The RFL’s Match Review Panel have confirmed that Leigh Leopards centre Ricky Leutele will face no further action after his controversial sin bin against St Helens, one that Leigh coach Adrian Lam had dubbed “unacceptable“.
Leutele was sent to the sin bin after a big shot on St Helens full-back Jack Welsby and after the England international stayed down, the video referee decided to take a look at the incident.
Following a brief review, it was deemed that Leutele had made contact with the head of Welsby and he was sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. It would be a ten-minute period that saw the Leopards ship two tries, ceding their 12-0 lead and leaving the match tied up with just ten minutes to go.
Leigh would go on to win but Adrian Lam was highly critical of the decision to sin bin Leutele in his post-match comments, arguing: “Whoever is up in that box making that decision is just not on the same page as everyone else.”
He’d continue, adding: “I’ve looked at that a hundred times, and there’s no way in the world should a player be sin-binned in for a tackle lower than shoulder height. It’s unacceptable.
“It’s going to cost someone a Grand Final at some point. Two tries were scored when that player was off.”
Why Leigh Leopards star avoided a ban
Credit: Imago Images
After today’s ruling of ‘No Further Action’ against Leutele, it means the veteran centre will be available to play against Salford Red Devils in Leigh’s play-off clash on Friday night.
There had been a suggestion from Sam Tomkins that Leigh would be “sweating” over the Match Review Panel verdict, but the Leopards have avoided any punishment.
In the Match Review Panel’s Minutes, they explained: “Contact is secondary and low force. Sin bin sufficient,” as they explained why there was no further action.
Adrian Lam had explained: “I don’t really want to comment on that,” when asked about the possibility of a Leutele ban, however, he did use that as an opportunity to criticise the decision once again.
He argued: “It shouldn’t have even been a penalty. I think that explains everything else.
“Everyone on the field knew that. Every single person on the field. I think it just needs to be addressed immediately. We want to keep players on the field and not look for things to disadvantage a team.
“There was no head contact. There was no flexion of the head. What was there?”
The Match Review Panel appeared to disagree on the matter of head contact but the fact it was “secondary” has saved Leutele from a ban.
