Goulding has ban reduced

The St Helens captain, Bobbie Goulding, has had his eight-match ban cut to six on appeal, but that has not mollified his club, writes Dave Hadfield.

Goulding was given one of the heaviest sentences of recent years after being sent off for a high tackle on the Wigan prop, Neil Cowie, in a Silk Cut Challenge Cup tie earlier this month.

The St Helens chairman, Eric Ashton, still thought the sentence was "disgusting". "I've studied videos and I've seen a lot of worse tackles," he said.