Leigh Leopards coach scolds disciplinary system as Edwin Ipape conversation revealed
Edwin Ipape applauds the Leigh Leopards supporters following a game in 2025
Leigh Leopards boss Adrian Lam has called for a change in the disciplinary system: with hooker Edwin Ipape banned for the second time this year but still set to be walking a tightrope afterwards.
At the start of this year, the RFL opted to bring a new disciplinary system in which operates on a rolling penalty points basis.
Each offence carries with it a certain number of points, with each offence staying on a player’s record for 12 month.
Ipape was hit with one point on Monday for a Grade A charge having been deemed to have caught St Helens’ James Bell late during the pair’s clash last Friday night.
That one point took Ipape onto six penalty points for the year, the exact figure needed to bring a one-match ban.
Leigh Leopards coach scolds disciplinary system as Edwin Ipape conversation revealed
As a result, the Papua New Guinean will sit out of Leigh‘s Round 27 clash at home against Huddersfield Giants this weekend, with that the second time this season he’s served a one-match ban.
The problem now is that once he has served the suspension, Ipape will still be walking a tightrope, as his penalty points tally will drop back down just below the six-mark oncemore due to the way the system works.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon, head coach Lam said: “I think coaches and the RFL need to sit down and talk about this.
“I think they’ve got it right in some way of delaying the suspensions, but if it’s building towards the finals, there needs to be a system there where the points are also given back to the player during the season.
“It’s dangerous how it can build all season to get to this point and then get beyond that threshold to miss the most important games of the season.
“We don’t want anyone missing the most important games, especially the Grand Final, if a club was going to be in that situation.”
Ipape’s next offence, no matter how small, will again bring him a ban. That means that as the Leopards head into the Super League play-offs, he risks missing the semi-finals and even potentially the Grand Final, if they make it that far.
But Lam says the onus is not all on the RFL, revealing he has had a conversation with the hooker over his own discipline.
He explained: “Edwin’s in a position now where he’s on the verge of danger with every single action.
“I’ve had a conversation with him on how he can be a little bit more diligent in some areas and have some more game smarts around what it looks like for us in the remaining games of the season.”
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