Leigh Leopards man on suspension tightrope with Adrian Lam calling for “smarter decisions”

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has ruled on the ban handed to one of his star players and spoke of the suspension tightrope it’s created.

Of the 12 charges handed out by the Match Review Panel on Monday, Leigh hooker Edwin Ipape was the only player to cop a ban with the Papua New Guinean international set to miss this weekend’s clash with Salford Red Devils.

Ipape was handed one Grade A charge and another Grade C charge carrying one and five points respectively, taking him beyond the threshold for a one-game ban and in turn creating a tightrope for him in future weeks.

The new disciplinary system sees charges carry penalty points with those points accumulating to equate to bans, something the RFL have implemented to punish repeat offenders.

Charges of three points or more see points halved when the fine and/or ban is paid/served meaning Ipape will restart on five penalty points, just one Grade A charge away from another ban meaning he must now walk the disciplinary tightrope – something Adrian Lam is left ruing.

What Adrian Lam said on Leigh Leopards’ star’s ban

Reflecting on the fact Ipape will miss the game against struggling Salford, Lam conceded it could have come at a worse time but that didn’t detract from his disappointment in the ban

He explained: “It’s probably not a bad week for Edwin to miss but I’m not happy with two of the charges that he’s got but fair enough.

“I’m not happy in the sense that Edwin could have probably prevented that from happening in the sense of some smarter decisions at the time.

Ipape sits on 7.5 points after the second Grade C charge worth five points, however, 2.5 of those will deduct leaving him on five penalty points – just one away from another one-match ban.

On that point, Lam said: “The new system and how it works has caught up to him very quickly. The way (his penalty points) fall back after this (serving his ban) means he’s still on the cusp of being suspended for the rest of the season.

“It’s a difficult one to accept or understand but everyone is in a similar situation at every club.”

It was confirmed that cover will come in the form of either Brad Dwyer, Matty Davis or Ben McNamara, with all three in contention to start or feature as the utility interchange on the bench.