Wellens fails in ban appeal

St Helens full back Paul Wellens will miss the Good Friday derby against Wigan after failing to have his one-match ban overturned.

Wellens, 32, was named in Saints’ 19-man squad for the first derby match at Langtree Park as the club waiting on his appeal, but he will now be forced to sit out.

He was charged with a grade B dangerous throw on Warrington’s Lee Briers in last Friday’s win at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, and submitted a letter of reference from Briers in his appeal.

But the RFL Disciplinary Committee ruled that Wellens was responsible for putting his opponent in a dangerous position in the incident, which happened just seven minutes in to St Helens‘ 28-16 win.

In his career, Wellens has faced Wigan 47 times in competitive matches, finishing on the winning side 24 times, and scoring 15 tries.