Let me start by saying what a good idea I think it is to have the Challenge Cup semi-finals as a double header at Bolton. There has been some concern about dwindling crowds in the world’s best rugby league knockout tournament so something had to be done to try to boost attendances. That you can now get both of these games, which should be high intensity and dramatic, for around £25 is something for which the authorities should be applauded. They’ve got it right this time, even if the population of Yorkshire aren’t convinced about the choice of Bolton as a venue.
Initially my only gripe was that they have chosen the Sunday, August 5, rather than the Saturday. Perhaps this is something to do with the EFL season starting that weekend but perhaps also it is a deliberate attempt to keep match day excess to a minimum. Many will have work on the Monday and will not be all that tempted to celebrate or drown their sorrows away too late into the night. But this is not something that is taken into consideration for the Grand Final in Manchester, at which there have been several incidences of feuding fans coming together for a dust-up while under the influence of alcohol. If it isn’t a problem for organisers expecting 75,000 at Old Trafford it should not be when they are accommodating only around 25,000 in Bolton.
I’m looking forward to it all immensely, assuming our ever-unpredictable Saints don’t let us down by bombing out in the quarter-finals to an injury-ravaged Hull FC this coming weekend. Yet a suggestion about how the event should be marketed got me once more hoisted atop my grubby old soap box. Some people are never happy, but then if they were always happy columns like That Saints Blog You Quite Like would not exist. Make up your own mind about whether that would be a good or a bad thing.
The idea was to give the event a brand name, much like the Magic Weekend, in an attempt to market the event to neutrals. It is the sort of thing that would have Eddie Hearn slavering down his expensive suits and would no doubt draw in a certain type of spectator. But these are the Challenge Cup semi-finals. In one place on one day for an absurdly reasonable price when compared with the glorified friendlies of Super League or the cash-soaked behemoth that is football. They shouldn’t need to be marketed as an event like Magic, nor should they be.
We need some neutral interest to boost those problematic falling attendances of recent years. Only just over 14,500 people saw Hull FC defeat Leeds Rhinos in Doncaster in last year’s semi-finals, while just shy of 10,800 witnessed Wigan’s victory over Salford Red Devils in Warrington. Those figures were even lower in 2016 when Hull FC beat Wigan at Doncaster and Warrington smashed Wakefield Trinity at Leigh. But if calling this event ‘the Challenge Cup semi-finals’ isn’t a big enough draw for a stadium that size then where are we as a sport?
There will be four clubs competing on the day, many of whom have sizeable fan bases who should, if they retain anything like a love for rugby league or anything resembling a pulse, have their boat summarily floated by this idea. It is these people who should form the bulk of the crowd that day in Bolton. The majority of the crowd should be turning up in a state of tension normally reserved for a soon-to-be rescued extra in a superhero movie. It should not consist mainly of day-trippers who are curious about this rugby league lark but don’t really care who comes out on top. Magic serves that purpose, or at least purports to. The truth is that it has rather more to do with raising money for the game than raising its profile, but it does at least have noble aims on the face of it. How many people are actually in attendance who were not already rugby league fans is a question one dare not ask for fear of spoiling everyone’s day out in Newcastle.
The point is that the Challenge Cup semi-finals should not be a relaxed carnival atmosphere like that seen in Magic, where the bars of Newcastle are often the major attraction. These games should matter to the majority of people who enter the stadium. Done right that is exactly what will happen and I support the concept fully, but it does not need the kind of event-obsessed promotion that the Hearn followers insist on applying to everything that the sport does. In our haste to grow the game and become more relevant it should be remembered that rugby league is a sport first and not a series of events in which the only consideration is getting people through the gate regardless of how much they will care.
This Week In RL - May 22-28 2018
The week starts with good news which, in the time honoured fashion, we immediately assume is bad news disguised as good news. On Tuesday Saints announce the capture of Kevin Naiqama from Wests Tigers on a three-year deal from the start of 2019. Naiqama is the Fiji captain and a top quality NRL centre who has probably not come cheap, so amid the excitement thoughts immediately turn to the prospect of Ben Barba leaving the club.
A fair amount of financial juggling will need to be done to fit both under the Super League’sstrait-jacket salary cap otherwise a sacrifice may have to be made elsewhere. Matty Smith to Widnes is the rumour of choice at the moment, while others are suggesting that it would make more sense to offload Ryan Morgan given that Naiqama would likely take his place in the starting line-up;
“I am really looking forward to getting over to St Helens for the next three years.” Says Naiqama, whose wife to be will hopefully concur that Sutton Manor is a better bet than the western suburbs of Sydney;
“The thought of winning a Super League Grand Final or Challenge Cup would be unreal and I feel I can do that with the Saints and the squad they have.” He adds. Meanwhile coach Justin Holbrook is equally enthused by his new recruit;
“Kevin is a great coup for the club and we’re really looking forward to having him on board next season.” He says, adding;
“He’s lightning quick too, with great hands, and can finish from all over the park.”
Sounds like he’ll fit right in.
It’s all happening on Tuesday as it is confirmed that England Knights will face Papua New Guinea in a two-games series in the autumn. Paul Anderson’s side will travel to Lae and Port Moresby in the Pacific Island nation, training at a base in Brisbane in preparation. The fixtures are the first to be arranged since the England Knights was re-established as part of the Elite Performance Unit;
“We were determined that we would create meaningful games and experiences that would test this squad of players and travelling to the other side of the world, to one of the most passionate and avid Rugby League nations on the planet will certainly do that.” Reckons RFL interim Chief Executive Ralph Rimmer, taking time out from schmoozing with the privileged elite;
“The Knights programme ties in fully with our ‘England Heartbeat’ philosophy of getting players ready to perform at their very best in an England shirt for the Senior team.” Adds the RFL’s Rugby Director Kevin Sinfield, setting pulses racing;
“We think this tour to Papua New Guinea ticks all of the boxes.” He continues.
The strangely delayed naming of a full-time head coach at Leigh Centurions finally reaches its logical conclusion as Keiron Purtill is named as the lucky man. Sort of;
“There is still a long way to go but I feel it is an appropriate time to make it known that I have no intentions of appointing a coach other than confirming Kieron Purtill in the role.” Explains Centurions owner Derek Beaumont.
Purtill has been in temporary charge since the departure of Neil Jukes in February and was thrilled and was quick to express his gratitude for the opportunity;
“It is a huge honour to coach Leigh Centurions and one that means a lot to me on a personal basis.” He said;
“We all are aware that we are nowhere near where we need to be but we will continue to do our utmost to continue the progress we have made with the ambition of taking our Club back into Super League.” He we-are-not-a-yo-yo-clubbed.
Harvey Livett has been catching the eye in Warrington’s recent good run, and he is rewarded (if you can call it that) with a new two-year deal at the club which takes him to the end of the 2020 season. The 21-year-old made his debut for the Wolves last season and has been instrumental in victories over Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC so far this term, with a bright future ahead;
“There’s much more improvement and growth in Harvey Livett as a Rugby League player and I am excited that he’s stayed loyal.” Reflects Wire coach Steve Price, whose been around all of five minutes himself;
“When I was growing up I used to go to home and away games watching the team so it means a lot to wear the shirt each week.” Says Livett, putting the concept of a difficult childhood into real perspective.
On Wednesday it is announced that the weekend’s Summer Bash will trial a new video referee system. The Summer Bash is a Magic Weekend for Championship Clubs, unless you are an expansion outfit in which case you get to do both. It is currently held annually in Blackpool, like week 8 of Strictly, or something. The grounding of the ball, the question of whether a player is in touch or touch in goal or matters concerning the dead ball line are the three areas that are reviewable at the Bash as the madness shows signs of finally stopping. In particular anything that boots the TV obstruction rule down the street has to be welcomed.
Despite the fact that a laughable bout of handbags breaks out between Purtill and Toronto Wolfpack’s former Leigh coach Paul Rowley at the end of the game between the two sides it seems that the experiment goes off without too many hitches. Cross your fingers. Pray for rugby league. Whatever it takes. Just please, please stop checking to see if a defender 20 yards away from the ball carrier might conceivably have been impeded.
“We have worked hard in recent years and have seen the amount of time it takes for a decision come down significantly.” Says Rugby Football League Head Of Match Officials Steve Ganson, with a straight face;
“The Summer Bash offers the perfect opportunity to conduct a trial across six games and we will be interested to receive feedback from fans, players, coaches and the broadcaster following the event.”
Catalans Dragons are no strangers to signing controversial, walking behavioural problems from the NRL and they continue the tradition with the addition of Kenny Edwards on an 18-month deal. Edwards was recently stood down by Parramatta Eels and then released after copping a charge of driving on a suspended licence in Australia. He will hop back across half the planet from his new Perpignan base for a court appearance over the matter in Sydney on July 10;
“Me and my family are really excited and looking forward to this new challenge in the South of France.” He told the club’s website, adding;
“I want to come out there and be the best I can be every day and help the team to win the club's first trophy.”
