Wigan Warriors forward Sam Walters could be in line for the biggest ban of the 2026 season so far following his late red card in the Challenge Cup Final.
Walters became the first man since 1993 to be sent off in the Challenge Cup Final and he could have little argument when Liam Moore flashed the red card, something that Matt Peet addressed when speaking post-match.
Of course, Wigan had already sealed the win by that point as they won the Challenge Cup for a record-extending 22nd time thanks to their 40-10 win but Walters’ red card and possible ban will certainly take the gloss off matters.
The forward lifted Hull KR hooker Bill Leyland into a dangerous position with Leyland’s legs past the horizontal and his head facing downwards, at which point Junior Nsemba joined the tackle and added significant force to drive Leyland down head first.
Whilst Walters was sent off, Nsemba went unpunished, but both men will be nervous ahead of Monday’s disciplinary panel with Walters potentially in line for a huge ban.
What sort of ban could Sam Walters face?
Whilst all tackles and disciplinary incidents are different, the most comparable incident is the recent Yusuf Aydin send off when the Hull FC man lifted Caleb Aekins and slammed him head first to the ground as well.
Aydin acted alone in that tackle but he was handed a 35-point penalty, which resulted in a six-match ban, and should the Match Review Panel hand out the same punishment then it would be even worse for Walters.
That’s because he already has 4.5 penalty points on his record, left over from when he landed a Grade E charge and three-match ban after the Challenge Cup quarter-finals. As such, his total penalty points would rise to 39.5, which equates to a seven-match ban.
With just 15 rounds of Super League to go, such a ban would rule the forward out for almost half of the remaining regular season but he may be able to argue mitigating circumstances given Nsemba’s presence in the tackle.
There’s no doubt that Walters put Leyland into the dangerous position and for that he will almost certainly be banned, however, it was Nsemba who seemed to add force and power as Leyland drove towards the ground.
For that, there’s no comparable incident so it will be down to the MRP to determine how much, if at all, Nsemba’s actions affected the outcome of the tackle and therefore if the second-rower is charged.
It’s certainly possible that both men could be charged and even banned, and they may not be the only Wigan Warriors men to risk punishment with Harry Smith potentially lucky to avoid a sin bin in the first half.
Smith hit Tom Davies late and high and given that, like Walters, he too has 4.5 penalty points on his record, a Grade B charge or higher would result in a ban.
Anonymous
May 31, 2026 at 1:37 pm
Nsemba played a big part in that tackle, also Smith should have been sat down for 10 minutes.
Barry cotton
May 31, 2026 at 4:37 pm
both Walters and Smith should have seen red in the quater final Walters for the head but and Smith for trying to lift an injured player . they wouldn’t have been in the semi final never mind the final if it had been an unbiased referree