St Helens duo hit with bans following Catalans clash; England without key prop for Tonga opener
Sione Mata'utia (left) and Matty Lees (right) - Alamy
St Helens pair Sione Mata’utia and Matty Lees have both been hit with bans by the Match Review Panel following their defeat at Catalans Dragons, with the latter to miss England’s opening test match against Tonga next weekend.
Prop Lees’ one-match suspension comes for ‘Dangerous Contact’ with a Grade B charge imposed upon him. He was sin-binned late on in the contest at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Mata’utia meanwhile has been handed a two-game ban following an incident in the first half of the fiery clash. The Match Review Panel have deemed his swinging arm on Sam Tomkins, which didn’t yield any card at the time from on-field referee Chris Kendall, as a ‘Grade C Strike’.
The former Samoa international will most likely serve his suspension during pre-season ahead of 2024.
St Helens duo hit with bans following Catalans clash; Clean sweep ahead of Grand Final
Positively, for the game’s sake, nobody involved in this weekend’s Grand Final at Old Trafford has been hit by a ban, so both Catalans and Wigan Warriors will have no worries on that front.
Dragons ace Siosiua Taukeiaho (Grade B High Tackle) and Wigan winger Liam Marshall (Grade B Trips) have both been fined £250, but that’s as bad as it gets.
Five players in total have received fines, with the only other man banned Bradford Bulls’ Jason Baitieri for a ‘Grade B Dangerous Contact’ in their semi-final defeat to Toulouse Olympique.
Having exited the competition, the Paris-born forward, like Mata’utia, will be able to serve his ban in pre-season. Toulouse face London Broncos in the final on Sunday.
A full list of the Match Review Panel’s decisions from the weekend’s action can be seen below.
Sanctions from play-off games in Super League and the Championship
- Siosiua Taukeiaho (Catalans Dragons) – Grade B High Tackle – £250 Fine
- Mike McMeeken (Catalans Dragons) – Grade A High Tackle – Not applicable
- Sione Mata’utia (St Helens) – Grade C Strikes – 2 Match Penalty Notice
- Matty Lees (St Helens) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice
- Moses Mbye (St Helens) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – £250 Fine
- Brad Schneider (Hull KR) – Grade B Dangerous Throw – £250 Fine
- Liam Marshall (Wigan Warriors) – Grade B Trips – £250 Fine
- Brad Day (Featherstone Rovers) – Grade B Dangerous Throw – £125 Fine
- Jason Baitieri (Bradford Bulls) – Grade B Dangerous Contact – 1 Match Penalty Notice