St Helens star Jackson Hastings and Huddersfield coach among four fined by RFL

St Helens’ stand-in captain Jackson Hastings has been hit with a £2,000 fine by the Rugby Football League (RFL) following an incident with the Match Commissioner after a defeat to Leeds Rhinos in June.

Saints were beaten 24-16 by the Rhinos at Headingley, and over two months on, half-back Hastings has been found to be in breach of three Operational Rules.

As a result, he has landed a hefty £2,000 fine, although £500 of that has been suspended until the end of the 2027 season.

His fine is one of four handed out by the RFL, with the governing body warning Hastings that any similar future misconduct may result in an Operational Rules Tribunal and more severe punishment including a potential ban.

Huddersfield coach and Catalans chairman among four fined by RFL

Elsewhere, as confirmed in a press release distributed over the weekend, the RFL have also fined both Huddersfield Giants head coach Jim Lenihan and Catalans Dragons chairman Bernard Guasch.

Australian Lenihan has only been in charge of the Giants for a couple of months, but has been fined £1,000 following comments made around match officials following a defeat at home to Bradford Bulls on July 10.

Half of the fine has been suspended until the end of next season, with Lenihan’s post-match interview after the 30-14 loss including references to ‘unconscious bias’ against Huddersfield.

Catalans chairman Guasch’s fine is the biggest dished out, to the sum of £3,000 with half again suspended until the end of the 2027 season.

His fine relates to his conduct towards match officials following the Dragons’ 34-28 home victory over Castleford Tigers in Perpignan back in June.

Alongside his fine, Guasch will now no longer be permitted to enter the tunnel area at the French outfit’s matches when match officials are present.

Keighley fined

The fines dished out are concluded by one for £2,000 to Championship club Keighley Cougars, with half of that sum suspended until the end of the 2028 season.

This fine relates to their last-minute postponement of a home game against Dewsbury Rams last month, when the playing surface at Cougar Park was deemed unplayable by the match referee shortly before the scheduled kick-off.

Notably, that game was re-arranged for midweek and the surface was again deemed unplayable. But on that occasion, with just over 24 hours notice, the game was moved venue to the home of Keighley Rugby Union.

Nonetheless, the initial postponement has resulted in a £2,000 fine, and the Cougars also have to reimburse Dewsbury’s travel costs of £575.