Smith gives verdict on Ashworth’s ban
TONY Smith has once again questioned the severity of the Match Review Panel’s charges this season, with Hull FC’S Jack Ashworth handed a three-game suspension on Monday.
The prop was charged for Head Contact with Catalans Dragons front rower Chris Satae, with the club fighting the charge last night.
Smith has been very vocal on such charges this season, calling for some tolerance for such incidents, which he branded as accidental, especially in terms of the mechanics of the tackle – in this case, the bending of the back and an attempt to wrap – with Ashworth sin-binned after the clash in Perpignan.
The Airlie Birds’ head coach believes such punishment is enough, never a three-game suspension on top of that, with Hull feeling the affects of playing with a numerical disadvantage once again.
Smith said: “It’s quite severe. I think all of us coaches and players, when we heard about the lowering of the tackle height, we all bought in, and the intention is there to do that, but there always needs to be an understanding of accidents, when they can happen, and how they can happen.
“There needs to be some tolerance from within the sport in regard to the changing of techniques and how quickly we can do that. That’s been the questionable part of it. I saw an accident the other day, and fair enough, if they want a sin bin, I still screw my nose up about that as a sin bin can affect the outcome of a game, but that’s enough sometimes with the incidents we’ve seen.
“The playing and physical stress it puts on the rest of the players is enormous, and we’re talking about welfare as well. They’re more likely to get fatigued, put their heads in the wrong spots, and push their bodies into areas they normally wouldn’t go to because of some of the sin bins we’re getting.
“Nevertheless, I was thinking we’re going to lower the tackling target of all our players, and I think we’ve done that, but then to determine (possibly) what the outcomes of the next three games are afterwards, I just think it’s too severe.
“We underestimate how much a sin bin or a send-off can impact teams and players.we need 13 men on the park.”
Smith also questioned the consistency of the decisions and outcomes so far this year.
The Hull FC boss didn’t refer to specific incidents, but there was one in the Catalans game alone, with Ben Garcia seeming to make contact with Lewis Martin’s head around the hour mark.
In Smith’s view, such inconsistencies can easily lead players to become puzzled at the direction the sport is heading, even questioning its integrity.
“Without singling out any particular incidents, there were a number over the weekend that we could have looked at,” Smith added.
“They were either similar or worse. We’re trying to support the whole system, but there’s been some inconsistency in trying to implement some of this.
“We’re trying to fix things, and we’re trying to buy in, but there are some things that make you scratch your head.
“It’s been hard for both players and coaches to understand sometimes.
“They are crucial to all of this; if they’re not getting it or understanding why things happen in certain ways, then they start to question integrity. I hate that.
“I hate it when we get to a point where we’re questioning the integrity of our sport. The sooner we can get away from those sorts of things, the better.”