Super League Injuries: Leeds loses a new signing, and Saints suffer a double blow Sam Cooke27 May 2024
After Round 12, there have been yet more Super League injuries, despite some incredible scores and contentious cards.
This week’s Friday was when the action started, but as with all good things, it came in threes. To put more pressure on Rohan Smith, St Helens crushed Leeds Rhinos. Castleford furthered Hull FC’s suffering with a 30-22 victory. Ian Watson’s problems were exacerbated when Leigh defeated Huddersfield 16-10 to take the two points.
Thanks to those outcomes, Leigh gained headway on the Giants and now sits just one point behind them in ninth place with a game remaining. St Helens topped the standings. The Leopards, who were previously written off, are now only three points behind the Rhinos and five points out of the playoffs as a result of Leeds’ defeat.
Hull FC’s successful week off the field, which included the hiring of John Cartwright, was not able to improve their on-field performance as Castleford caused them a plethora of issues, with former FC player Tex Hoy at the core of many of them.
Following a tough 16-8 victory over Catalans in the French heat, Warrington moved up to 18 points alongside Saints, and on Sunday, Wigan did the same to create a three-way tie atop the Super League. They defeated the Salford Red Devils 26–6, and Hull KR, Wigan’s Challenge Cup opponents, triumphed 64–14 over the London Broncos to resume their winning ways.
Many points, but surprisingly, there also appear to be more Super League injuries.
This season, failed Head Injury Assessments have been the most common cause of Super League injuries and absences, and this weekend was no exception, with three guys being removed due to them.
Catalans’ Alrix Da Costa was only able to play for a few minutes before having to leave the pitch. He was gone for nearly the entire 80 minutes and will be again the next week while he follows the return-to-play regulations.
Ethan Natoli of London and Matty Russell, a loanee from the Leeds Rhinos, who had to leave the pitch early on his club debut, will experience the same fate. While receiving medical attention from the doctors, he was also gripping his knee, which could cause more issues later on.
In the game, Jonny Lomax left the field due to a hand injury, and Joe Batchelor had an ugly-looking ankle injury following what some believed to be a hip drop tackle by Luis Roberts.
Even while Sky pundits Jon Wilkin and Danika Priim denied such allegations, Saints and Batchelor—who might have to miss some time—won’t be comforted by this.
The greatest losers were the Catalans, though, as Steve McNamara revealed that the squad also lost Mike McMeeken during the warm-up and Arthur Romano and Bayley Sironen during the match, in addition to Alrix Da Costa.
Many other players were also targeted, such as Herman Ese’ese, Edwin Ipape, and Ben Reynolds, but all three recovered and, ideally, won’t be added to the list of Super League injuries.