On the field Saints win again, this time 40-18 at Castleford, stretching their lead at the top of the Super League table to four points thanks to Wigan’s hugely amusing 24-8 defeat at Hull KR. Leeds’ poor form continues as they are downed 33-20 in France by the Dragons, while Warrington come from 12-0 down at half-time to beat Hull’s under 16s 30-12. Huddersfield edge Salford 24-16 as the battle for eighth (think 17th in the Premier League) hots up and Widnes finally slump to the bottom of the table with a 19-6 home defeat by Wakefield.
A fair amount of financial juggling will need to be done to fit both under the Super League’s
“I am really looking forward to getting over to St Helens for the next three years.” Says Naiqama, whose wife to be will hopefully concur that Sutton Manor is a better bet than the western suburbs of Sydney;
“The thought of winning a Super League Grand Final or Challenge Cup would be unreal and I feel I can do that with the Saints and the squad they have.” He adds. Meanwhile coach Justin Holbrook is equally enthused by his new recruit;
“Kevin is a great coup for the club and we’re really looking forward to having him on board next season.” He says, adding;
“He’s lightning quick too, with great hands, and can finish from all over the park.”
Sounds like he’ll fit right in.
It’s all happening on Tuesday as it is confirmed that England Knights will face Papua New Guinea in a two-games series in the autumn. Paul Anderson’s side will travel to Lae and Port Moresby in the Pacific Island nation, training at a base in Brisbane in preparation. The fixtures are the first to be arranged since the England Knights was re-established as part of the Elite Performance Unit;
“We were determined that we would create meaningful games and experiences that would test this squad of players and travelling to the other side of the world, to one of the most passionate and avid Rugby League nations on the planet will certainly do that.” Reckons RFL interim Chief Executive Ralph Rimmer, taking time out from schmoozing with the privileged elite;
“The Knights programme ties in fully with our ‘England Heartbeat’ philosophy of getting players ready to perform at their very best in an England shirt for the Senior team.” Adds the RFL’s Rugby Director Kevin Sinfield, setting pulses racing;
“We think this tour to Papua New Guinea ticks all of the boxes.” He continues.
The strangely delayed naming of a full-time head coach at Leigh Centurions finally reaches its logical conclusion as Keiron Purtill is named as the lucky man. Sort of;
“There is still a long way to go but I feel it is an appropriate time to make it known that I have no intentions of appointing a coach other than confirming Kieron Purtill in the role.” Explains Centurions owner Derek Beaumont.
Purtill has been in temporary charge since the departure of Neil Jukes in February and was thrilled and was quick to express his gratitude for the opportunity;
“It is a huge honour to coach Leigh Centurions and one that means a lot to me on a personal basis.” He said;
“We all are aware that we are nowhere near where we need to be but we will continue to do our utmost to continue the progress we have made with the ambition of taking our Club back into Super League.” He we-are-not-a-yo-yo-clubbed.
Harvey Livett has been catching the eye in Warrington’s recent good run, and he is rewarded (if you can call it that) with a new two-year deal at the club which takes him to the end of the 2020 season. The 21-year-old made his debut for the Wolves last season and has been instrumental in victories over Leeds Rhinos and Hull FC so far this term, with a bright future ahead;
“There’s much more improvement and growth in Harvey Livett as a Rugby League player and I am excited that he’s stayed loyal.” Reflects Wire coach Steve Price, whose been around all of five minutes himself;
“When I was growing up I used to go to home and away games watching the team so it means a lot to wear the shirt each week.” Says Livett, putting the concept of a difficult childhood into real perspective.
On Wednesday it is announced that the weekend’s Summer Bash will trial a new video referee system. The Summer Bash is a Magic Weekend for Championship Clubs, unless you are an expansion outfit in which case you get to do both. It is currently held annually in Blackpool, like week 8 of Strictly, or something. The grounding of the ball, the question of whether a player is in touch or touch in goal or matters concerning the dead ball line are the three areas that are reviewable at the Bash as the madness shows signs of finally stopping. In particular anything that boots the TV obstruction rule down the street has to be welcomed.
Despite the fact that a laughable bout of handbags breaks out between Purtill and Toronto Wolfpack’s former Leigh coach Paul Rowley at the end of the game between the two sides it seems that the experiment goes off without too many hitches. Cross your fingers. Pray for rugby league. Whatever it takes. Just please, please stop checking to see if a defender 20 yards away from the ball carrier might conceivably have been impeded.
“We have worked hard in recent years and have seen the amount of time it takes for a decision come down significantly.” Says Rugby Football League Head Of Match Officials Steve Ganson, with a straight face;
“The Summer Bash offers the perfect opportunity to conduct a trial across six games and we will be interested to receive feedback from fans, players, coaches and the broadcaster following the event.”
Catalans Dragons are no strangers to signing controversial, walking behavioural problems from the NRL and they continue the tradition with the addition of Kenny Edwards on an 18-month deal. Edwards was recently stood down by Parramatta Eels and then released after copping a charge of driving on a suspended licence in Australia. He will hop back across half the planet from his new Perpignan base for a court appearance over the matter in Sydney on July 10;
“Me and my family are really excited and looking forward to this new challenge in the South of France.” He told the club’s website, adding;
“I want to come out there and be the best I can be every day and help the team to win the club's first trophy.”
On the field Saints win again, this time 40-18 at Castleford, stretching their lead at the top of the Super League table to four points thanks to Wigan’s hugely amusing 24-8 defeat at Hull KR. Leeds’ poor form continues as they are downed 33-20 in France by the Dragons, while Warrington come from 12-0 down at half-time to beat Hull’s under 16s 30-12. Huddersfield edge Salford 24-16 as the battle for eighth (think 17th in the Premier League) hots up and Widnes finally slump to the bottom of the table with a 19-6 home defeat by Wakefield.
5 Talking Points From Castleford Tigers 18 Saints 40
Jonny Be Very Good
Saints 2018 season has been dominated by talk of Ben Barba and his by now weekly miracles. He came up with another one here, scooping up a loose ball before tearing down the side-line and handing off Paul McShane with ridiculous ease on his way to another 90-metre effort. Yet apart from that one notable moment of genius this was a quiet outing for Barba who left the field with a knock 20 minutes from the end. By then the show had already been stolen by the man who many thought would find himself out in the cold when Barba arrived last year.
Jonny Lomax was outstanding in this 40-18 cruise past last year’s runaway League Leaders Shield winners. Whether at stand-off, or at fullback when Barba left the scene Lomax was a constant threat. He scored one try and laid on three others, making a whopping 11 tackle busts and three clean breaks. His jinking run in the build up to Ryan Morgan’s second try was majestic, leaving all of Grant Millington, Mike McMeeken and Matt Cook in his wake before throwing a delicious long ball from left to right for Morgan to walk over. This is one of the most difficult passes in the game for right-sided players but Lomax pulled it off with embarrassing ease. The whole thing bettered even Mark Percival’s dazzling effort which created a try for Morgan in the win over Widnes in Newcastle last weekend.
At this point Lomax had already broken out of two weak Castleford tackles to go over in the first half and served up an irresistible delayed pass for Dominique Peyroux to cross for his third try of the season. In a game that is now too often stale and robotic Lomax’s performance was something extraordinary. A symbol of the free-flowing, play-what-you-see philosophy instilled in the players by Justin Holbrook. The same players who looked less than average this time last year. If one of this mob doesn’t get you, another one will despite the desperation of Saints detractors to trot out the ‘one-man-team’ mantra.
Oh Daryl…..
In a now unimaginable era before the arrival of Holbrook, when Saints alternated between eking out underwhelming wins over poor sides and getting roundly flogged by decent ones, great swathes of the fan base queued up to offer the opinion that Tigers coach Daryl Powell was the man to restore Saints to former glories. At that time the side from the Mend-A-Hose Jungle were playing scintillating rugby league, using their impressive strike on the edges and the skill of their midfield schemers to undo all comers. All except Leeds Rhinos in the Grand Final, that is.
A year on, Powell’s side are no longer dominating and it is starting to get to the former Leeds and Great Britain star. In his post-match interview he took no more than around 12 seconds to point out that his side were not very good, that Saints were and are very good, and that he doesn’t ‘know what is going on with referees’. Well, let’s talk about that one, Daryl…
Chris Kendall was the man in charge and after an early dropped bollock when he neglected to review McMeeken’s try only to find that the England forward had failed to ground the ball, the whistle-blower got the majority of his decisions right. Those that he managed to get wrong or which were arguable were often to the benefit of the Tigers. The knock-on call against Kyle Amor was one I thought Kendall got right. Surely Paul McShane is entitled to try to block the attempted offload? But I’m not so sure about the decision to penalise Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook for a ball steal when it looked like the ball had come loose in the tackle. That call gave the Tigers a lucky escape as it would have handed Saints possession close to the Castleford line, but there was some joy in McCarthy-Scarsbrook’s reaction. The former London man roared like an over-excited lion only to find that the call had gone against him. Perhaps Kendall is another who isn’t a fan of the histrionics.
