YOUNG hooker Aaron Smith will miss Saints’ trip to Hull FC after continuing to suffer from the effects of mild concussion and neck pain following Friday’s collision with Warrington prop Sitaleki Akauola.

Smith, deputising for injured skipper James Roby, was knocked out when trying to halt the big Tongan in the third minute of the top of the table clash.

It prompted coach Justin Holbrook to again ask for the ball carrier’s technique to be looked at.

Similar questions have arisen following Wolves’ games with Hull FC and Wakefield after respective props Scott Taylor and Titus Gwaze in recent weeks.

Holbrook said: “It is not illegal, but up until a few years ago shoulder charges for tacklers were part of our game.

“The reason we took those out was because it was so dangerous. If you get it wrong and hit someone in the head someone can be seriously injured.

“We are seeing that on the flip side with the bloke carrying the ball.

“It is nothing against Akauola personally - he is not doing it deliberately. But you can actually get more momentum carrying the ball and turning than a tackler can do, because they have to steady themselves.

“He is doing nothing wrong but it is something I want the game to look at because three players have been knocked out in the last few weeks.

“When you look at the way he carries and do your preview on him you can see that someone is going to get knocked out.

“I am not trying to have a cheap shot at him or Warrington, but look at this technique.

“As a game, run as hard as you can absolutely - but this becomes dangerous.

“He is not deliberately trying to hurt anyone but he has got his technique out of sorts that as a game we need to fix.”

Those calls were dismissed by Wolves boss Steve Price who said: “There was nothing wrong whatsoever.

“The game has been going for more than 100 years with players running like that. Some teams are going to have to look at how they tackle.”

“There is no intent, he is not raising any elbows or any knees. They are copping hard bits of his arm, you could say. There is nothing wrong with it whatsoever.”

With Smith missing, James Bentley will deputise at nine against Hull FC.