Hull KR head coach Willie Peters said his decision to drop Mikey Lewis for Saturday's game against Toulouse ahead of his two-match ban is about upholding the "standards" of the club. Lewis copped a two-game ban after a Grade C charge for 'dangerous contact' with Warrington Wolves' Ewan Irwin during their rearranged round two fixture on Tuesday. Lewis' studs hit the ankle of Irwin as he kicked the ball.
Irwin is now an injury worry for Sam Burgess' side and is undergoing scans. The ban comes just as the 25-year-old returned from a four-match ban for a headbutt the last time the Robins faced Warrington. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Tevita Pangai Jr also faces a four-match ban after being cited three times during the match for 'late contact with a passer'.
It means his Robins career could now be over after signing for them mid-season. Although the disciplinary review has already taken place, the bans will only come into effect for Round 25, meaning both players were available for Saturday's clash with Toulouse. However, Peters opted against including either player in his squad due to having to "uphold standards" not just for now, but for the club moving forward and making sure there is a clear line of what they will "accept" no matter "who you are".
That means the earliest Lewis will return is the final round of the regular season. "It's noted that we're the most charged team in the competition in terms of disciplinary points," Peters said. "We have been given the most points out of any other team in the competition and had the most players sitting on the sideline.
"Some players have done things without consequence and if you don't have consequence, then you keep repeating those actions. "So it's a time that we made a decision that it's not acceptable to be sitting on the sideline and costing team-mates through behaviours that's not in line with our standards. "There's times there where it's not deliberate or there's no malice, but when there's repeated efforts, we've made a decision to not play those two this week and, as I said, it's more around our standards, what we're going to accept or what we're not going to accept.
"I believe it will help us, hopefully this year, but more importantly, it will help the club going forward that there's a standard that we want to uphold and if we're not upholding that and no matter who you are, then there needs to be consequence and that's what we've chosen to do." While Peters made clear that he needs his players to accept the consequences of their actions, he admits Hull KR are a better outfit with Lewis in the team, but more particularly when he is "in line". "We are a better team, obviously, with Mikey Lewis in it and we've shown that over the years. "Mikey, I thought for the majority of the game had a lot of positive actions and it was his first game back and I thought he, as I said before, had a strong impact in the way he defended.
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