Bradford's Pryce given the all-clear

Dave Hadfield
Tuesday 21 August 2001 00:00 BST
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Bradford's Leon Pryce has been cleared of throwing the ball at a touch-judge during Friday's Super League game against St Helens – a charge that could have brought the international winger a long ban.

The Rugby League has decided that Pryce did not intend to hit the official when he threw the ball away after the referee, Robert Connolly, had awarded a knock-on, but the Bulls' captain, Robbie Paul, has been warned about his protestations to Connolly over the incident.

Paul has been reminded of his responsibilities as captain and warned that "continuous verbal abuse" will not be tolerated. There is to be no action against Saints' coach, Ian Millward, over remarks after the match which appeared to suggest that Connolly had shown bias.

Harvey Howard, the Wigan forward who was the subject of criticism from Millward earlier this season, has been warned about leading with his left forearm while in possession of the ball. Howard was placed on report during the victory over Warrington on Friday.

Paul Rowley, the Huddersfield hooker, has been ordered to appear in front of the disciplinary committee today over the alleged use of his knees in a tackle against Halifax on Sunday.

Warrington are being linked in Australia with Jeremy Schloss, a scrum-half who made three appearances as a substitute for Queensland in 1997 and who also played for the club's new coach, Steve Anderson, at Gold Coast.

The former Hull and Bradford coach, Brian Smith, now in charge of the table-topping Parramatta side in Australia, has denied that he is being lined up as the new chief executive for the Rugby League in this country.

Smith has long-term ambitions in administration, but said: "I'm enjoying coaching too much." The League hopes to tie up a deal this week that will keep Kris Radlinski in the game. The Wigan and Great Britain full-back is the prime remaining target for rugby union, but it is hoped that an element of central funding will keep him in league – as it did Keiron Cunningham.

The RFL's director of rugby, Greg McCallum, is expected to broker the deal now that he is back from Australia, but there are unlikely to be many more players offered similar sweeteners. The criteria are that only players deemed "irreplaceable" in the national side will be treated in this way, and then only one per club.

Keighley hope to find a backer to keep the club going before it is formally wound up this Friday. Failing that, a new company could be set up to run a reconstituted club.

The Barla Young Lions – the best of up-and-coming young amateur players in the country – have lost 28-12 to Australia's Emerging States in Melbourne.

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