St Helens boss Paul Rowley has given an injury update on the four players that were forced off in the club’s Challenge Cup win over Castleford Tigers on Saturday night.
The Saints won the game 32-8 to secure their place in the last eight of the Challenge Cup ahead of next week’s draw. Lewis Murphy got two tries on the night, while efforts came from Daryl Clark, the returning Mark Percival, Agnatius Paasi and Kyle Feldt, too.
However, the win came at a price with four men leaving the field with knocks at Wheldon Road. Hooker Clark failed a HIA in the first half and he was joined in the changing rooms before the break by his replacement Jake Burns, who also failed a head assessment.
Curtis Sironen starred in the first half for the Saints but he failed to emerge for the second after picking up a calf problem.
And, to top things off for St Helens, talisman Jackson Hastings could be seen leaving the field with what looked to be a shoulder injury with just a handful of minutes remaining on the clock.
Rowley has given an update on all four men and while Clark, Burns and Sironen will miss next week, he has allayed fears of a Hastings lay-off.
“Daryl’s was a gumshield activation,” Rowley said. “He felt fine but he couldn’t balance on one leg with his eyes closed, believe it or not, so he failed. Jake was category A so he failed as well.
“Siro is gone as well so he’s no good too. We don’t know yet but he’s got a calf injury, a good calf is four, a bad calf is eight so we’ll see.”
On Hastings he added: “I would have liked to have give him a rest. That was in my head before the game but I never overly plan my subs because things take a direction and certainly with every team this year and the start of Super League, you expect the unexpected.
“He took a bit of a knock, he would have stayed on but I didn’t want to take the risk. He’s been very influential and he’s performing at such a high level for us that he’s too important to risk.”
Despite the injuries, Rowley left Wheldon Road happy with the performance his side produced on the night and the way they handled such adversity.
“It’s not often you lose both hookers,” he added. “Wingy has come back and done a great job there at nine and had to play long minutes which never would have been in the plan on his return game.
“People like Dave Klemmer is really earning his money, playing long minutes, we’re getting our money’s worth out of him. There were so many great performances, I can’t speak highly enough of our group to be honest. They’ve certainly displayed a real backbone and toughness.
“We’ve got so many players, important and influential players missing, and we’ll have more now as well, but each bit of adversity seems to challenge this group more and more. Who knows what’s around the corner, at some point everyone will come back and that’s an exciting prospect as well.”
RFL error, coaches under pressure and Super League’s injury crisis – click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
