Derek Beaumont’s shock role in successful appeal revealed as Leigh coach airs disciplinary frustrations

Leigh owner Derek Beaumont led the charge as prop Joe Ofahengaue saw three penalty points wiped from his disciplinary record via a successful appeal, Leopards head coach Adrian Lam has revealed.

Ofahengaue – who was recruited from NRL outfit Parramatta Eels by Leigh in mid-April – was hit with a Grade B charge by the Match Review Panel on Monday afternoon on the back of the Leopards’ win against Wigan Warriors.

That charge was for late contact on the passer and carried with it three penalty points. In isolation, those weren’t enough to warrant a suspension, with six points needed to be accrued before a one-match ban is received.

Had Leigh not challenged the decision successfully, the powerhouse would have been in serious danger of a ban whenever his next offence was committed.

But on Tuesday evening, news was received that their appeal was successful, so the penalty points and the fine received by the player were dismissed.

‘We’re very grateful to Derek and the way he puts his time forward to support the players in these situations’

Since the introduction of the new disciplinary system at the start of this year, very few appeals have been lodged, and even fewer have been successful.

Now, if a club appeals any disciplinary charge unsuccessfully, the player is hit with an additional fine as well as five extra penalty points. In Ofahengaue’s case, that would have meant a ban: missing with this weekend’s crunch clash against Hull KR.

Lauding the work done by owner Beaumont behind the scenes this week, Leigh boss Lam explained: “It’s a very technical way about trying to get a player off that you think has done nothing wrong with the justice system.

“If you get that wrong, it’s five added points and a £1,000 fine, which is something we need to find time to talk about at another level of leadership where messages can be passed on.

“We felt nervous challenging something so important to us, but we were challenging the fact that it was wrong.

“Having that risk factor around it nearly made us not challenge, but it was very clear that he should never have been charged in the first place.

“Having said all of that, Derek with a bit of a law degree behind him attacks this with everything. The work that Derek’s done over the last two days to go about making the right decision and getting the right outcome has been incredible.

“The way he got off that charge was simple, it (the process) shouldn’t need to be that difficult.

“We’re very grateful to Derek and the way he puts his time forward to support the players in these situations. So is Joe.”

‘Not as many players have been suspended this year, but it’s the other systems in place we’ve identified that make it difficult to challenge’

Beaumont didn’t complete his law degree, but is a very experienced businessman, with his company AB Sundecks – who sponsor the 1895 Cup – formed back in 2001 and built from the ground up.

Expressing his frustrations with the way the appeals system works, Lam continued: “He (Ofahengaue) didn’t miss a week because of the charge, but he got three points and a £500 fine. By challenging that, all of those were dismissed.

“I know it’s a lot of information and hard to understand, but it’s very technical. We’re heading in the right direction with it, but there are some things around it that made it nervous for us.

“Ultimately, he may have got a two-week suspension if we got that wrong. I think there needs to be some time put forward into making sure we get those areas right.

“The interesting part about it is that when a player is charged with a low grading, you’ve got to weight up whether you put the ten hours in for something that’s a 50/50, because they might get five points added.

“Someone might get suspended for a week if they’ve (initially) only got one point. There’s a lot of detail that needs to br sought through, and there needs to be a change there at some point.

“Not as many players have been suspended this year, and I think that’s alright, but it’s the other systems in place we’ve identified that make it difficult to challenge.

“Every club will say the same, it just needs to be looked over.”

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