Wigan Warriors duo among stars sweating Super League disiciplinary

Round One of Super League was a stark contract to last year in terms of disciplinary drama but a Wigan Warriors pair could still face action.

The opening round of the 2024 season saw four red cards and come Monday’s Match Review Panel, a whopping 15 players had been charged.

Last season was the first where the stricter rules around tackling and head contact were enforced and it seemed that the Super League disciplinary process worked hard to stomp out any misdemeanours, even if that meant being heavy-handed with suspensions.

Round One this year looks set to be very different with just three yellow cards shown across the six games and two of those came in the season opener for the same team.

There is also a new Super League disciplinary system in place this season with players set to accrue penalty points which then stack up throughout the season and equate to punishments.

Offences will be charged at Grades A to E in 2025 with all Grade E charges going straight to a disciplinary tribunal, whilst A (1), B (3), C (5) and D (12) earn differing amounts of penalty points.

Here are the Super League players who could be sweating the results of today’s disciplinary meeting.

The Super League players sweating disciplinary action

The opening game of Super League on Thursday night saw more sin bins than it did points in something that is surely a first for the competition, especially given that the 1-0 scoreline to Leigh meant a record low for points in a Super League game.

They beat Wigan Warriors courtesy of a Gareth O’Brien drop goal in golden point after the match finished scoreless after 80 minutes, the first instance of that happening in the UK since 1993.

That golden point period saw Wigan play with 12 as Adam Keighran was sent to the sin bin late on for a hit on Lachlan Lam that saw him make head contact. Match official Liam Moore explained that there was mitigation which ensured Keighran avoided a red card but the Australian centre will be sweating how the Match Review Panel view the incident.

Wigan’s other sin bin came in normal time with captain Liam Farrell penalised for kicking the ball away or more accurately delaying the restart of the game. A frustrated Farrell felt he had been blocked off his run when chasing a ball into the in-goal area and he then kicked the bouncing ball away from David Armstrong, who was attempting to claim it and set about a swift 20-metre restart.

Farrell could have no real complaints for the sin bin and likely will find himself earning a low-graded slap on the wrist.

The same might not be the case for Wakefield Trinity’s Mason Lino, the other man to receive a yellow card, with Lino sent for 10 for making head contact with mitigation again saving him from a red.

Whether the Match Review Panel see it the same as Aaron Moore is to be seen later today.

Games were generally played in good faith with very few flashpoints across the six fixtures. Mikey Lewis was at the heart of one in KR’s game against Castleford Tigers, however, it was very much pushing and shoving with nothing more to be seen.

Super League sin bins from Round One

Liam Farrell (Kicking the ball away/delaying the restart of the game) – Sin Bin
Adam Keighran (Head contact) – Sin Bin
Mason Lino (Head contact) – Sin Bin

YELLOW & Liam Farrell sent to the SIN BIN! 🟡

French sends a kick in behind, Farrell chases it and thinks he’s been impeded 👀 pic.twitter.com/WgkT4MZKTE

— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) February 13, 2025