Verdict announced on Hull KR's Sauaso Sue as Luke Keary punishment revealed

The hearing this evening (Tuesday) found Sue not guilty of a Grade E charge of spitting at Warrington Wolves’ Josh Thewlis in the second half of the Betfred Challenge Cup final. The prop was charged by the RFL’s match review panel and would have faced a suspension of at least six games if found guilty.

An RFL statement said: “While there was no doubt that he did spit, the independent operational rules tribunal determined that he did not do so deliberately in the direction of a Warrington player.” Referee Liam Moore placed the allegation on report during the game after a complaint from a Warrington player.

Hull KR, who were losing 6-2 at the time, went on to win the game 8-6 through Mikey Lewis’ conversion of a 78th minute try by Tom Davies. Two other Rovers players accepted penalty points issued by the review panel. Winger Joe Burgess was fined after being handed three penalty points for grade B head contact with Thewlis early in the first half. Centre James Batchelor received five points for grade C head contact on Matt Dufty, also resulting in a fine.

Under this year’s new totting up procedure, bans begin when a player reaches a total of six penalty points in a 12-month period. The points tally is halved once a player has served a punishment, including a fine.

Neither Hull KR player was sin-binned. The clash of heads with Batchelor left Dufty with a suspected fractured eye socket which will rule him out of Saturday’s game against Leeds Rhinos at AMT Headingley.

Meanwhile, Catalans Dragons’ former Australia Test stand-off Luke Keary has been fined £1,000, with half of it suspended until the end of next season, after pleading guilty to making comments which breached the RFL’s operational rules in an interview broadcast last month.

The RFL say rules breached included those on behaviour standards and conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game. A statement on the governing body’s website said: “In explaining the recommended sanction, RFL Compliance have written to Mr Keary as follows. ‘In mitigation, you have accepted full responsibility for your words and although you do state that the tone and wording were harsher than you intended them to be, you do not deny they are your words, and you have pleaded guilty to a breach of the operational rules’.”

Keary told Aussie media the European game would be “in a lot of trouble” if not bought by the southern hemisphere NRL. He claimed: “The game is horrendous over here. It's the product, the coverage, the news around the game, there is zero. You watch the games, they're near unwatchable.”