Wigan paid the price for Ben Flower’s act of shocking violence as they surrendered their Super League crown to arch rivals St Helens.

Saints ran out 14-6 winners, with Wigan down to 12 men early after Wales international Flower, 26, made unwanted history when he became the first player to be sent off in a Super League grand final.

The incident came less than three minutes into a spectacle watched by a 70,102 crowd at Old Trafford.

Flower took exception to five-eighth Lance Hohaia’s use of a forearm on him during a Wigan attack and reacted by knocking him to the ground with a left hook.

The former Crusaders forward then struck his defenceless opponent with a second punch to his face while he laid motionless on the turf.

St Helens struggled for a long time to make their numerical advantage tell but second-rower Sia Soliola’s try, in his final appearance in Super League, helped to put his side in front for the first time after 53 minutes, and winger Tom Makinson added a second 12 minutes from the end to clinch the club’s first title for eight years.

In addition to Soliola, Saints’ victory enabled his second-row partner Willie Manu and coach Nathan Brown to bow out on a high as Saints banished the memory of their five consecutive Grand Final defeats from 2007-11.

“It’s a great occasion. I’m just happy for all the fans and the players,” said Brown, who is returning to Australia to continue his coaching career.

“From a coach’s point of view, to come and work at this club has been the greatest experience of my life.”

It was especially sweet for Saints’ two survivors from that demoralising run: captain Paul Wellens, who equalled Jamie Peacock’s record of 10 Old Trafford appearances, and hooker James Roby, who won the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man of the match.

Yet the abiding memory of a tense and scrappy affair will be the moment that Flower lost his cool.

Hohaia was helped from the field, only to return after the final hooter to help his teammates celebrate their famous victory, while Wigan were left to play for 77 minutes with 12 men, although they took the lead with Matty Smith’s 17th-minute penalty.

A Rugby Football League spokesman said it would be up to Hohaia and St Helens to decide whether to pursue action outside the game’s jurisdiction, otherwise the case would go as normal before the match-review panel on Monday.