Tuesday 4 April 2017 22:55, UK
Leeds forward Brett Ferres has been given a six-match ban for a "crusher" tackle on Wigan centre Oliver Gildart.
The 30-year-old England second rower was found guilty of a 'Grade E' offence of making dangerous contact on Gildart who, according to his coach Shaun Wane, is set to be sidelined for two to three months with a serious back injury.
Ferres, who was also fined £300, will miss the Rhinos' next four Betfred Super League matches and two rounds of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup. It also rules him out of contention for England's mid-season international against Samoa on May 6.
His next match is likely to be Leeds' Magic Weekend derby clash with Castleford at Newcastle's St James' Park on May 21.
The suspension equals the record for a Leeds player in the summer era. Prop Brad Singleton is half-way through a six-match ban imposed for a high tackle on Catalans Dragons forward Greg Bird.
Ferres was sent to the sin bin for the tackle on Gildart during the Rhinos' 26-18 win over Wigan at Headingley last Friday.
A "crusher" tackle is described as a defending player, in or after effecting a tackle, using any part of his body forcefully to bend or apply unnecessary pressure to the head and/or neck and/or spinal column of the tackled player so as to keep the tackled player at a disadvantage in or after the tackle.
Ferres announced on Twitter that he had apologised to Gildart for the tackle, insisting he would never intentionally hurt an opponent, but the Rugby Football League's match-review panel ruled it was one of the more serious offences in bringing a grade E charge which carries a ban of between four and eight games.
The former Bradford, Wakefield, Castleford and Huddersfield player, who missed the first five matches of the season with a hamstring injury, learned his fate when appearing in front of an RFL independent disciplinary panel on Tuesday.
