Of all the rubbish things which are happening to Saints right now - and there are a few - the worst has to be today’s news (July 25) that Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi will miss the rest of the season with knee injuries.
As Saints were being dumped out of the Challenge Cup by Leigh in the semi-final at Warrington both Walmsley and Paasi were the victims of reckless assaults on their lower legs by Leopards forward John Asiata. As documented in my review of the game referee Chris Kendall took no action on either occasion and nor subsequently did the Match Review Panel. Which is particularly awkward for the latter who have spent much of 2023 punishing any player whose actions cause a serious injury to an opponent whether intentional or not.
The name of Asiata appears three times on the MRPs list of possible offenders this week. These are the explanations given for sparing him punishment on each occasion.
Player gets body onto the ground prior to contacting opponent’s legs and actions of players teammate push opponent back towards player.
Player goes to make legitimate low tackle on person who is running towards him and arm is knocked away from wrapping by opponent’s leg.
Player makes legitimate initial contact with upper thigh of opponent who is moving forward. Legitimate actions of teammate with upper body contact force opponent’s body in tow different directions.
I don’t know if the details on which of these relates to the incidents involving Paasi and Walmsley are still out there or whether they have been omitted out of embarrassment. Each of these descriptions seems to suggest that if it weren’t for the actions of his pesky team-mates Asiata would have just been able to effect a perfectly legal tackle in each case. Respectfully I disagree in regards to the tackles on Walmsley and Paasi. Disrespectfully i suggest that these explanations are a load of fetid, rancid, malodorous balls.
As I saw it Asiata could have made either of these tackles in the same manner if he had no arms at all. He clearly and blatantly dived at the legs of both, toppling them with his shoulders and torso. I’m no medical expert but the evidence seems to suggest that this puts undue pressure on the tackled player’s leg joints - in particular the knees. And we have seen the results in the fact that neither Walmsley or Paasi will play again in 2023. Paasi has suffered ACL and MCL damage which looks set to see him miss not only the remainder of this season but also the start of next season. Most reports suggest his injuries will keep him out for at least nine months.
Which brings us back around to what happens to players whose foul play causes injury of this severity. To pluck one example out of the air, Morgan Knowles copped a five-match suspension for the hip drop which cut Mike Cooper’s season short during the Good Friday derby in April. I agreed wholeheartedly with that sanction. It’s a dangerous tackle which the game can do without, much like its distant cousin the cannonball, brought to our shores by ex-Wigan boss and absolute rodent Michael Maguire.
The trouble was that subsequent examples of the hip drop and other dark arts began to receive lesser punishments if they did not cause a significant injury. Anyone who has watched rugby league - or any sport - for long enough knows that sometimes hideous challenges fortunately cause minimal or no damage. And also that at other times the most innocuous, nothing incidents can lead to very serious but essentially freak injuries. It is a complete nonsense to judge player discipline on the extent of injury the foul play (or not sometimes) has caused. Why would we operate this way? And if we do, why wasn’t Asiata hit with a weighty suspension? Because even this folly is apparently not applied consistently is my best guess.
According to reports, Saints Head Coach Paul Wellens made sure that the relevant authorities were shown medical evidence of the effects of Asiata’s antics. If that is true and they still saw fit to tell the Leigh man to run along then where are we? In a very bad place according to Wellens who has spoken out today about how the MRP has failed to protect players in ignoring Asiata’s actions, or deeming them acceptable.
While he may not know what to do with Lewis Dodd Wellens is 100% right about the MRP. Asiata’s ‘technique’ such as it is, risks the health of not only his opponents but himself. Given what we know about head knocks and their relationship with degenerative brain conditions no player should be allowed to target an opponent’s joints and bones with their heads or shoulders.
Asiata should be sat down for a long time as much for his own safety as for that of any players he is in contact with. If that means he misses Leigh’s first visit to Wembley for 52 years then so be it. My sympathy is in short supply. But that outcome would depend on the MRP reviewing their decision which - given that they have allegedly seen the extent of the injuries and in light of Wellens’ comments - looks like exactly the sort of climbdown that they would strive to avoid.
Of course for Walmsley, Paasi, Wellens and us fans the fate of Asiata is not the most important issue. The health of the players and just exactly what we are going to do without them the rest of the way are more pressing concerns. Walmsley remains a talismanic presence in the pack, chewing up metres in a quantity and with a regularity that is largely unmatched by any other Saints forward since Luke Thompson headed for Canterbury. Meanwhile Paasi’s impact off the bench - he has started only 11 of his 65 Saints appearances to date - has been invaluable since he joined from New Zealand Warriors in 2021.
Add these absences to the bizarre decision to allow Joey Lussick to return to Australia and bring in utility man and by no means specialist hooker Moses Mbye this week and there’s an element of chaos around the squad. The team weren’t exactly pulling up Giant Redwood’s as it was but without Walmsley’s go forward, Paasi’s impact and with only one albeit legendary but 37 year-old specialist hooker for the remainder of the year the so-called ‘drive for five’ looks like a mission Ethan Hunt would balk at. You never write off the Saints they say - and how they have proven that maxim to be true over and over down the years - but if there ever was a time to doubt their title credentials then this is probably it.
Wellens will no doubt look to get previously injured troops back and hope to plug the gaps. Joe Batchelor’s return now becomes crucial. If he can be restored to the back row then maybe Sione Mata’utia can do a job in the front row. He is as solid a player as there is when he is not hitting players late and setting off alarms among the MRP. That won’t happen this week against Leeds as the ex-Newcastle Knight serves the first game of his latest two-match ban. Kudos to the MRP for noticing his late hit on Ben Reynolds by the way.
Looking longer term and beyond Mata’utia the obvious upside might be more minutes for George Delaney in the run-in. The youngster has been making only cameo appearances off the bench to date but may have to up his workload before Wellens would have liked. That’s a difficult balance for the coach given that Delaney is only 19 and still developing physically by comparison with the game’s top front rowers.
Even Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is doubtful for the visit of the Rhinos with the calf problem which forced him out at half-time at Warrington. Might that mean we see the lesser spotted Dan Norman? When McCarthy-Scarsbrook recovers he may have a role to play as a senior prop not only in age and experience but in his involvement. Matty Lees is already a regular starter but currently averages fewer than 70 metres a game. Where is the platform for our backs to play off coming from? The back line is often one-paced and predictable when faced with retreating defenders who are gassed from having to constantly handle Walmsley. How are they going to get on against fresher defences who haven’t had to worry about that?
It probably doesn’t bear thinking about. But Never Write Off The Saints, will you?
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