Salford Red Devils have learned the fate of forward Loghan Lewis after the club appealed his controversial three-match ban.
The Australian forward was handed a Grade D charge of Head Contact despite no penalty being issued at the time of the incident. A Grade D charge would typically carry an automatic two-match ban but compounding matters was the fact that the player Lewis tackled could not return to the field, and he already had points on his disciplinary record.
As such, the 15-point charge ensured he was handed a three-match ban and with two games of the season to go, the Australian’s campaign was seemingly over.
However, Salford made the decision to appeal with Lewis’ case one of five heard by the RFL’s Operational Rules Tribunal tonight and a decision has now been made in regards the Red Devils forward.
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Salford Red Devils forward successfully challenges ban
It has been confirmed that the Red Devils successfully appealed the grading of Lewis’ ban, however, he isn’t off the hook completely. Salford were able to argue the charge down from a Grade D to a Grade B, or from 12 penalty points to three penalty points.
The three penalty points for injuring an opponent remain so in total, Lewis is handed six penalty points, which takes him to a total of nine for the season. That’s a one-match ban and a fine with the Australian set to be walking a disciplinary tightrope for the final game of the season and early next year.
Despite that, it’s a massive boost for Salford to get their ‘hitman’ back for the final game of the season with the fan favourite able to play in front of the home fans one more time. It could well be Lewis’ last game for Salford Red Devils given the fact that he is off-contract at the end of the year with the club’s future uncertain.
Earlier at the Operational Rules Tribunal, Hull FC forward Jack Ashworth was handed a seven-match ban after pleading guilty to his Grade E charge of Striking. Meanwhile, Catalans’ Franck Maria was handed a five-match ban for his red card offence against Salford, with the Frenchman also pleading guilty.
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