Morgan Knowles was found guilty of his Grade D charge of dangerous contract and banned for a huge five games.
He was one of two players to face the tribunal with the other being Gil Dudson of Warrington, who also was hit with a five game ban.
A statement from the RFL said:
“Forwards Gil Dudson (Warrington Wolves) and Morgan Knowles (St Helens) have both been suspended for five matches by tonight’s independent tribunals.
“Dudson was referred to tribunal by the Match Review Panel on a Grade E charge of punching a Catalans Dragons opponent during Saturday’s Betfred Super League match in Perpignan. He is also fined £500.
“The Match Review Panel had referred Knowles on a Grade D charge of dangerous contact with a Wigan Warriors player during the Good Friday derby at the DW Stadium. He too is fined £500.”
The charge against Knowles had triggered plenty of debate and was even brought into contention after Huddersfield Giants’ Jermaine McGillvary showed footage of the tackle, to one that he suffered.
The tackle in question that Knowles was found guilty of dangerous contact for resulted in the injury of Wigan man Mike Cooper, who is now out for 9-12 months.
However, there is good news for St Helens and that is that Knowles will likely not miss five Super League fixtures.
This is because within the next five weeks the international break takes place as England take on France.
This means that if selected he can serve one of his games then and if not the Saints can use the reserves fixture that weekend as one of the games he serves his suspension for.
