Saints shorts: injury-hit St Helens recall Josh Simm from Hull FC loan, women beat title rivals Leeds

⭕ St Helens have been forced to recall Josh Simm from his loan spell at Hull FC after utility back Dan Hill picked up a shoulder injury in the Betfred Super League victory over Castleford Tigers at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday.

It’s another blow to the club who are still struggling on the injury front ahead of Sunday’s trip to Hull FC but at least Sione Mata’utia will return to the squad after serving a three-match suspension.

Last week Saints recalled Sam Royle from a loan spell at Hull KR to help strengthen the injury-hit squad.

⭕ More bad news for Saints - Aussie second row forward Curtis Sironen has been banned for two matches by the RL Disciplinary Panel. It means the 29-year-old will miss the forthcoming fixtures against Hull FC and Hull KR after being found guilty of a high tackle in Saints’ victory over Castleford Tigers at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Sunday.

It isn’t the first time Sironen has been in trouble with the powers-that-be this season and his latest suspension comes only 24 hours after he scored one of the tries against Lee Radford’s West Yorkshire outfit in which he was arguably among the home side’s best players on the park.

He was also sent to the sin- bin by referee Chris Kendall for the second-half Grade B offence on Bureta Faraimo.

⭕ Hands-off our trophy! That’s the defiant message from St Helens Women after their 30-22 victory over fellow title rivals Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on Sunday.

The defending champions, currently lying third in group 1 of the competition, were more than a match for second-in-the-table Leeds in this battle of the big guns.

Derek Harman’s girls recovered from conceding an early try from  Tasha Gaines to  establish a commanding lead with touchdowns from Rachael Woosey, Amy Hardcastle and Leah Burke.

Adaoha Akwiwu pulled one back for the Rhinos to make it 16-10 at the break but Saints made the game safe as Paige Travis and Emily Rudge went over.

Hanna Butcher and Courtney Winfield-Hill claimed late consolations for Leeds, who along with leaders York now have just a two-point advantage over St  Helens.