You would have thought that pleading guilty results in a lesser punishment than pleading not guilty but then being found guilty (isn't that roughly how it works in the courts?). Perhaps their rational was to plead guilty and get less than the maximum (4 or maybe even 3 games) but their policy backfired.

3-5 is the normal punishment for this offence. If a players past record is bad, then the committee are guided to increase the ban length.

Wasnt the last person that happened to sonny nickel years ago,didnt he get something like 6 matches,appealed then ended up with 8..

didnt he use them up in A team games as well??

Good old RFL sreknaw