Hull KR make Jared Waerea-Hargreaves appeal call as Willie Peters gives emphatic verdict
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will be missing for the next month.
Hull KR boss Willie Peters has confirmed that the club will not be appealing Jared Waerea-Hargreaves’ two-match ban: but only as they don’t want to risk him missing the Challenge Cup final as a result.
Kiwi icon Waerea-Hargreaves was sin-binned last Saturday evening as KR beat Huddersfield Giants 34-0, shown yellow for a high tackle on Matty English.
Come Monday Morning, the veteran prop received a Grade D Head Contact charge from the Match Review Panel which yielded 12 penalty points as well as three additional penalty points as English failed his subsequent HIA.
According to the Match Review Panel, Waerea-Hargreaves’ challenge had no mitigation involved whatsoever, which instantly means it is regarded as more serious.
The 36-year-old did not lower his tackle height accordingly, and the trajectory of his body was – in the words of the MRP – ‘always going towards the opponent’s head’.
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Hull KR make Jared Waerea-Hargreaves appeal call as Willie Peters gives emphatic verdict
Waerea-Hargreaves now has 16 penalty points on his record for the year, hitting the threshold for a two-match ban.
He will miss KR‘s away clash against Warrington and a home game against St Helens, but will return for the Challenge Cup final against the Wolves at Wembley on June 7.
Crucially, had the Robins appealed his suspension and failed, he’d automatically have received five further penalty points and been banned for an additional game – the cup final.
Confirming they wouldn’t be appealing in his pre-Warrington press conference on Tuesday afternoon, KR head coach Peters explained: “It is what it is.
“It’s unfortunate, because if you fight those things (and aren’t successful), then he misses a cup final if you don’t win the case.
“I’m not going to give it too much more energy now because a decision has been made and we’ll move on.”
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