Halswell to appeal against suspension

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 36

Halswell to appeal against suspension

By JOHN COFFEY Halswell has given notice it intends to appeal against the suspension imposed on its representative rugby league forward, Robbie Rushton, as a consequence of his dismissal during a club match against Linwood last Saturday. Rushton, who was selected as Canterbury’s reserve forward for the Rugby League Cup defence against Waikato at the Show Grounds on the night of April 24, has been suspended until after May 17.

Unless Halswell succeeds in having the sentence reduced, Rushton will also miss Canterbury’s home game with

Wellington under floodlights on May 13. He is the first player entrapped by the remit — ironically, proposed by Halswell — that suspensions incurred for misdemeanours in club football apply only to club matches. They now encompass all levels of rugby league.

Rushton and the Linwood player-coach, Paul Truscott, who was ordered off in the same incident, were officially suspended for four club games.

There are no complicating factors in Truscott’s term. He will be available again after the sixth premiership round on May 10. But as well as having his representative debut delayed, Rushton has to wait until after the seventh round on May 17 because Halswell has drawn an earlier bye than Linwood.

“The bye never has counted as a week of a suspension,” said the Canterbury board of control

chairman, Mr lan Jenkins. "There is no other way then to stand a player down for so many club rounds — in most cases, we would not know if he was going to be picked for representative football in the meantime.

"We have got to live with this new rule. The clubs wished it that way by voting in support of the remit,” said Mr Jenkins.

He said he was not aware when the Halswell appeal would be heard; that would be decided when it had been received in writing.

Halswell officials would undoubtedly be keen to press for an overturning of Rushton’s “conviction” before it meets its 1985 grand final opponent, Hornby, next Saturday. Ray Haffenden, the Canterbury coach and coselector, said a replacement for Rushton would probably be named after he and his fellow selector, Kevin Woodham, had watched club matches tonight and next Saturday.