There was one call that Powell had a right to feel aggrieved with and it was not the one which led to Barba’s moment of length-of-the-field magic. A quick refresher for Castleford fans. If the ball is knocked backwards and then bounces forwards that does not constitute a knock-on. Are we clear on that? Good, we can crack on to ask why on Earth Ben Roberts was penalised for not standing up to play the ball in the build-up to Lomax’s try. He did stand up, and he did touch the ball with his foot which is more than can be said for 75% of play-the-balls in your average Super League game. It wasn’t a pretty execution of the skill but it complied with the rules. Yet one call does not represent the difference between winning and losing, not when you have had several others go your way and not when the final margin of victory is 22 points.
Fages Gives Saints A Second Wind
When Barba left the field Saints had a bit of a wobble. After Theo Fages sent Percival away and was on hand to take the pass from Regan Grace to put Saints into a 34-4 lead things got a bit sleepy. Saints could not get any possession or territory and managed to concede three tries in less than 10 minutes as Jy Hitchcox, Jake Trueman and Oliver Holmes all got over to reduce the arrears to 34-18.
The intensity of Holbrook's side seemed to visibly drop during this period but Fages helped kick the side back into gear. His was the last word as he exchanged passes with Lomax to score his second try and Saints eighth on the night. Fages is playing limited minutes at the moment, not quite convincing Holbrook that he is worth the start at any of stand-off, hooker or loose forward. You wouldn't argue with the coach on that one with Barba, Lomax and Jon Wilkin all performing crucial roles. Yet the fact that Fages can play all or any of these positions makes him one of the most valuable assets in the squad right now. There was a definite upsurge in the tempo and speed of the play whenever Fages was involved in the attack and he got through a not-so-shabby 10 tackles in defence despite only playing for the last quarter or so. Fages looks to have seen off Matty Smith for the position of utility man on the bench, so much so that the suggestion is that Smith will join Widnes Vikings on a two-year deal in the not too distant future.
There will be those who will lament the loss of Smith if he does leave the club for what would be the umpteenth time in his storied career. But if any of the halfback corps have to go then surely it should not be Fages who continues to give Saints an extra dimension and one that, crucially, not many of their rivals can emulate.
Ben And Kevin?
If someone has to go it might be down to salary cap issues. Saints made a statement off the field this week when they announced the capture of Fiji captain Kevin Naiqama on a three-year deal from Wests Tigers. At 29 Naiqama is a couple of years too young to be accused of coming over to England to top up his pension. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has he tried to urinate in his own mouth, interfere with animals or any of the other multitude of misdemeanours which are normally a pre-requisite for NRL stars moving north. It's fantastic to see Saints again lead the way in showing that Super League can attract the top players, and this time without any baggage, but might there be a price to pay?
Two marquee players are currently allowed at any one Super League club. The mathematical implications of this are that £175,000 of the salary of those two players counts on the measly £1.8million cap, after which you can pay the players in question whatever you think you can afford. It's all speculation without the figures but if Barba stays it's reasonable to suggest that his and Naiqama's salaries would be among the highest at the club. It's also thought that Saints are currently using the marquee rule to enable them to bump up James Roby's money, though as a home grown player only £100,000 of that counts on the cap as opposed to the £175,000 in the case of non-home grown stars. Morgan plays in the same position as Naiqama and is a potential sacrifice that could be made, but whichever way you flip it there is some juggling to be done financially if we are to see Barba and Naiqama in the same side in 2019.
Opposing fans grow ever more confident that Barba will return to Australia at the end of the season. As opportunities to lord it over Saints fans for what is happening on the field get fewer and further between the cry of 'Barba's going home' has become the default and rather tragic go-to sledge of those of a Wigan, Warrington, Leeds or Cas persuasion. They might be right but what if they're not? What if both Barba and Naiqama can be accommodated and help Saints dominate next year? Will those clubs sit around and grumble about it or will it raise the bar in terms of ambition in Super League? Will we see more top stars arrive and stay in Super League and finally an end to the glass ceiling mentality of the last few years? Surely we'd all like to see that happen?
A Decisive Week In The LLS?
Winning the league used to be the be all and end all. I waited for the first 21 years of my life before one sunny August day it finally happened for Saints. A Bobbie Goulding-inspired routing of Warrington saw Saints edge Wigan to the 1996 title by a single point. It was the one and only time I would witness my team win the title on its own turf.
By 1998 the idea of handing the title to the side that finished top of the table was not considered marketable enough and the Super League Grand Final was born. It's a fantastic concept (particularly when you win) which is no doubt here to stay but it does lessen the impact of weekends like this one, when one of the sides in contention to finish top of the pile suffers a surprise defeat and hands the initiative to their rival. Wigan's 22-8 defeat at Hull KR would have had me in raptures if it had happened in 1996. Or better still in 1992-93 when Saints came up agonosingly short on points difference after a bruising, epic 8-8 draw with Wigan at Central Park which lacked nothing in drama despite not being played at a neutral 75,000 seater stadium with a pre-match performance from James or Razorlight. Yet all Wigan's loss at KCom Craven Park inspired in me was a brief snort of amusement, A mild sense of satisfaction where an unhinged level of excitement would once have resided. No more than say....watching a British athlete whose name you won't remember in a month winning a medal at an Olympic Games. You're glad, but if it hadn't happened your life would be no worse for it.
Saints now have a four-point advantage over Wigan and are in prime position to finish top at the end of August. Yet nobody will worry too much whether they do or don't. The season will be judged on who wins at Old Trafford and, to a lesser extent, at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final. The apathy towards the League Leaders Shield is seen in how even fans of those sides who win it regularly refer to it dismissively as the 'hub cap', and in how we sneered and sniggered at Castleford fans when they celebrated wildly after winning it last year.
But it should be celebrated and it should be valued. There will always be doubts about how results would have gone if all teams started the season with the principal aim of winning the league. If there were no Grand Final. But if you finish with more points than anyone else after 30 tough games you deserve some recognition for your level of consistency. Saints should comtinue to strive for it and, if it comes, enjoy it when it does.
Saints 2018 season has been dominated by talk of Ben Barba and his by now weekly miracles. He came up with another one here, scooping up a loose ball before tearing down the side-line and handing off Paul McShane with ridiculous ease on his way to another 90-metre effort. Yet apart from that one notable moment of genius this was a quiet outing for Barba who left the field with a knock 20 minutes from the end. By then the show had already been stolen by the man who many thought would find himself out in the cold when Barba arrived last year.
Jonny Lomax was outstanding in this 40-18 cruise past last year’s runaway League Leaders Shield winners. Whether at stand-off, or at fullback when Barba left the scene Lomax was a constant threat. He scored one try and laid on three others, making a whopping 11 tackle busts and three clean breaks. His jinking run in the build up to Ryan Morgan’s second try was majestic, leaving all of Grant Millington, Mike McMeeken and Matt Cook in his wake before throwing a delicious long ball from left to right for Morgan to walk over. This is one of the most difficult passes in the game for right-sided players but Lomax pulled it off with embarrassing ease. The whole thing bettered even Mark Percival’s dazzling effort which created a try for Morgan in the win over Widnes in Newcastle last weekend.
At this point Lomax had already broken out of two weak Castleford tackles to go over in the first half and served up an irresistible delayed pass for Dominique Peyroux to cross for his third try of the season. In a game that is now too often stale and robotic Lomax’s performance was something extraordinary. A symbol of the free-flowing, play-what-you-see philosophy instilled in the players by Justin Holbrook. The same players who looked less than average this time last year. If one of this mob doesn’t get you, another one will despite the desperation of Saints detractors to trot out the ‘one-man-team’ mantra.
Oh Daryl…..
In a now unimaginable era before the arrival of Holbrook, when Saints alternated between eking out underwhelming wins over poor sides and getting roundly flogged by decent ones, great swathes of the fan base queued up to offer the opinion that Tigers coach Daryl Powell was the man to restore Saints to former glories. At that time the side from the Mend-A-Hose Jungle were playing scintillating rugby league, using their impressive strike on the edges and the skill of their midfield schemers to undo all comers. All except Leeds Rhinos in the Grand Final, that is.
A year on, Powell’s side are no longer dominating and it is starting to get to the former Leeds and Great Britain star. In his post-match interview he took no more than around 12 seconds to point out that his side were not very good, that Saints were and are very good, and that he doesn’t ‘know what is going on with referees’. Well, let’s talk about that one, Daryl…
Chris Kendall was the man in charge and after an early dropped bollock when he neglected to review McMeeken’s try only to find that the England forward had failed to ground the ball, the whistle-blower got the majority of his decisions right. Those that he managed to get wrong or which were arguable were often to the benefit of the Tigers. The knock-on call against Kyle Amor was one I thought Kendall got right. Surely Paul McShane is entitled to try to block the attempted offload? But I’m not so sure about the decision to penalise Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook for a ball steal when it looked like the ball had come loose in the tackle. That call gave the Tigers a lucky escape as it would have handed Saints possession close to the Castleford line, but there was some joy in McCarthy-Scarsbrook’s reaction. The former London man roared like an over-excited lion only to find that the call had gone against him. Perhaps Kendall is another who isn’t a fan of the histrionics.
