Jon Wilkin speaks out on controversial St Helens red card

In controversial fashion, St Helens were reduced to 12 men after a Mark Percival shoulder charge against Salford Red Devils in a moment that would perhaps be their ultimate undoing.

Many slammed the decision, but former St Helens captain Jon Wilkin was on commentary for the game broadcast on Sky Sports and when asked for his opinion if the offence was worthy of a red card, the no-nonsense pundit was clear.

“Yes, it’s a red card,” Wilkin explained, “He hits him in the head. In the modern rules, it’s a red. It’s not like Fa’amanu Brown where it’s accidental, he makes an aggressive read and he gets it wrong.”

Had Percival not shot out of the line to try and make the tackle then Salford would have had a very strong chance at creating an overload on their right wing, hence the aggression shown defensively by the centre.

St Helens face nervous disciplinary wait

There will now be a nervous wait for Percival to see if his side can manage to hold on, but also until Monday when the Match Review Panel meet and decide if he will be serving a large ban or not.

With half an hour to go the game still stood at 14-6 but has since been littered with errors and penalties as both sides try to adapt to the new dynamics of the game.

Saints had gone ahead early on via Jack Welsby before Lewis Dodd raced away to add a second within 20 minutes. The Red Devils answered back through Deon Cross before Percival himself scored just before half time.

St Helens went further ahead with another Lewis Dodd try to make it 20-6 with 20 minutes to go. But a sensational comeback from Salford, perhaps helped by their numerical advantage, saw them win at Saints for the first time since 1980 by 24-20.

Next week St Helens head over to the newly renamed AMT Headingley to take on Leeds Rhinos. The Rhinos moved level on points with the Saints with a win away at Leigh Leopards by 22-16.

They will be hoping for a first home win against the Saints since the 2017 season which was also the last time they won the Grand Final.