LAST NIGHT, St Helens went to an Operational Rules Tribunal in order to challenge the Grade B High Tackle charge given to prop Alex Walmsley following the club’s 48-6 win over Huddersfield Giants at the Magic Weekend.
Walmsley and Huddersfield’s Joe Greenwood seemingly clashed heads with the latter having to leave the field with blood pouring from a wound.
Though the Saints prop didn’t get banned, he did get a £250 fine as well as a blot on his record, which could have counted against Walmsley further down the line.
Now Saints boss Paul Wellens has explained the reasoning behind the appeal – which the club won.
“Quite purely, based on the fact we didn’t feel the evidence was there to secure a charge on what he had been charged with,” Wellens said.
“We have had numerous players suspended this year – which has been well documented – and there have been numerous cases where we haven’t challenged them because we looked at the evidence and said they were fair.
“We looked at the evidence here however and we didn’t deem it fair and there was no clear indication of head contact on Joe Greenwood and that’s why we challenged it.”
Wellens went on to add just how important it was to remove that blot from Walmsley’s record.
“Within the new grading system, if that Grade B charge sits on Alex’s record, whilst it doesn’t hurt us this weekend because he pays a fine and gets the opportunity to play, that’s not to say that a week before a big game he gets a similar challenge and that record is taken into account and he misses that big game.
“It’s really important that us as a club are diligent in how we approach those situations and whether we do or do not challenge. We felt strongly about challenging this one and the outcome proved we were right to do so.”
