Super League injuries: Saints suffer double blow, Leeds lose new signing

These results saw St Helens lead the table and Leigh gain ground on the Giants, who now sit just one point behind them in ninth place with a game in hand. Leeds’ loss also means the Leopards are just three points behind the Rhinos and five out of the play-offs, not bad for a team that was written off earlier this year.

As for Hull FC, their positive week off the pitch, which saw the appointment of John Cartwright, could not help their performance on the pitch, with Castleford causing them all sorts of problems with former FC man Tex Hoy in the center of the crowd.

Warrington joined the Saints on 18 points after an emphatic 16-8 win in the French heat over the Catalans, while Sunday saw Wigan follow suit and move into a three-way tie at the top of Super League. They beat Salford Red Devils 26-6 while Wigan’s beaten Challenge Cup opponents Hull KR bounced back with a strong 64-14 win over London Broncos.

Lots of points, but worryingly there seem to be more Super League injuries too.

Round 12 Super League Injuries

Credit: Imago Images

The most prevalent problem that equates to Super League injuries and time off this season has been failed head injury assessments and that was the case again this weekend with three men out because of them.

For the Catalans’ Alrix Da Costa, he only managed a few minutes on the pitch before having to come off. He missed almost all 80 minutes and will miss next week now as he goes through the return-to-play protocols.

The same will be true of London’s Ethan Natoli and Leeds Rhinos loanee Matty Russell, who had to leave the field early on his club debut. He was also holding his knee while being treated by doctors, which could be an additional problem down the road.

In that game, St Helens also suffered two injuries, with Jonny Lomax leaving the field with a hand injury, while Joe Batchelor suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury after what some claimed was a hip strike from at Louis Roberts.

Sky pundits Jon Wilkin and Danika Priim dismissed those claims, but that will be of no consolation to Saints and Batchelor, who could face a spell on the sidelines.

However, the Catalans were the main side to suffer, with Steve McNamara confirming that alongside Alrix Da Costa, the club lost Mike McMeeken in the warm-up and then Bayley Sironen and Arthur Romano during the game.

There were plenty of other knocks, including for Herman Ese’ese, Edwin Ipape and Ben Reynolds, but all three have carried on and hopefully won’t be added to the Super League injury list.