Super League Disciplinary: Wigan Warriors star receives appeal verdict

Wigan Warriors appeared twice tonight at the Operational Rules Tribunal following Super League Rivals Round which was the Round that produced the most bans for some time.

This is certainly unsurprising given it plays host to the biggest and most hotly contested rivalries in Super League headlined by St Helens vs Wigan Warriors.

Of the seven charges given out after Rivals Round, three of them stemmed from that fixture as the two favourites for Super League glory did battle.

St Helens received one charge with Matty Lees banned for Head Contact. St Helens elected to accept the charge that was handed to the England international and the man who ended the game as Man of the Match.

Wigan Warriors meanwhile saw Liam Byrne hit with a Grade E charge. This was for the red card he received in the game which turned the match on its head. When he was sent off, Wigan led 4-2 but went on to lose 12-4 with two tries conceded in the 18 minutes following his dismissal.

Byrne was sent off despite there being arguments that Percival had a lower body position which could have constituted a mitigating factor.

He was referred to tribunal to determine his fate as is always the case with a Grade E offence.

He will be joined by Tyler Dupree who was also banned after the game. His suspension was not for the yellow card incident.

Wigan elected to challenge the charge.

Wigan Warriors star receives appeal verdict

Tyler Dupree was unsuccessful in a challenge against the grading of a Grade C head contact charge from the same fixture on Good Friday. The one-match suspension issued by the Match Review Panel therefore stands, along with a £500 fine as confirmed by the RFL.

Wigan will also be without Liam Byrne against the Leigh Leopards after he was banned for four games for his red card offence.

The Warriors only named a 20-man squad for the game presumably hoping to win their appeal against Dupree’s charge but now that spot remains vacant as they prepare for a second derby in the space of a week.