St Helens and Warrington Wolves, after losing out in their respective Challenge Cup semi-finals, have been dealt further blows after also suffering injuries in those matches.
Saints succumbed to their biggest defeat to Wigan Warriors since 2000, as Matt Peet’s side put 32 unanswered points over their bitter rivals.
Warrington meanwhile couldn’t find revenge from last year’s Wembley heartache, as again Hull KR got the better of them, with Wire losing 32-12.
As well as those defeats, both sides have got injury concerns to deal with, with the biggest issue at present being Saints skipper Matty Lees.
The enforcer had to be helped from the field in the first minute of that match, after going down innocuously in the first contact of the game.
It initially looked like a head knock, but it would soon turn to be the knee, and issue that Lees has only just come back from after being out for 10 weeks to start the season.
His exit would take it’s toll on the Red Vee, with their forward pack needing to do extra minutes to cover in his place.
Making matters worse, young prop Noah Stephens went off for a HIA, and it is currently unconfirmed whether he passed that test or not.
Should he have failed it, Saints could be down two props from the one game, and you could even increase that to three should Alex Walmsley recieve enough points to warrant a ban for his tackle on Junior Nsemba.
Moving on to Warrington, and a similar issue occured for forward Jordy Crowther.
The versailte middle had to go for a HIA in the second half, but with it being in the final 15 minutes of the game he didn’t have enough time to return, meaning his HIA status is also unconfirmed.
Sunday’s winners, Hull KR, saw James Batchelor go off for a HIA, but he was able to return and make his presence felt, scoring the first and last try of the game.
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