The Super League players facing bans including Leigh Leopards and Hull KR stars

Aaron Bower
Ricky Leutele

Ricky Leutele in action for Leigh Leopards in 2024

The 2024 Super League regular season has concluded and the play-offs begin this week – but that doesn’t mean the disciplinary drama will end. Far from it, in fact.

Over the coming three weeks there are almost certainly going to be incidents which will have major ramifications on the run-in to Old Trafford.

Fortunately, for those who like the disciplinary issues to be kept to a minimum, there appears to be only one player who is in real danger of picking up a suspension that would rule him out this week.

However, there is also one huge story that will get resolved later in the week too..

Ricky Leutele (Leigh Leopards)

The Leigh centre was shown a yellow card in hugely controversial circumstances on Friday night during the Leopards’ victory against St Helens.

Leutele was adjudged to have caught Jack Welsby high and sent to the sin-bin and given the number of suspensions we have seen for contact with the head throughout 2024, there is no doubting Leutele and Leigh will be sweating on Monday’s Match Review Panel meeting.

Could Adrian Lam’s side lose one of their key players for the trip to Salford on Friday? It would undoubtedly be a major blow.

Elliot Minchella (Hull KR)

Of course, Tuesday will be a monumental day for one of the clubs who aren’t playing this week: Hull KR.

Their deferred appeal against Elliot Minchella’s two-match suspension takes place with three possible outcomes. Rovers are appealing the severity of the grading, something which could easily be thrown out and rejected.

If that happens and it is deemed to be frivolous, Rovers run the risk of Minchella’s two-match ban being extended – which would mean he would miss the Grand Final if the Robins were to qualify.

Of course, Willie Peters’ side are appealing with a view to get him freed up to feature in next weekend’s semi-final, but there’s also the prospect of it being rejected and the ban remaining unchanged.

It’s a decision that will have a massive impact on Rovers’ plans to reach Old Trafford for the first time.

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