There was one call that Powell had a right to feel aggrieved with and it was not the one which led to Barba’s moment of length-of-the-field magic. A quick refresher for Castleford fans. If the ball is knocked backwards and then bounces forwards that does not constitute a knock-on. Are we clear on that? Good, we can crack on to ask why on Earth Ben Roberts was penalised for not standing up to play the ball in the build-up to Lomax’s try. He did stand up, and he did touch the ball with his foot which is more than can be said for 75% of play-the-balls in your average Super League game. It wasn’t a pretty execution of the skill but it complied with the rules. Yet one call does not represent the difference between winning and losing, not when you have had several others go your way and not when the final margin of victory is 22 points.
Fages Gives Saints A Second Wind
When Barba left the field Saints had a bit of a wobble. After Theo Fages sent Percival away and was on hand to take the pass from Regan Grace to put Saints into a 34-4 lead things got a bit sleepy. Saints could not get any possession or territory and managed to concede three tries in less than 10 minutes as Jy Hitchcox, Jake Trueman and Oliver Holmes all got over to reduce the arrears to 34-18.
The intensity of Holbrook's side seemed to visibly drop during this period but Fages helped kick the side back into gear. His was the last word as he exchanged passes with Lomax to score his second try and Saints eighth on the night. Fages is playing limited minutes at the moment, not quite convincing Holbrook that he is worth the start at any of stand-off, hooker or loose forward. You wouldn't argue with the coach on that one with Barba, Lomax and Jon Wilkin all performing crucial roles. Yet the fact that Fages can play all or any of these positions makes him one of the most valuable assets in the squad right now. There was a definite upsurge in the tempo and speed of the play whenever Fages was involved in the attack and he got through a not-so-shabby 10 tackles in defence despite only playing for the last quarter or so. Fages looks to have seen off Matty Smith for the position of utility man on the bench, so much so that the suggestion is that Smith will join Widnes Vikings on a two-year deal in the not too distant future.
There will be those who will lament the loss of Smith if he does leave the club for what would be the umpteenth time in his storied career. But if any of the halfback corps have to go then surely it should not be Fages who continues to give Saints an extra dimension and one that, crucially, not many of their rivals can emulate.
Ben And Kevin?
If someone has to go it might be down to salary cap issues. Saints made a statement off the field this week when they announced the capture of Fiji captain Kevin Naiqama on a three-year deal from Wests Tigers. At 29 Naiqama is a couple of years too young to be accused of coming over to England to top up his pension. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has he tried to urinate in his own mouth, interfere with animals or any of the other multitude of misdemeanours which are normally a pre-requisite for NRL stars moving north. It's fantastic to see Saints again lead the way in showing that Super League can attract the top players, and this time without any baggage, but might there be a price to pay?
Two marquee players are currently allowed at any one Super League club. The mathematical implications of this are that £175,000 of the salary of those two players counts on the measly £1.8million cap, after which you can pay the players in question whatever you think you can afford. It's all speculation without the figures but if Barba stays it's reasonable to suggest that his and Naiqama's salaries would be among the highest at the club. It's also thought that Saints are currently using the marquee rule to enable them to bump up James Roby's money, though as a home grown player only £100,000 of that counts on the cap as opposed to the £175,000 in the case of non-home grown stars. Morgan plays in the same position as Naiqama and is a potential sacrifice that could be made, but whichever way you flip it there is some juggling to be done financially if we are to see Barba and Naiqama in the same side in 2019.
Opposing fans grow ever more confident that Barba will return to Australia at the end of the season. As opportunities to lord it over Saints fans for what is happening on the field get fewer and further between the cry of 'Barba's going home' has become the default and rather tragic go-to sledge of those of a Wigan, Warrington, Leeds or Cas persuasion. They might be right but what if they're not? What if both Barba and Naiqama can be accommodated and help Saints dominate next year? Will those clubs sit around and grumble about it or will it raise the bar in terms of ambition in Super League? Will we see more top stars arrive and stay in Super League and finally an end to the glass ceiling mentality of the last few years? Surely we'd all like to see that happen?
A Decisive Week In The LLS?
Winning the league used to be the be all and end all. I waited for the first 21 years of my life before one sunny August day it finally happened for Saints. A Bobbie Goulding-inspired routing of Warrington saw Saints edge Wigan to the 1996 title by a single point. It was the one and only time I would witness my team win the title on its own turf.
By 1998 the idea of handing the title to the side that finished top of the table was not considered marketable enough and the Super League Grand Final was born. It's a fantastic concept (particularly when you win) which is no doubt here to stay but it does lessen the impact of weekends like this one, when one of the sides in contention to finish top of the pile suffers a surprise defeat and hands the initiative to their rival. Wigan's 22-8 defeat at Hull KR would have had me in raptures if it had happened in 1996. Or better still in 1992-93 when Saints came up agonosingly short on points difference after a bruising, epic 8-8 draw with Wigan at Central Park which lacked nothing in drama despite not being played at a neutral 75,000 seater stadium with a pre-match performance from James or Razorlight. Yet all Wigan's loss at KCom Craven Park inspired in me was a brief snort of amusement, A mild sense of satisfaction where an unhinged level of excitement would once have resided. No more than say....watching a British athlete whose name you won't remember in a month winning a medal at an Olympic Games. You're glad, but if it hadn't happened your life would be no worse for it.
Saints now have a four-point advantage over Wigan and are in prime position to finish top at the end of August. Yet nobody will worry too much whether they do or don't. The season will be judged on who wins at Old Trafford and, to a lesser extent, at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final. The apathy towards the League Leaders Shield is seen in how even fans of those sides who win it regularly refer to it dismissively as the 'hub cap', and in how we sneered and sniggered at Castleford fans when they celebrated wildly after winning it last year.
But it should be celebrated and it should be valued. There will always be doubts about how results would have gone if all teams started the season with the principal aim of winning the league. If there were no Grand Final. But if you finish with more points than anyone else after 30 tough games you deserve some recognition for your level of consistency. Saints should comtinue to strive for it and, if it comes, enjoy it when it does.
Castleford Tigers v Saints Preview
Saints push towards the League Leaders Shield continues when they travel to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle to face Castleford Tigers on Thursday night (May 24, kick-off 7.45pm).
Justin Holbrook's side remain top of the BetFred Super League table with just two defeats from their opening 15 matches. Their latest success came at Newcastle in last week's Magic Weekend when Saints overcame a dogged first half effort from Widnes Vikings to run out 38-18 winners. Yet Saints are still under pressure from Wigan who have also lost just twice in the league and boosted their challenge with a 38-10 schooling of Warrington at St James Park.
If it doesn't seem all that long since Saints travelled to Castleford that's because it isn't. A fortnight ago the Tigers hosted Saints in a Challenge Cup last 16 tie which the visitors won 36-18 to the absolute disgust of a traumatised BBC commentary team. This quick return to the home of Daryl Powell's side offers the Tigers a chance for revenge and remains one of the trickier hurdles that Saints will have to jump between now and the start of the Super 8s in August.
Holbrook has made just the one chance to the 19-man squad which travelled to the north east. Kyle Amor returns from a one-game suspension fussily handed down to him for a dangerous tackle on Oliver Holmes in that cup win at Castleford. That means no place for Matty Lees with Amor likely to join Luke Thompson, Luke Douglas and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook in the front row for Saints with Theo Fages likely to again get the nod ahead of Matty Smith to back up the incomparable James Roby.
The back row features in-form Dominique Peyroux alongside Zeb Tai and Jon Wilkin with Morgan Knowles starting on the bench.
Ben Barba has again been the subject of gossip and whispers this week. The capture of Kevin Naiqama on a three-year deal from Wests Tigers from 2019 has had many fans resigning themselves to 2018 being Barba's first and last full season in a Saints jersey. Yet the brilliant Aussie remains for now and will start at full-back. Barba tore the Tigers apart with a hat-trick in the cup meeting and it will be interesting to see if Powell has come up with any solutions since then to the problems that Barba poses.
Tommy Makinson left the Widnes win early with what looked like a hand injury but is fit enough to be named. If he starts it will be opposite Regan Grace on the other wing with Mark Percival and Ryan Morgan in the centres. Adam Swift stands by for an opportunity should there be any doubts about Makinson. In the halves Jonny Lomax should continue alongside the excellent Danny Richardson whose ears may have been pricked this week by news that England Knights will take on Papua New Guinea in two test matches this summer. With Marc Sneyd and Castleford's own Luke Gale injured Richardson may even hope to break into the senior England squad, but a run-out against the RL-mad Papua New Guineans will nonetheless further Richardson's education in the game.
Gale is the biggest name missing from the Tigers squad who come in on the back of a statement 38-10 massacre of Leeds Rhinos at Magic. It was a win which left Castleford fifth in the table, on the same number of points as Hull FC in fourth but with two potentially crucial games in hand over both FC and Warrington in third. There'll be no repeat of the Tigers League Leaders Shield triumph of 2017 but if they can get into the top four they will be a dangerous opponent for anyone.
With Gale out it is timely for Castleford that Ben Roberts returns, while Jake Trueman should be allowed to continue his development in the halves. That would allow Paul McShane to concentrate on being one of the better hookers in the competition and give Powell's side greater balance. Along with Gale Jake Webster and Joe Wardle miss out along with Greg Eden, with Michael Shenton possibly reverting to centre from fullback and Greg Minikin and Jy Hitchcox also featuring.
