SAINTS head coach Keiron Cunningham has launched a scathing twin attack in a bid to stop his players from being “tried by television” and protect others from serious injury.

Fresh from having Travis Burns and Kyle Amor banned after the previous game, Cunningham was incensed when he watched the Wakefield match back on television and heard Sky Sports commentary team’s analysis of Jon Wilkin’s tackle on Danny Washbrook.

He felt that the comments from the pundits, which included references to “that will be classed as a strike to the head with the shoulder” could have been prejudicial to any subsequent disciplinary review.

And he contrasted those comments to the praise for Trinity forward Ali Lauitiiti’s tackle on Mark Flanagan later in the game which saw him catch the Saints back rower with a shoulder in the eye – the felled player subsequently needed surgery to repair a damaged tear duct.

Cunningham said: “It is a sad state of affairs but it looks like we are under trial by television.

“Because we are successful, we are on TV a lot – but it also means we are under the scrutiny of those commentators and they are putting ideas out, using the terminology to describe the grades of charges and talking about strikes to the head.

“It is almost like they have got the wording in front of them every time one of my players does something and that influences people.

“All the people who do the panel watch these TV games and I would love to see the statistic for TV games for charges compared to non-TV games.

“Travis Burns got a ban and a £300 fine the other week, but we watched other games of that round; worse incidents happened and not one was up on a charge because it was not a Sky game.

“If you have got experts telling Joe Public what is right and what is wrong, I know what I would be believing if I did not know what the game was about.”

Wilkin was not charged for the 44th minute incident, with the match review panel declaring that the Saints skipper was “making legitimate attempt to tackle and does not use illegal shoulder charge technique however does make contact with head of opponent with upper arm area. Opponent dipping.”

Lauitiiti’s challenge on Flanagan, after he ran on to a short ball from Lance Hohaia, was also deemed fair with no issue spotted on the night or in review.

But Cunningham was dismayed with that decision.

“Mark Flanagan needed surgery the day after the game to repair his eye, but if you listen to the commentators on Sky it was one of the best tackles in the world,” he said.

“Mark looks like a bloke who has been hit in the face with a shoulder.

“We lost him two seasons ago because of a cannonball tackle at the back of the leg and now we have lost him for up to a month. Nothing gets done about this, just like nothing got done about the cannon ball tackle.”

Speaking generally about foul play and tactics used, Cunningham added: “I feel like a whingeing fishwife ringing the RFL telling them that this and that was not right.

“I never teach my players bad antics. I don’t tell them to jump in and snap people’s knees – I don’t do that sort of thing, it goes against everything I believe in morally.

“It is not fair because we are behind the black ball every week losing players through one thing and another, suspension or injury.”

Saints will know the full extent of the leg injuries sustained by Mark Percival and Jonny Lomax later this week.

A long term absence would be a bitter blow given how important both are to the team.

Paul Wellens will switch to full back, with the likelihood Josh Jones will move into the centres with Travis Burns returning to six.

Cunningham said: “I feel for Percy because he was showing some good form.

“Everybody cringes when you watch it back, but the body is quite resilient and it can be a miraculous thing that heals pretty well. We have got our fingers crossed, as fewer weeks as possible would be a good result for us.

“They are both leg injuries and potentially it could not be good news but lets see what the medical people come back with.”