St Helens moved one step closing to writing rugby league history, but it may have come at a cost. The Super League champions are one win away from an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship after defeating Salford Red Devils 19-12 to book their place at Old Trafford.
But they now face a nervous wait on the findings of the match review panel after several controversial incidents during their victory at the Totally Wicked Stadium. England internationals Jack Welsby and Morgan Knowles both face nervous waits after incidents in the contest. Knowles was sin-binned for a 'chicken wing' style tackle on Chris Atkin as the hosts defended their line. The Cumbrian, a cert to feature for England in the World Cup, was forced to spend ten minutes on the sidelines as a result of the incident.
Another incident in the first half saw Welsby, a Man of Steel nominee, land a thunderous tackle on Atkin. The collision was widely applauded but closer inspection appeared to show contact with the head of the Salford halfback, who received treatment for a bloodied face and nose afterwards.
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"I thought it was really good, aggressive defence the first time I saw it," Huddersfield Giants coach Ian Watson said on Sky Sports. "But you can see clearly the shoulder makes contact with the face there. There's a call that he could be sin-binned there from games that have gone by."
Current Leeds Rhinos assistant Jamie Jones-Buchanan was then asked for his take on the matter and said: "Going off the rules this year; I don't mind it. It's a semi-final game and you're going to have big collisions. I don't think there's any intent in there and I don't think you can say it's reckless."
Later in the game, Tommy Makinson was sin-binned for a yellow card though any further punishment would be pretty much unprecedented. The findings of the Match Review Panel will be revealed on Monday.
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