Up front McShane, Junior Moors and Liam Watts are an impressive front row along with the skilled Grant Millington. Mike McMeeken is an England second row and with the impact of Jesse Sene-Lefao and the reliability of Adam Milner the Tigers have a strong pack without even mentioning Holmes or last week's standout Alex Foster.
This is Saints first league visit to Castleford since Gale broke their hearts with that golden point drop-goal in last year's Super League semi-final. The stakes are high too, and though they have the cup win and a 46-6 pasting of the Tigers on the opening day of the season under their belts you get the feeling the agony of that September night at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle will be a useful motivational tool for Saints for a while yet.
This could be a tough assignment for Holbrook's men given the way the Tigers dismissed Leeds and the fact that the red vee haven't really clicked into top gear in recent weeks. Yet perhaps they're due, so I'll go for a narrow Saints win in the region of 6-8 points.
Squads;
Castleford Tigers;
1. Ben Roberts 2. Greg Minikin 4. Michael Shenton 6. Jamie Ellis 8. Junior Moors 9. Paul McShane 10. Grant Millington 11. Oliver Holmes 12. Mike McMeeken 13. Adam Milner 14. Nathan Massey 15. Jesse Sene-Lefao 17. Alex Foster 18. Matt Cook 21. Jake Trueman 22. James Green 24. Jy Hitchcox 28. Kieran Gill 32. Liam Watts
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax 2. Tommy Makinson 3. Ryan Morgan 4. Mark Percival 5. Adam Swift 6. Theo Fages 7. Matty Smith 9. James Roby 10. Kyle Amor 11. Zeb Taia 12. Jon Wilkin 13. Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook 14. Luke Douglas 15. Morgan Knowles 16. Luke Thompson 17. Dominique Peyroux 18. Danny Richardson 19. Regan Grace 23. Ben Barba.
Referee: Chris Kendall
Justin Holbrook's side remain top of the BetFred Super League table with just two defeats from their opening 15 matches. Their latest success came at Newcastle in last week's Magic Weekend when Saints overcame a dogged first half effort from Widnes Vikings to run out 38-18 winners. Yet Saints are still under pressure from Wigan who have also lost just twice in the league and boosted their challenge with a 38-10 schooling of Warrington at St James Park.
If it doesn't seem all that long since Saints travelled to Castleford that's because it isn't. A fortnight ago the Tigers hosted Saints in a Challenge Cup last 16 tie which the visitors won 36-18 to the absolute disgust of a traumatised BBC commentary team. This quick return to the home of Daryl Powell's side offers the Tigers a chance for revenge and remains one of the trickier hurdles that Saints will have to jump between now and the start of the Super 8s in August.
Holbrook has made just the one chance to the 19-man squad which travelled to the north east. Kyle Amor returns from a one-game suspension fussily handed down to him for a dangerous tackle on Oliver Holmes in that cup win at Castleford. That means no place for Matty Lees with Amor likely to join Luke Thompson, Luke Douglas and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook in the front row for Saints with Theo Fages likely to again get the nod ahead of Matty Smith to back up the incomparable James Roby.
The back row features in-form Dominique Peyroux alongside Zeb Tai and Jon Wilkin with Morgan Knowles starting on the bench.
Ben Barba has again been the subject of gossip and whispers this week. The capture of Kevin Naiqama on a three-year deal from Wests Tigers from 2019 has had many fans resigning themselves to 2018 being Barba's first and last full season in a Saints jersey. Yet the brilliant Aussie remains for now and will start at full-back. Barba tore the Tigers apart with a hat-trick in the cup meeting and it will be interesting to see if Powell has come up with any solutions since then to the problems that Barba poses.
Tommy Makinson left the Widnes win early with what looked like a hand injury but is fit enough to be named. If he starts it will be opposite Regan Grace on the other wing with Mark Percival and Ryan Morgan in the centres. Adam Swift stands by for an opportunity should there be any doubts about Makinson. In the halves Jonny Lomax should continue alongside the excellent Danny Richardson whose ears may have been pricked this week by news that England Knights will take on Papua New Guinea in two test matches this summer. With Marc Sneyd and Castleford's own Luke Gale injured Richardson may even hope to break into the senior England squad, but a run-out against the RL-mad Papua New Guineans will nonetheless further Richardson's education in the game.
Gale is the biggest name missing from the Tigers squad who come in on the back of a statement 38-10 massacre of Leeds Rhinos at Magic. It was a win which left Castleford fifth in the table, on the same number of points as Hull FC in fourth but with two potentially crucial games in hand over both FC and Warrington in third. There'll be no repeat of the Tigers League Leaders Shield triumph of 2017 but if they can get into the top four they will be a dangerous opponent for anyone.
With Gale out it is timely for Castleford that Ben Roberts returns, while Jake Trueman should be allowed to continue his development in the halves. That would allow Paul McShane to concentrate on being one of the better hookers in the competition and give Powell's side greater balance. Along with Gale Jake Webster and Joe Wardle miss out along with Greg Eden, with Michael Shenton possibly reverting to centre from fullback and Greg Minikin and Jy Hitchcox also featuring.
Up front McShane, Junior Moors and Liam Watts are an impressive front row along with the skilled Grant Millington. Mike McMeeken is an England second row and with the impact of Jesse Sene-Lefao and the reliability of Adam Milner the Tigers have a strong pack without even mentioning Holmes or last week's standout Alex Foster.
This is Saints first league visit to Castleford since Gale broke their hearts with that golden point drop-goal in last year's Super League semi-final. The stakes are high too, and though they have the cup win and a 46-6 pasting of the Tigers on the opening day of the season under their belts you get the feeling the agony of that September night at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle will be a useful motivational tool for Saints for a while yet.
This could be a tough assignment for Holbrook's men given the way the Tigers dismissed Leeds and the fact that the red vee haven't really clicked into top gear in recent weeks. Yet perhaps they're due, so I'll go for a narrow Saints win in the region of 6-8 points.
Squads;
Castleford Tigers;
1. Ben Roberts 2. Greg Minikin 4. Michael Shenton 6. Jamie Ellis 8. Junior Moors 9. Paul McShane 10. Grant Millington 11. Oliver Holmes 12. Mike McMeeken 13. Adam Milner 14. Nathan Massey 15. Jesse Sene-Lefao 17. Alex Foster 18. Matt Cook 21. Jake Trueman 22. James Green 24. Jy Hitchcox 28. Kieran Gill 32. Liam Watts
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax 2. Tommy Makinson 3. Ryan Morgan 4. Mark Percival 5. Adam Swift 6. Theo Fages 7. Matty Smith 9. James Roby 10. Kyle Amor 11. Zeb Taia 12. Jon Wilkin 13. Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook 14. Luke Douglas 15. Morgan Knowles 16. Luke Thompson 17. Dominique Peyroux 18. Danny Richardson 19. Regan Grace 23. Ben Barba.
Referee: Chris Kendall
5 Talking Points From Saints 38 Widnes Vikings 18
Second Half Defensive Effort Seals The Win
Most of us would have stifled an excited giggle when we learned that Widnes Vikings would be our opponents at Newcastle's Magic Weekend. Even before a ball was kicked in 2018 nobody fancied Denis Betts' side to do much. By the time the game kicked off Widnes had just three wins from 13 Super League outings. Meanwhile Saints came into it top of the pile, defeated only twice in 14 league games and having recently rammed 60+ points down the throats of both Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils.
Yet by half-time we'd lost our sense of humour. Widnes were well in the contest at only 22-18 down. Saints had conceded three tries that they would probably consider soft based on their defensive exploits so far this season, including one right on the half-time hooter by Leeds loanee Jimmy Keinhorst when it appeared that Saints minds were already in the dressing room. It was uncharacteristic for a team which had conceded an average of only 11.7 points per game. They'd allowed almost double that before half-time.
So it was clear where the focus of Justin Holbrook's half-time chat should have been. And on the evidence of the second half that's exactly where it was. No more points would be added to the Vikings tally while a double from Ryan Morgan and another length of the field effort from Regan Grace pulled Saints clear. Overall Saints missed 28 tackles, slightly up on their season average of 23.3 per game with Danny Richardson responsible for a quarter of those. Yet the improvement after half-time is a positive sign, showing that the defensive intensity can be lifted if and when necessary.
We Need To Talk About Widnes
Despite the odd defensive lapse it was an otherwise impressive performance from Widnes-born Richardson. He carried off Man Of The Match honours, streaking away for Saints first try and grabbing an assist while kicking five goals for a personal points tally of 14. He kicked the Vikings to the proverbial death and when he chose to run the ball he did so to the tune of almost 12 metres per carry.
Yet it was the skill and guile of another Widnesian Saint which arguably produced the game-breaking moment. Mark Percival had moved into the centre of the field looking for work when out of nothing he jinked and stepped his way through the Vikings defence to help set up Morgan's first try. That followed a first half try from Percival which looked suspiciously like it had been preceded by a knock-on from the England centre. As did his inadvertent assist for Grace's first try. Those refs eh? They hate Saints. And so do Sky. And the RFL. And Robert Elstone has a dartboard with a peppered picture of Alex Murphy on it.
