Hull FC head coach John Cartwright has been left confused with the disciplinary system after four of his players were banned following a fiery derby defeat against Hull KR.
The Robins won 18-4 and not only was the defeat damaging for Hull FC in terms of them missing out on the two competition points, it was also hugely damaging in respect of the players who got banned.
Amir Bourouh and Yusuf Aydin will both miss Saturday’s game against Warrington, whilst Jordan Rapana will miss that and the Round 27 clash with Catalans. The most significant ban was for Jack Ashworth, with his Hull FC career over after a whopping seven-game ban.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humbrside and asked for his thoughts on that, Cartwright admitted: “I haven’t been here long enough to fully get the understanding of how the judiciary works. My take on it was that it was a minimum six weeks and he only got a six-week suspension but he had a four point carry-over, which led him into seven weeks.
“I might have to be here a long time before I understand the decisions of the Match Review (Panel) and the judiciary.”
Hull FC coach questions disciplinary system
Ashworth entered a guilty plea for his Grade E charge of striking after his swinging elbow to the face of Mikey Lewis, with that plea earning him 40 points but his previous four ensured he landed a seven-game ban.
Cartwright noted: “With the charge he got, he got the minimum sentence so he could have got more. We plead our case and that’s what they come up with, we’ve got to live with it.”
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Stopping short of making comments on specific incidents, he did explain that Sunday’s game was one where both sides got into it, though he ultimately felt his forward was punished ‘heavily’.
He said: “There was things from both sides that as coaches you don’t want to see but I feel Jack has been punished heavily for the incident.”
It had been a record disciplinary week under the new system with 23 charges and ten players banned, leading Cartwright to ponder if games were being scrutinised more now.
He also pointed to bigger flaws in the system, namely the fact that penalty points add up over the year with the least serious Grade A charges helping to contribute to the bans for his players.
Cartwright said: “It seems to have been a very tough week, I’m not sure if games were looked at more closely. It’s probably a sign of a bigger problem with the points system and when you don’t pressure test these systems.
“There are going to be players who have earned points going into next year with three or four points and we’re just going to be constantly losing players as they stay for 12 months.”
