Leeds Rhinos will appeal Rhyse Martin's frivolous charge at a hearing tonight. The back-rower saw his ban doubled last week after the Rhinos unsuccessfully appealed a one-match ban for a high tackle in the club's final-round victory over Castleford Tigers.
The hearing, which takes place at 5:30 on Tuesday evening, will see the Rhinos contest the decision to deem their case frivolous. They unsuccessfully did the same when Harry Newman received a ban for aiming unacceptable language toward a match official.
The decision by the tribunal to extend his suspension resulted in outrage on social media, with fans from other clubs also expressing their shock at the decision to extend the ban. Alex Mellor, who was on the receiving end of the tackle, also spoke out, saying the challenge wasn't even worthy of a penalty.
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If Leeds are successful it means Martin, who is one goal away from breaking a Super League and NRL record for consecutive conversions, will be available for the trip to Wigan Warriors. Martin has been one of the club's most consistent performers throughout the season.
"We're appealing the frivolous determination," he confirmed. "I think it's a very strong case that the appeal wasn't frivolous. We went through the process of what it was when we chatted. We were well prepared, we were detailed and we were clear. We didn't think it was frivolous.
"It's a big if at this stage so let's just get that appeal done tonight and see what the outcome of that is."
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