Wakefield Trinity boss Daryl Powell believes the three-match ban given to Harry Smith this week was “harsh”.
The Wigan Warriors half-back was punished by the Match Review Panel following an incident in the club’s game with Trinity last weekend.
Following Jazz Tevaga’s kick on Liam Marshall, Smith opted to defend his teammate and push Tevaga on the floor.
However, the Samoan international was, or appeared to be, injured when Smith touched him, meaning the disciplinary committee had no choice but to charge Smith.
Similar charges have been handed out in the past with Castleford’s Liam Horne banned for six matches last season after making contact with a potentially injured Wigan player.
Despite this, Powell still believes that Smith can feel hard done to this week, and said as much during his weekly press conference.
Asked his thoughts on the two Wigan bans, the boss said: “I thought the Harry Smith one was the harsh one. The other one was an incident that should have been seen at the time.”
Powell is, of course, referring to the head butt by Sam Walters in the second half of the game. Walters headbutted Trinity’s Jay Pitts, but that incident was missed by both the on-field and video referee.
“I’ve just got to move past that,” Powell explained. “That’s the way things are. Sometimes they go your way.
“You learn lessons from them, as I’m sure the officials do. You don’t want to be missing things like that, obviously. You don’t want headbutts on the field.”
The Warriors forward was also given a three-match ban for his actions, but had it been seen by the referees and actions were taken on the field, Wakefield could well have gone on to use the would-be man advantage and take the victory.
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