Why Wakefield Trinity man avoided ban after red card as little-known rule saves him

Wakefield Trinity will have forward Matty Storton available for their round 21 away trip to face Catalans Dragons despite the former Hull KR man being sent off and charged.

Storton landed his second red card of the season in Wakefield’s dominant win over Castleford Tigers with Trinity seemingly galvanised by going down to 12 as they went on to win 52-14 and move second in Super League.

Daryl Powell would deem the red card as ‘harsh’ when speaking post-match with Storton sent off for making direct contact to the head of Alex Mellor. Twere understandable fears that Storton would be banned but those fears were unwarranted as the Match Review Panel have confirmed zero bans this week.

There are a total of ten charges with Storton copping a Grade C charge, typically worth five points, and in normal circumstances that would be enough for the Trinity man to be banned given that he headed into the disciplinary panel with one penalty point on his record.

As such, a five-point charge should theoretically trigger a ban, with the threshold for one match sitting at six points, but that’s not been the case this week.

How a red card actually saved Wakefield Trinity forward from a ban

Storton has actually been handed just three penalty points, taking him to four in total, and he can thank his red card for saving him from a ban.

The ever complicated disciplinary laws have saved the second-rower as players who get sent off in matches see their penalty points reduced as a method to ensure that they are not punished twice – once in the game and once again at the disciplinary verdict.

Tags: