Wakefield's Tinirau Arona handed RFL charge over 'dangerous contact'

The Rugby Football League's independent disciplinary panel has charged Wakefield forward Tinirau Arona with making dangerous contact on St Helens winger Adam Swift.

Swift was carried from the field on a stretcher following Arona's tackle during the Wildcats' 44-4 Super League defeat at Langtree Park last Friday.

The incident happened just six minutes into the game and St Helens announced that Swift had suffered a lower leg injury and would be seeing a surgeon on Monday evening.

Saints coach Keiron Cunningham said there were no further updates on the injury at this time but added: "It is not short term".

Arona is facing a grade B charge, which carries a ban of one or two matches, although the RFL panel went outside the normal tariff earlier this year in handing Hull KR hooker John Boudebza a four-match ban for what appears to be a similar offence on Castleford centre Michael Shenton.

In coming to their decision on Arona, the RFL's match-review panel applied the following rule: "Dangerous contact - defender uses any part of his body forcefully to twist, bend or otherwise apply pressure to the limb or limbs of an opposing player in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player".

Arona is not eligible for an early-guilty plea, having submitted one a week ago to answer a grade A charge, and will face a disciplinary hearing on Tuesday.

Wakefield's Jason Walton is also facing a grade B offence of making a dangerous throw from the same game on St Helens captain Jon Wilkin.

Meanwhile, Hull KR full-back Ben Cockayne has been charged with a grade A offence of making dangerous contact on Huddersfield centre Jake Connor during his side's 38-6 defeat by the Giants on Sunday.