support his own player, but the head coach had no issue with Match Review Panel’s decision on this occasion.

“I think it’s pretty straightforward,” Peters said in Wednesday afternoon’s press conference. “Karl did the wrong thing and he was aware of that straight afterwards.

“He was apologetic but the main thing to think about it Matty English and making sure that he’s OK. I believe he’s going for scans and I’m not sure of the extent of where it’s fully at but it wasn’t good for Matt, that’s for sure.

“We accept the punishment that Lawto got and he’ll sit on the sidelines now. We know that type of tackle needs to be out the game and there was a couple at the weekend so we got what we deserved in that aspect.

“We’ll obviously support him but Karl knows he did the wrong thing so when he has that choice to make again, he’s going to make a better choice. He didn’t do it intentionally to hurt Matt English at all, but he knows now that he’s obviously done the wrong thing and in hindsight, he would make a better decision.

“He was apologetic but like always, right or wrong, we’ll support our players and make sure that Lawto is ready to go again in a few weeks’ time.”

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