IT’S a sad indictment that Super League Round One hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Despite the biggest average crowd across the six games of any Super League season since 1996, people were talking about the number of cards and subsequent bans handed out.
All in all, nine players have been suspended from the weekend whilst three are being referred to an Operational Rules Tribunal.
In the aftermath of the Disciplinary Match Review Panel’s findings on Monday, players have outlined their displeasure.
With that in mind, Rugby League Live revealed that some players have even approached their publication clamouring for strike action in a bid to bring attention to the issue.
With murmurings of players potentially striking, Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith was asked if anything like that had been spoken about at Headingley.
“No that’s certainly not come across on my radar. I live in my own little bubble outside of the Rhinos and I’m not aware of anything else,” Smith said.
“Nothing like that has been discussed, they don’t want to be on strike.”
Smith was asked about his own opinion of the new direction of the sport, with the Australian keen to see what the picture looks like a bit further down the line.
“The early stages of every season in lots of different sports over the years, you are trying to establish new interpretations and new rules and you reserve your judgement until you are a month or six weeks into the season if there is rhythm or consistency,” Smith continued.
“The RFL have been clear with their directive and their actual process around that. I think the Match Review Panel have their job to do on a Monday and sometimes the job should left until then.
“Let’s see how we are six weeks in, let’s hope we’ve got the best players on the field for as long as possible.”
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