But back to Richardson and Percival. The former spoke openly at a club forum recently about how he saw moving to Saints academy as a better career opportunity than staying at his home town club. Ditto Percival in all likelihood. Which if nothing else is a sad indictment of how far the club we used to call the Chemics have fallen. There are plenty of youngsters in the Widnes squad but Richardson and Percival are evidence that the cream of their crop look elsewhere. The club that was once feared throughout the rugby league world with stars in the side like Martin Offiah and Jonathan Davies is now reduced to taking the positives from the fact that they weren't humiliated by Saints. Many Vikings fans feel there is too much emphasis on community work and not enough on strengthening the first team, and pressure has been mounting on the gravel-voiced Betts and the club's top man James Rule. They have been known to respond by bemoaning what they see as the undue pressure placed upon them by a promotion and relegation system, but that sort of talk doesn't scream to you that the former world champions are a club with ambition. What the Hell happened to Widnes?
Morgan's Second Try Was The Wrong Call
The decision to allow Morgan's second try was not the worst decision of the Magic Weekend. That honour probably goes to Scott Mikalauskas and his touch judges in the Championship match-up between Toronto and Toulouse which started the whole shebang. Wolfpack Winger, the top-knottted Liam Kay, clearly dropped the ball in scoring in the corner in the first half but even that was topped by the decision to allow a conversion by Jonathan Ford of the French side which sailed palpably wide of the post. It took me back to the days when childhood kick-abouts would be ended by rows about whether a ball had passed over or inside the jumpers for goalposts or the makeshift target formed by two lads standing hand in hand with the other arm raised to create a post.
And so to Morgan. The Australian centre had already scored once in the second half when he slid over for what looked like a second. However video replays seemed to show that Morgan had lost possession as Stefan Marsh came in with a last ditch attempt to halt the grounding. The try was given, but surely the correct call was either a no try or a penalty try? Marsh slid in with his feet in dangerous fashion. There may be an argument that Marsh has to be allowed to use his body to prevent the grounding but in these days of player welfare, a world where bans are handed out for tackling a player who is running backwards into contact, it is surprising that the penalty try wasn't even discussed. It was certainly a worthier shout than the one Pie In The Sky Phil Clarke shouted for when Dominique Peyroux was sin-binned for feathering a Widnes player who may have been in the same postcode as a ball bouncing over the dead ball line.
Worries Over Makinson, But Not About Swift
Tommy Makinson has been playing so well in 2018 that even unbiased commentators have been throwing him into the conversation for Engand selection. Versatile enough to play fullback or centre it is on his favoured right wing that Makinson has excelled most. He has six tries and seven assists this term, the latest of which came in this one when he put Morgan over after great work from our Widnesian double act of Percival and Richardson. Makinson also racked up 119 metres and only four Saints have gained more ground than he has in 2018.
Slightly alarming then to see him leave the action early with what looked like an arm or hand injury. It could be nothing, but if it does keep Makinson out of Saints trip to Castleford on Thursday night (May 24) then there is a solution. Adam Swift returned to fitness a couple of weeks ago after a shoulder injury but has been kept out of the side by the form of Makinson and Grace. Holbrook should have no worries about throwing Swift in if required. The wing man played well when Holbrook experimented with Makinson at centre in the absence of Morgan earlier in the season. The 25-year-old Swift has 78 tries for Saints albeit only two of those have come in 2018 as his opportunities have been restricted. Swift may not offer quite as much as Makinson right now but his time spent out of the side shows the depth of the Saints squad this year. He'll be fine if he's called upon at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
Is This Format Fair?
The 12th edition of the Magic Weekend is done and dusted and at that time thoughts always seem to turn to the event's future. Many have claimed that day one of this year's festival which saw Saints win followed by impressive showings from Wigan and Castleford against Warrington and Leeds respectively was the best single day in the history of Magic. Maybe you had to be there. The television experience consisted of a badly officiated Championship game and three one-sided Super League clashes. Over the whole weekend only Huddersfield's 25-22 win over Wakefield was settled by less than 12 points.
But you can never guarantee close games. Sport is unpredictable and we'd like to keep it that way. The real problem with Magic is its potential to creative competitive imbalance in Super League. Fans of Warrington, Leeds, Wigan and Castleford may have every reason to feel aggrieved at having to play each other in the seemingly arbitrary extra fixture while Saints were handed a rather more routine-looking task against Widnes. In the event the margin of victory for Saints was smaller than for either Wigan or Castleford but that probably wouldn't change the answer provided by Shaun Wane or Daryl Powell if you asked them who they would rather come up against.
It all seems rather random and consequently skewed. As we have to now suffer talk of taking the show to New York, an act of laughable hubris that would take the game away from both its stadium and TV audience in one fell swoop, shouldn't we instead be looking at ways to make it fairer? The extra game is something football has resisted for some time and for good reason. Even in the Premier League competitive integrity is held in higher esteem than making yet more quick bucks. For us perhaps the staging of a Challenge Cup round at Magic would make more sense. The quarter-finals might be a candidate. The fixtures are randomly drawn but make sense within the context of a traditional cup competition, and while more clubs outside Super League would have a chance to be there all clubs would have to earn their spot in the here and now and not based on securing Super League status eight months earlier.
It could revitalise a competition that most rugby league fans love but currently fear for.
Most of us would have stifled an excited giggle when we learned that Widnes Vikings would be our opponents at Newcastle's Magic Weekend. Even before a ball was kicked in 2018 nobody fancied Denis Betts' side to do much. By the time the game kicked off Widnes had just three wins from 13 Super League outings. Meanwhile Saints came into it top of the pile, defeated only twice in 14 league games and having recently rammed 60+ points down the throats of both Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils.
Yet by half-time we'd lost our sense of humour. Widnes were well in the contest at only 22-18 down. Saints had conceded three tries that they would probably consider soft based on their defensive exploits so far this season, including one right on the half-time hooter by Leeds loanee Jimmy Keinhorst when it appeared that Saints minds were already in the dressing room. It was uncharacteristic for a team which had conceded an average of only 11.7 points per game. They'd allowed almost double that before half-time.
So it was clear where the focus of Justin Holbrook's half-time chat should have been. And on the evidence of the second half that's exactly where it was. No more points would be added to the Vikings tally while a double from Ryan Morgan and another length of the field effort from Regan Grace pulled Saints clear. Overall Saints missed 28 tackles, slightly up on their season average of 23.3 per game with Danny Richardson responsible for a quarter of those. Yet the improvement after half-time is a positive sign, showing that the defensive intensity can be lifted if and when necessary.
We Need To Talk About Widnes
Despite the odd defensive lapse it was an otherwise impressive performance from Widnes-born Richardson. He carried off Man Of The Match honours, streaking away for Saints first try and grabbing an assist while kicking five goals for a personal points tally of 14. He kicked the Vikings to the proverbial death and when he chose to run the ball he did so to the tune of almost 12 metres per carry.
Yet it was the skill and guile of another Widnesian Saint which arguably produced the game-breaking moment. Mark Percival had moved into the centre of the field looking for work when out of nothing he jinked and stepped his way through the Vikings defence to help set up Morgan's first try. That followed a first half try from Percival which looked suspiciously like it had been preceded by a knock-on from the England centre. As did his inadvertent assist for Grace's first try. Those refs eh? They hate Saints. And so do Sky. And the RFL. And Robert Elstone has a dartboard with a peppered picture of Alex Murphy on it.
But back to Richardson and Percival. The former spoke openly at a club forum recently about how he saw moving to Saints academy as a better career opportunity than staying at his home town club. Ditto Percival in all likelihood. Which if nothing else is a sad indictment of how far the club we used to call the Chemics have fallen. There are plenty of youngsters in the Widnes squad but Richardson and Percival are evidence that the cream of their crop look elsewhere. The club that was once feared throughout the rugby league world with stars in the side like Martin Offiah and Jonathan Davies is now reduced to taking the positives from the fact that they weren't humiliated by Saints. Many Vikings fans feel there is too much emphasis on community work and not enough on strengthening the first team, and pressure has been mounting on the gravel-voiced Betts and the club's top man James Rule. They have been known to respond by bemoaning what they see as the undue pressure placed upon them by a promotion and relegation system, but that sort of talk doesn't scream to you that the former world champions are a club with ambition. What the Hell happened to Widnes?
Morgan's Second Try Was The Wrong Call
The decision to allow Morgan's second try was not the worst decision of the Magic Weekend. That honour probably goes to Scott Mikalauskas and his touch judges in the Championship match-up between Toronto and Toulouse which started the whole shebang. Wolfpack Winger, the top-knottted Liam Kay, clearly dropped the ball in scoring in the corner in the first half but even that was topped by the decision to allow a conversion by Jonathan Ford of the French side which sailed palpably wide of the post. It took me back to the days when childhood kick-abouts would be ended by rows about whether a ball had passed over or inside the jumpers for goalposts or the makeshift target formed by two lads standing hand in hand with the other arm raised to create a post.
