Leeds Rhinos boss Rohan Smith speaks out on Aidan Sezer and Rhyse Martin bans after footage leaks onto social media

Leeds Rhinos have been hit with suspensions on a consistent basis in 2022.

The likes of Zane Tetevano, James Bentley and Matt Prior have been forced to sit on the sidelines for a number of games following charges by the Disciplinary Match Review Panel.

But, last weekend’s decisions saw three men get banned with David Fusitu’a, Aidan Sezer and Rhyse Martin falling foul of the disciplinary.

However, Sezer and Leeds appealed the two-match suspension handed to the halfback for a Grade C Intentional Trip and now head coach Rohan Smith has revealed why.

“I spent a lot of time on Monday going through all of the trips that have been charged in the last couple of years and a lot of the Grade Bs are quite minor,” Smith said.

“Aidan got done with a Grade C which was deemed an intentional trip, but it was very reactionary as he got done by exceptional footwork.

“He never uses his legs to tackle and he hardly ever tackles around the legs. He had an instinct thing and we thought we had a fair case. They listened and deliberated and came back with some positive news.”

Around the decision to ban Martin for what many people describe as a ‘push’ didn’t go down too well with Rhinos fans and Smith admits to being disappointed.

“I think a lot has been said about that one through the press and social media. I’m probably not too sure what to say about that one myself.

“I think the severity of a lot of the charges is on the high end, but to miss a game for a player at any stage is a major punishment.

“Players play and they train and it means a lot to them so we’ve got a devastated player that is missing a game for that.

“I think it’s disappointing for the fans to be missing out on the best players playing. We’ve lost three very experienced, in form players in one weekend for incidents that didn’t hurt or harm anyone.”