Quote: martinwildbull "Why cannot the RFL punish them now? points clearly irrelevant as the season is gone, so it would need to be a fine, ban on signing any new players or similar.'"
It can. There is no reason I can think of why a punishment HAS to be in the same season. In the case of administrations (where we have some expertise) the rule already states that if you go tits in the close season then the deduction will be for the new season.
If a player is cited to the disciplinary for serious foul play, after the last game of the season finishes, he will still be banned. His ban will start in the next season.
Logically, the argument that the alleged infringements occurred in a previous season is just a smoke and mirrors excuse, and a poor one at that. And that doesn't even address the bizarre precedent which now seems to be that any club breaking the same rule in the future can't, for the same reasons, ever be punished.