And so to Morgan. The Australian centre had already scored once in the second half when he slid over for what looked like a second. However video replays seemed to show that Morgan had lost possession as Stefan Marsh came in with a last ditch attempt to halt the grounding. The try was given, but surely the correct call was either a no try or a penalty try? Marsh slid in with his feet in dangerous fashion. There may be an argument that Marsh has to be allowed to use his body to prevent the grounding but in these days of player welfare, a world where bans are handed out for tackling a player who is running backwards into contact, it is surprising that the penalty try wasn't even discussed. It was certainly a worthier shout than the one Pie In The Sky Phil Clarke shouted for when Dominique Peyroux was sin-binned for feathering a Widnes player who may have been in the same postcode as a ball bouncing over the dead ball line.
Worries Over Makinson, But Not About Swift
Tommy Makinson has been playing so well in 2018 that even unbiased commentators have been throwing him into the conversation for Engand selection. Versatile enough to play fullback or centre it is on his favoured right wing that Makinson has excelled most. He has six tries and seven assists this term, the latest of which came in this one when he put Morgan over after great work from our Widnesian double act of Percival and Richardson. Makinson also racked up 119 metres and only four Saints have gained more ground than he has in 2018.
Slightly alarming then to see him leave the action early with what looked like an arm or hand injury. It could be nothing, but if it does keep Makinson out of Saints trip to Castleford on Thursday night (May 24) then there is a solution. Adam Swift returned to fitness a couple of weeks ago after a shoulder injury but has been kept out of the side by the form of Makinson and Grace. Holbrook should have no worries about throwing Swift in if required. The wing man played well when Holbrook experimented with Makinson at centre in the absence of Morgan earlier in the season. The 25-year-old Swift has 78 tries for Saints albeit only two of those have come in 2018 as his opportunities have been restricted. Swift may not offer quite as much as Makinson right now but his time spent out of the side shows the depth of the Saints squad this year. He'll be fine if he's called upon at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
Is This Format Fair?
The 12th edition of the Magic Weekend is done and dusted and at that time thoughts always seem to turn to the event's future. Many have claimed that day one of this year's festival which saw Saints win followed by impressive showings from Wigan and Castleford against Warrington and Leeds respectively was the best single day in the history of Magic. Maybe you had to be there. The television experience consisted of a badly officiated Championship game and three one-sided Super League clashes. Over the whole weekend only Huddersfield's 25-22 win over Wakefield was settled by less than 12 points.
But you can never guarantee close games. Sport is unpredictable and we'd like to keep it that way. The real problem with Magic is its potential to creative competitive imbalance in Super League. Fans of Warrington, Leeds, Wigan and Castleford may have every reason to feel aggrieved at having to play each other in the seemingly arbitrary extra fixture while Saints were handed a rather more routine-looking task against Widnes. In the event the margin of victory for Saints was smaller than for either Wigan or Castleford but that probably wouldn't change the answer provided by Shaun Wane or Daryl Powell if you asked them who they would rather come up against.
It all seems rather random and consequently skewed. As we have to now suffer talk of taking the show to New York, an act of laughable hubris that would take the game away from both its stadium and TV audience in one fell swoop, shouldn't we instead be looking at ways to make it fairer? The extra game is something football has resisted for some time and for good reason. Even in the Premier League competitive integrity is held in higher esteem than making yet more quick bucks. For us perhaps the staging of a Challenge Cup round at Magic would make more sense. The quarter-finals might be a candidate. The fixtures are randomly drawn but make sense within the context of a traditional cup competition, and while more clubs outside Super League would have a chance to be there all clubs would have to earn their spot in the here and now and not based on securing Super League status eight months earlier.
It could revitalise a competition that most rugby league fans love but currently fear for.
St Helens v Widnes Vikings - Preview
Newcastle United’s St James Park is the centre of the rugby league world this weekend as Saints take on Widnes Vikings (May 19, kick-off 3.00) in one of seven fixtures across Super League and the Championship.
The Magic Weekend has rolled around again folks, and a special bonus I am going to spare you the benefit of my wisdom on the concept as a whole and just get on with the usual stab in the dark at what might actually happen on the field.
Justin Holbrook has made just the one change to his 19-man squad since last week’s 36-18 Challenge Cup win over Castleford Tigers. Matty Lees returns from a two-match suspension after his red card at Salford to take the place of Kyle Amor, harshly handed a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle. The ball carrier was running backwards into Amor and although he has a duty of care and awareness around neck injuries is of paramount importance, it is difficult to see where else the Cumbrian forward had to go. He did not really exert undue pressure on the neck but some pressure is a near certainty if you are back peddling into contact.
Lees may well earn a place in the 17 then in Amor’s absence and that of long-term absentee Alex Walmsley. Luke Thompson and Luke Douglas are the form props while Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook has been chipping in usefully in that area too. Jon Wilkin has been scaring large portions of the fan base with discussions about yet another new contract this week and should start at loose forward behind the second row pairing of Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux, with Morgan Knowles on the bench. James Roby has no equal in the hooking role, not even in the international game with the announcement this week that Cameron Smith has retired from all representative football with immediate effect. Theo Fages is likely to be the first place Holbrook turns for relief of Roby if and when needed, and with Ben Barba back in the squad that might mean no place in the 17 again for Matty Smith.
Barba picks himself at fullback, storming as he is to the Steve Prescott Man Of Steel Award. His hat-trick at Castleford was in the file marked ‘gobsmacking’ and he might have the proverbial field day in the wide open spaces of St James Park against one of the Super League strugglers this week. Tommy Makinson has fond memories of Magic having scorched Hull FC for one of the tries of 2017 in last year’s 45-0 win at the event, and he will start on the right wing opposite Regan Grace whose length of the field effort against the Tigers appears to have quashed the conversation over his selection over the fit-again Adam Swift. Mark Percival and Ryan Morgan are the likely starters at centre amid rumours of Kevin Naiqama coming in from Wests Tigers. Oliver Gildart will not be making what would have been a controversial move from the DW Stadium having signed a new three-year deal with Wigan.
In the halves Jonny Lomax and Danny Richardson are forming an excellent partnership, complimented of course by the brilliance of Barba and the quickness of Fages off the bench. It’s a formula that is working well for Saints who top the Super League table with 12 wins from 14 games and a superior points difference to the rest of the division.
Widnes have no such form to reflect on. Though they were narrowly ousted from the Challenge Cup by Leeds in their last outing, their league form has seen them slip to ninth in the table with just three wins from their first 13 games. They have had a succession of injuries and won’t be encouraged by the news that Chris Houston has announced that he will retire from rugby league at the end of this season. Though that is probably great news for Phil Bentham. Houston is not currently available.
No Houston but Vikings coach Denis Betts does have Rhys Hanbury, Stefan Marsh, Charly Runciman, Patrick Ah Van and Tom Gilmore back on deck in the backs after all missed chunks of the campaign so far. Widnes also have Jimmy Keinhorst, whose loan deal from Leeds Rhinos has been extended, but not Ryan Ince who has put in some encouraging performances on the wing in recent weeks. Up front Hep Cahill is back in the saddle also, but Chris Dean misses out along with the Chapelhow brothers Ted and Jay. Tom Olbison is a definite one-to-watch as is hooker Danny Walker, while MacGraff Leuluai, Greg Burke and Aaron Heremaia are all experienced Super League campaigners. Matt Whitley’s reputation grows in the second row and Alex Gerrard is a more than capable front rower who could give Saints front line something to ponder.
Widnes have talent, but what they lack is the depth and the consistency of performance to really trouble a Saints side which is improving at an impressive rate under the tutelage of Holbrook. The League Leaders Shield is now a target that can be talked about openly, though if you asked Holbrook he probably wouldn't want to hear about it. A win here would put huge pressure on Wigan and Warrington, who meet each other in the game immediately after this one on Saturday afternoon. All of which may leave you thinking that Magic and its arbitrary fixture list distorts the competition somewhat. Well, yeah. But I said I wasn’t going to bore you with my view on that.
One other thing to note is that Saints will wear their special edition Autism Awareness shirt for this one, designed especially to raise awareness of the condition and hopefully a few bob too. It’s a worthy effort from Saints whatever you think of the design, and it shames the likes of Wakefield and Warrington who have chosen to dress up as Spiderman and Ant-Man for what appears to be no good reason other than that their mum’s have let them stay up past nine o’clock.
Saints should negotiate this hurdle fairly comfortably, although Widnes go in knowing that nothing less than a win will do if they are to keep pace with the top eight. Eighth spot is currently occupied by Salford Red Devils, who are four points clear of the Vikings in 10th. Ian Watson’s side are fortunate enough to have been paired with Catalans Dragons at Magic, making it doubly critical for Betts’ side that they pick up a win against Saints. But it just isn’t going to happen if all things remain equal, which as we saw in the Challenge Cup last weekend they often do not. Hull finished their game with Featherstone Rovers with nine men, while Toronto Wolfpack attempted to compete with high-flying Warrington with just 10 players for a spell on Sunday (May 13). If Saints can keep their discipline and play to their strengths they will probably run away with a victory in excess of 24 points.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 7. Matty Smith, 9. James Roby, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 15. Morgan Knowles, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 23. Ben Barba.
