Rohan Smith has expressed his frustration with rugby league's disciplinary process in the wake of another controversial suspension issued to one of his players. The Leeds Rhinos head coach admitted he was unsure of what the Rugby Football League's definition of frivolous was, after Rhyse Martin's one-match ban was doubled at an appeal hearing on Tuesday.
Martin was given the ban for a tackle on Castleford's Alex Mellor, despite referee Ben Thaler not blowing for a penalty during the game last weekend. Leeds' ban was deemed frivolous and the suspension was doubled, leaving Martin to reveal he was 'devastated' - and even Mellor coming out in defence of Martin, saying he didn't feel it was worthy of a penalty, let alone a suspension.
Smith admitted on Wednesday he felt frustrated that the process is still conducted remotely online as opposed to in-person, leaving Leeds and other clubs limited in the detail of footage they can present. He also insisted he felt the incident itself was a mere accident, and said if you appeal a ban, you are 'guilty until you're found guiltier'.
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"I'm not really sure if that's the type of tackle that's an issue in our game," he said. "I do think it's an accident and I think Rhyse was taking some care in the way he went about it. It was a falling player and a glancing touch.
"To me, the more concerning part, and it sounds like there's going to be a conversation, is the process around it all. You're essentially guilty until you're found guiltier if you decide to appeal. That process in itself, we're still on Teams calls online to show footage that doesn't have the ability to go frame by frame.
"You can't see it with real clarity and it's a little vague at times. I'm not sure why we aren't in-person, face to face, looking at the same technology we have available. That would make the process a little clearer."
Smith continued: "It was difficult for sure. We had a 30-minute conversation led by the judge who probed, challenged and asked questions. We had a detailed analysis of the tackle itself and a comparison clip that although wasn't the same style of tackle, it was ranked as a caution which is what we deemed this.
"The other part of it the RFL used was a James Roby tackle from earlier in the season which we analysed closely and we were able to provide some reasons why it was different, and not as significant in our eyes. I'm not sure of their definition of frivolous, it seems different to the definition that I've had from legal people. How that's being used in the RFL seems different."
Leeds will now travel to Perpignan without Martin and winger Ash Handley, who has a fracture in his foot that will rule him out of this week and any potential play-off semi-final. Handley would, Smith felt, be fit for the Super League Grand Final if Leeds made it that far.
There was better news elsewhere, with Harry Newman's return to Leeds' 21-man squad - though Smith stopped short of confirming he would definitely play, saying the centre had 'some chance' of featuring.
"That's all it is at this point," Smith said. "Last week he was no chance, and this week it's some chance. He's got some difficult testing to get through. There's some chance, he's a motivated character and he likes to fill himself full of optimism."
Smith also confirmed Liam Tindall will feature on the wing in Handley's place, with Zak Hardaker playing centre.
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