Salford Red Devils star has ban increased as first player falls foul of new appeal ruling

Salford Red Devils forward Joe Shorrocks has had his two-match suspension increased by a game as he becomes the first player to fall foul of the new disciplinary rulings.

Shorrocks was shown a yellow card during the Red Devils’ defeat to Leeds Rhinos on Saturday. He was then subsequently charged with a Grade D offence and given a 15-point penalty, meaning a two-game ban under the new guidelines.

That was a combination of 12 points for the original offence, and three more due to the fact Croft’s game was ended prematurely by the tackle.

Salford opted to appeal that decision at a tribunal on Tuesday evening. However, their appeal was unsuccessful – meaning Shorrocks automatically received a further five points added to his disciplinary record.

That takes his tally to 20 – meaning a three-game ban rather than two. However, his tally will drop to ten points after he has served the suspension.

Nonetheless, it is a major blow in the short-term for Paul Rowley and the Red Devils over the next three weekends.

Shorrocks pleaded guilty to the charge in question, but opted to appeal the severity of the grading. However, an independent tribunal agreed with the Match Review Panel and decided to uphold the sanction.

That means Shorrocks will be missing for three Salford games, rather than the initial two.

The RFL have introduced the five-point penalty ruling in a bid to deter the number of appeals seen from last season throughout Super League.

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