Facts About Ivan Cleary’S Punishment
Penrith Panthers could throw young half-back Jack Cole in for only his second senior appearance in Saturday evening’s World Club Challenge against Wigan Warriors – with former Hull KR man Brad Schneider now likely to miss out.
That’s according to reports in the Australian media, who are suggesting that Cole may well be given the ominous task of replacing injured half-back Jarome Luai at the DW Stadium on Saturday. Luai is unavailable, leaving Panthers head coach Ivan Cleary with a number of options to partner son and scrum-half Nathan in the halves.
It was expected that Schneider, who helped guide Hull KR to last year’s Challenge Cup final during his short-term stint in Super League with the Robins, would get the nod after returning to the NRL in the off-season. But reports are now stating that Cole will be given the number six jersey in what would represent a significant move by Cleary.
The 20-year-old has played just one senior game in his entire NRL career – and that was all the way back in September 2022. He didn’t feature at all in the competition last year, with Cole making 17 appearances in the New South Wales Cup instead.
But he will now get the biggest opportunity of his young career to date as he is reportedly set to be given the starting shirt alongside Cleary in the halves to face the Super League champions.
Daine Laurie and Schneider are also options for Cleary to consider as he weighs up who will replace Luai, who has already agreed to join Wests Tigers next year. Cole has been tipped as Luai’s long-term successor and he could now get the first real chance to show he can stake a claim in that regard with a starting berth against Wigan.
During the first round of the Betfred Super League, Castleford Tigers’ player Liam Watts was sent off for making direct contact with an opponent’s head while tackling Tyler Dupree. The match took place at the Jungle, which was more like a swamp due to the rain. The Super League champions, Wigan Warriors, won despite the challenging weather conditions.
Some moments in the match raised questions about the referees’ and video referees’ judgment, especially with the new rules implemented in 2024. For instance, Kaide Ellis escaped a card despite making contact with an opponent’s head because the opponent’s back was bent. Furthermore, Harry Smith was sin-binned for accidentally tipping Luke Hooley on his head while tackling him.
Despite these events, Wigan Warriors managed to secure a 16-4 halftime lead thanks to tries from Patrick Mago and Bevan French and went on to win 32-4 but the incidents with Smith and Ellis has left them with a concern ahead of the World Club Challenge especially with Craig Lingard claiming Smith was recommended to receive a red card by the video referee.
Disciplinary on Monday could be a nervous day for the Super League Champions Wigan Warriors.
In the opening game between Hull FC and Hull KR, Herman Ese’ese was the first player to receive a sin bin penalty for a high tackle, in accordance with the new rules. Franklin Pele was sent off for a swinging arm, and Ligi Sao was also sent off, while Matt Parcell was sin-binned.
In the match at Headingley, Ryan Brierley received a sin bin penalty for a high tackle on his friend Brodie Croft. Similarly, in the game between Leigh Leopards and Huddersfield Giants, Ricky Leutele was sin-binned for a late hit, and John Asiata was also shown a yellow card. After the dismissal of Momirovski, Amir Bourouh of Salford became the ninth player to be carded. Two additional cards were shown in the game at the Jungle.
