‘Disappointing’ - St Helens sweat on new Morgan Knowles ban after sending off at Halifax

St Helens will have both eyes totally focused on next week’s RL Disciplinary Committee hearing and will be fearing the worst for England international forward Morgan Knowles.

The 26-year-old Cumbrian enforcer - back in the starting line-up for Friday night’s Rugby League Challenge Cup sixth round tie at Halifax Panthers following a five match suspension - was given his marching orders again in the dying embers of a one-sided tie.

It put a slight damper on the final 6-26 result which earned 13-times trophy winner St Helens a place in the quarter finals - with the draw to be made on Sunday.

Boss Paul Wellens declined to comment at length on Knowles’ dismissal but declared: "Obviously, I am disappointed by the sending off but before I comment further I would like to watch it back again."

He added: "I’m happy with the performance in the main - it’s always a bit tricky when you come to a Championship club because they have a lot of really good players so it’s always going to be a tough challenge.

"The fact that the world champions are in town is always a great opportunity for players to test themselves against us. I did think we left a couple of tries out there but there was a lot to be positive about and the important thing is we are in the hat for the next round."

Saints made their intentions clear from the start, flying out of the blocks and giving the Tykes little space to breathe, let alone threaten their tryline and by the halfway mark the tie was done and dusted.

Halifax had their moments but against a totally motivated and ruthlessly efficient Saints’ outfit the gulf in class between Super League and the Championship was as wide as the River Mersey.

Wellens didn’t have a fully fit squad to call on and also rested influential skipper James Roby but it gave him a chance to give Joey Lussick more game time and he responded in a positive manner by grabbing two tries and orchestrating his team-mates around the field.

It also gave the youngsters in the squad a chance to show their capabilities - some of whom were making the cup debut and will benefit from the experience.