Super League stars face nervous disciplinary wait

The weekend saw Wigan Warriors and St Helens stunned by Hull KR and Leigh Leopards as the two secured their places at Wembley for the Challenge Cup Final next month.

On Saturday Leigh Leopards and St Helens served up an amazing Challenge Cup semi-final at the home of the Warrington Wolves – the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

It was a real Rocky performance as Leigh took a real hammering in the first 40 but came home with a wet sale.

The Leopards trailed 6-0 at the break after a Joey Lussick try in the first 40.

However, Leigh would soon have a 12-6 lead after tries from Oliver Holmes and Zak Hardaker as well as a penalty from Ben Reynolds after he was hit late by Sione Mata’utia who was yellow carded.

Jonny Lomax scored at the death creating the chance of golden point but in the end Tommy Makinson missed the effort at goal and Leigh booked their place in the final.

Then on Sunday, at the home of Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and Hull KR needed golden point to separate them in another amazing Challenge Cup semi-final.

Hull KR struck first through Louis Senior in the corner from a scrum move. But Wigan led 8-4 at halftime after a try from Jai Field and a penalty from Harry Smith.

Then came the big turning point in the game when Joe Shorrocks was sent off for a high tackle on Mikey Lewis.

Wigan extended their lead to 10-4 but an Ethan Ryan try sent the game to golden point where a Brad Schneider drop goal would win it and write the final verse in a fantastic weekend of semi-final action.

The clash between Leigh and Saints had its fiery moments. Sione Mata’utia will certainly face a nervous wait after his yellow card with the disciplinary panel clamping down on late hits in 2023 with the vast majority of charges being for this.

Edwin Ipape could therefore be in trouble after his potential late hit on Jack Welsby which saw the green card shown.

It will be interesting to see if any action is taken against John Asiata for his tackles that saw Alex Walmsley pick up a knock and Agnatius Paasi have his “knee blown to smithereens” according to Paul Wellens.

Jon Wilkin described the tackles as “incredibly dangerous.”

Of course, Joe Shorrocks will face a nervous wait after his red card for the high tackle on Mikey Lewis and Abbas Miski could be in trouble for a high tackle as well.