I think this can be related to TRY decisions too.

How often do they look to see if a ball is grounded based on a blurred image? Real time often shows it more clearly.

Finucane got 2 games for a very similar tackle where he shot out the line and did the damage with a head clash. I dont think he will miss a GF because of it but the precedent is there

Bateman is awful for the type of money he's being paid, sooner he's off back to Aussieland the better

I thought the Welsby one was a cracking tackle too but I can see why people are complaining as similar have seen players sent off the field and given bans.

Bateman Grade D (3 to 5 matches)
Knowles 2 matches
Welsby fine, no ban to previous good behavior!!

Awful is very harsh, he’s one of the best second rowers in the league still. I just think after what he did in Oz and his wage expectations are sky high.

Can’t argue with any of those

It really annoys me that bans incurred at club level count at international level and vice versa. Football have it right on this one imo.

Probably why Saints are appealing Knowles ban, nothing to lose, if it gets increased it won't affect them

Spot on. Nothing to lose although I really can't see a 2 match ban being reduced to 0. I can't see the ban being increased as it would be England that are disadvantaged so I don't think the RFL will do this. As it stands he misses the GF and the England friendly.

The annoying part of the process is the ones that are missed. I've no complaints with the Knowles one as it was stupid from him but when you look at the clash where Ackers fails his HIA, Bennison is smashed (illegally IMO) and yet this was not cited. There is a clip I shared on Twitter of Watkins hitting Percival in the head with his shoulder, yet this wasn't even commented on by the MRP. Similarly Sneyd does a high tackle on Lomax which is a shocker.

I've no issues with bans if they are deserved but at least be consistent.

The difference between Bateman and Welsby was a small fraction of a second. Both committed to put a big hit on a player, both used their arms to try and make a tackle, both made some sort of contact with the head, both went in with too much aggression and in the modern ruling of the game could have put the players safety at risk. The margins are tiny, i would say both were reckless tackles in todays language, Bateman was half a second later than Welsby and deserves a longer ban.

Knowles was a straightforward intentionally putting undue pressure on a joint and could easily cause ligament damage, he takes it way beyond an acceptable angle. I can't believe anyone tried to defend that with such clear evidence, and he wasn't given a straight red.

I agree that there are many other tackles with head contact that are not picked up on by commentary and just go unnoticed that are as bad as some of the above. The use of freeze frame has to be looked at and a threshold taken where the players reactions are taken into account for defender or attacker being unable to change the point of contact.