Duos from Championship & League 1 suspended in latest disciplinary review

A quartet of players from across the Championship & League 1 have been suspended following the Easter weekend’s action, including ex-Super League ace Ben Jones-Bishop.

The 35-year-old, formerly of Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity, is currently in his third season with Sheffield Eagles.

Jones-Bishop has been hit with a Grade C charge for ‘foul and abusive language towards a match official’ during their 26-20 win away at newly-promoted Doncaster on Good Friday, which carries a one-game suspension. He will miss the Eagles’ trip to Whitehaven this weekend.

York’s Liam Harris is the only other Championship player to have received a ban following Round 2, also handed a one-match suspension courtesy of a Grade C dangerous throw/lift charge following the Knights‘ 20-14 defeat at home against Toulouse Olympique.

That game on Easter Sunday was actually the first-ever from the Championship to be shown live on SuperLeague+, the streaming service launched at the beginning of this year.

Harris – who made seven Super League appearances for Hull FC in 2018 – now misses York’s away game at Barrow Raiders.

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Duos from Championship & League 1 suspended following Easter weekend action

Elsewhere, two League 1 players have also been handed suspensions following the Round 3 fixtures which took place in the third tier over the Easter weekend.

Newcastle Thunder‘s Jack Skelton is charged with Grade D head contact which occurred during their 48-18 defeat at home against Workington Town on Easter Saturday.

Having come on as an interchange to commit the offence, that charge brings with it a two-match ban and a £40 fine, meaning Skelton now misses trips to North Wales Crusaders & Rochdale Hornets.

And it’s the Hornets who are the other club from the third tier to see a player suspended, with veteran Luke Nelmes handed a one-game ban with a charge of Grade B Dangerous Contact following Rochdale’s heavy 54-6 defeat in the derby at Oldham on Easter Sunday.

That game was shown live on ‘The Sportsman’, with the RFL’s press release confirming the disciplinary action confirming that Nelmes‘ offence was deemed to be at the higher end of the sanction grading scale. The 30-year-old will sit out of Rochdale’s game at Workington this weekend.

The full list of charges across the Championship & League 1 is as follows:

• Ben Jones Bishop (Sheffield Eagles) – Grade C Foul and Abusive Language towards Match Official – 1 Match Penalty Notice
• Jack Skelton (Newcastle Thunder) – Grade D Head Contact – 2 Match Penalty Notice and a £40 Fine
• Luke Nelmes (Rochdale Hornets) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice (Higher End of Sanction Grade)
• Liam Harris (York Knights) – Grade C Dangerous Throw/Lift – 1 Match Penalty Notice

KEEP UP TO DATE: 2024 League 1 fixtures & results – Every one of the 90 regular season games listed