St Helens boss Paul Wellens slams RFL after John Asiata escapes punishment for injuring four players

Agnatius Paasi is set to miss at least nine months after suffering serious knee damage and torn ankle ligaments, while fellow prop Alex Walmsley will also sit out the rest of the Super League season following knee surgery.

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook has been ruled out of the next two games and Morgan Knowles is rated as 50/50 for Friday's clash with Leeds Rhinos to leave Wellens facing a pack crisis.

On Asiata's tackle technique that sees the Leigh man dive at an opponent's legs, Wellens said: "The bloke is out of control and is just hurling himself at players' knees."

Three incidents involving Asiata were viewed by the match review panel but no charges were issued, much to the frustration of St Helens.

In a pre-prepared statement, Wellens said during Tuesday's press conference: "As a game, we bang the player welfare drum a fair bit and have made a lot of strides in recent times to protect players.

"Ultimately we have a duty of care to protect our players at all times. In my opinion, and I think very few would disagree with me, this week the governing body has failed in its duty to protect its players.

"On the weekend, we had four players injured by one player tackling in a reckless and dangerous manner.

"Before the match review panel met to adjudicate on those decisions, the RFL were provided with detailed medical reports from our medical staff. When I spoke to the match review panel who had viewed that game, they had still not seen those scan reports by 6.30pm on Monday after the decision not to charge John Asiata was made.

"What I want to ask is: why? That is a very, very different procedure to the one Morgan Knowles was subjected to when he was part of a similar scenario after a game on Good Friday when Mike Cooper unfortunately suffered an ACL injury."

Wellens believes the decision to not punish Asiata for any of the challenges sets a dangerous precedent, while he has even been left questioning his own son's future in the game.

"What's important to consider is this isn't an emotional response after losing a cup game," added Wellens.

"I congratulate Leigh wholeheartedly for the way they played and wish them well in a few weeks' time.

"What we've got to consider when making decisions not to charge players who are tackling in that manner is that we give the green light for coaches and players at all levels to be able to tackle like that.

"As I sit here now as someone who loves the game, that doesn't sit with me well and doesn't make me feel comfortable.

"I have an eight-year-old son who plays rugby at Pilks Recs and plays it with a smile on his face every week – but if that's the type of tackle we're allowing in our game then maybe rugby league is a game I don't want my son playing anymore. I feel that strongly about it.

"Agnatius Paasi, Alex Walmsley and to a lesser extent Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Morgan Knowles have been severely let down by the governing body."

In response, the RFL stated: "Nobody wants to see injuries to players and we wish each of them the earliest possible recovery.

"We have listened intently to what the club has to say and we fully understand their position. We have also reiterated to the club that our approach to reviewing the incidents they refer to is consistent with all cases previously where clubs have cited incidents and alleged serious injuries to players.

"We assure all clubs that we will consult, consider and decide whether this type of tackle or technique is acceptable in our sport. As with any change to the laws of the game or to on-field regulations, we will undertake a thorough review with all stakeholders, including coaches and the laws committee, but any changes cannot happen in-season."