Widnes Vikings;
1. Rhys Hanbury, 2. Stefan Marsh, 4. Charly Runciman, 5. Patrick Ah Van, 6. Joseph Mellor, 7. Thomas Gilmore, 10. Alex Gerrard, 12. Matt Whitley, 13. Hep Cahill, 15. Danny Craven, 16. Thomas Olbison, 17. Samuel Wilde, 19. Greg Burke, 20. Macgraff Leuluai, 21. Jordan Johnstone, 23. Danny Walker, 33. Aaron Heremaia, 36. Wellington Albert, 38. Jimmy Keinhorst.
Referee: Liam Moore
The Magic Weekend has rolled around again folks, and a special bonus I am going to spare you the benefit of my wisdom on the concept as a whole and just get on with the usual stab in the dark at what might actually happen on the field.
Justin Holbrook has made just the one change to his 19-man squad since last week’s 36-18 Challenge Cup win over Castleford Tigers. Matty Lees returns from a two-match suspension after his red card at Salford to take the place of Kyle Amor, harshly handed a one-match ban for a dangerous tackle at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle. The ball carrier was running backwards into Amor and although he has a duty of care and awareness around neck injuries is of paramount importance, it is difficult to see where else the Cumbrian forward had to go. He did not really exert undue pressure on the neck but some pressure is a near certainty if you are back peddling into contact.
Lees may well earn a place in the 17 then in Amor’s absence and that of long-term absentee Alex Walmsley. Luke Thompson and Luke Douglas are the form props while Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook has been chipping in usefully in that area too. Jon Wilkin has been scaring large portions of the fan base with discussions about yet another new contract this week and should start at loose forward behind the second row pairing of Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux, with Morgan Knowles on the bench. James Roby has no equal in the hooking role, not even in the international game with the announcement this week that Cameron Smith has retired from all representative football with immediate effect. Theo Fages is likely to be the first place Holbrook turns for relief of Roby if and when needed, and with Ben Barba back in the squad that might mean no place in the 17 again for Matty Smith.
Barba picks himself at fullback, storming as he is to the Steve Prescott Man Of Steel Award. His hat-trick at Castleford was in the file marked ‘gobsmacking’ and he might have the proverbial field day in the wide open spaces of St James Park against one of the Super League strugglers this week. Tommy Makinson has fond memories of Magic having scorched Hull FC for one of the tries of 2017 in last year’s 45-0 win at the event, and he will start on the right wing opposite Regan Grace whose length of the field effort against the Tigers appears to have quashed the conversation over his selection over the fit-again Adam Swift. Mark Percival and Ryan Morgan are the likely starters at centre amid rumours of Kevin Naiqama coming in from Wests Tigers. Oliver Gildart will not be making what would have been a controversial move from the DW Stadium having signed a new three-year deal with Wigan.
In the halves Jonny Lomax and Danny Richardson are forming an excellent partnership, complimented of course by the brilliance of Barba and the quickness of Fages off the bench. It’s a formula that is working well for Saints who top the Super League table with 12 wins from 14 games and a superior points difference to the rest of the division.
Widnes have no such form to reflect on. Though they were narrowly ousted from the Challenge Cup by Leeds in their last outing, their league form has seen them slip to ninth in the table with just three wins from their first 13 games. They have had a succession of injuries and won’t be encouraged by the news that Chris Houston has announced that he will retire from rugby league at the end of this season. Though that is probably great news for Phil Bentham. Houston is not currently available.
No Houston but Vikings coach Denis Betts does have Rhys Hanbury, Stefan Marsh, Charly Runciman, Patrick Ah Van and Tom Gilmore back on deck in the backs after all missed chunks of the campaign so far. Widnes also have Jimmy Keinhorst, whose loan deal from Leeds Rhinos has been extended, but not Ryan Ince who has put in some encouraging performances on the wing in recent weeks. Up front Hep Cahill is back in the saddle also, but Chris Dean misses out along with the Chapelhow brothers Ted and Jay. Tom Olbison is a definite one-to-watch as is hooker Danny Walker, while MacGraff Leuluai, Greg Burke and Aaron Heremaia are all experienced Super League campaigners. Matt Whitley’s reputation grows in the second row and Alex Gerrard is a more than capable front rower who could give Saints front line something to ponder.
Widnes have talent, but what they lack is the depth and the consistency of performance to really trouble a Saints side which is improving at an impressive rate under the tutelage of Holbrook. The League Leaders Shield is now a target that can be talked about openly, though if you asked Holbrook he probably wouldn't want to hear about it. A win here would put huge pressure on Wigan and Warrington, who meet each other in the game immediately after this one on Saturday afternoon. All of which may leave you thinking that Magic and its arbitrary fixture list distorts the competition somewhat. Well, yeah. But I said I wasn’t going to bore you with my view on that.
One other thing to note is that Saints will wear their special edition Autism Awareness shirt for this one, designed especially to raise awareness of the condition and hopefully a few bob too. It’s a worthy effort from Saints whatever you think of the design, and it shames the likes of Wakefield and Warrington who have chosen to dress up as Spiderman and Ant-Man for what appears to be no good reason other than that their mum’s have let them stay up past nine o’clock.
Saints should negotiate this hurdle fairly comfortably, although Widnes go in knowing that nothing less than a win will do if they are to keep pace with the top eight. Eighth spot is currently occupied by Salford Red Devils, who are four points clear of the Vikings in 10th. Ian Watson’s side are fortunate enough to have been paired with Catalans Dragons at Magic, making it doubly critical for Betts’ side that they pick up a win against Saints. But it just isn’t going to happen if all things remain equal, which as we saw in the Challenge Cup last weekend they often do not. Hull finished their game with Featherstone Rovers with nine men, while Toronto Wolfpack attempted to compete with high-flying Warrington with just 10 players for a spell on Sunday (May 13). If Saints can keep their discipline and play to their strengths they will probably run away with a victory in excess of 24 points.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 7. Matty Smith, 9. James Roby, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 15. Morgan Knowles, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 23. Ben Barba.
Widnes Vikings;
1. Rhys Hanbury, 2. Stefan Marsh, 4. Charly Runciman, 5. Patrick Ah Van, 6. Joseph Mellor, 7. Thomas Gilmore, 10. Alex Gerrard, 12. Matt Whitley, 13. Hep Cahill, 15. Danny Craven, 16. Thomas Olbison, 17. Samuel Wilde, 19. Greg Burke, 20. Macgraff Leuluai, 21. Jordan Johnstone, 23. Danny Walker, 33. Aaron Heremaia, 36. Wellington Albert, 38. Jimmy Keinhorst.
Referee: Liam Moore
This Week In RL - May 8-14 2018
Hidden away in the shadows for months like a strange uncle you don’t talk about, international rugby league hones into view again this week with a couple of prominent coaching appointments. Well, three actually.
Starting on Wednesday and the joint appointment of Chris Chester and John Duffy as head coaches of Scotland. Now, this sounds like the sort of thing you might do if you can’t decide between two strong candidates. When the Powerpoint presentations at the interview are of inseparable quality and the CV’s both say ‘won far more often than not at club level but ultimately potless’.
Both Chester and Duffy are fine coaches but who is going to have final say? Who decides what toppings to have on the pizza after a win? Actually, this being Scotland that might not be too much of a problem. But there will be other dilemmas that a game of paper, scissors, stone isn’t going to adequately settle. It’s great to see two high profile coaches step into the breach left by Steve McCormack but you fear that trouble lies ahead with this arrangement.
Michael Maguire’s appointment to the head coach’s role with New Zealand is likely to be more successful but less interesting. The former Wigan coach is single-handedly responsible for all of the wrestling matches you have seen at every play-the-ball in every Super League game since 2010, but if results are your bag he will get the job done. He led Wigan to victory in the 2010 Super League Grand Final at a time when Saints turned losing at Old Trafford into an art form. Maguire will no doubt pick up the performance of a currently ragged New Zealand outfit which couldn’t even muster an appearance in the last four at the 2017 World Cup. A World Cup that started to the general consensus that only three teams could possibly win it. But the improvement that Maguire brings won’t be pretty. Anyone who has tickets for the mid-season test match in Denver between New Zealand and England might want to plan a bit more sightseeing in Colorado.
Thursday also brought with it the first match of the last 16 of the Challenge Cup between Featherstone Rovers and Hull FC. Both sides disgrace themselves in equal measure, with the black and whites finishing the game with nine men. Six players are sin-binned across both sides and FC winger Bureta Fairamo receives his second red card of the season for an agricultural swing at the head of Anthony Thackeray with the game’s final act. All which chaos could maybe have been avoided if Misi Taulapapa had received a card of any colour for wiping out Jamie Shaul several days before the Hull fullback had even considered catching the ball as it spiralled towards him out of the sky.
By this point Hull had already built a handy 18-0 lead and although Rovers held their own for the remainder of the game (when the two sides weren’t swinging handbags at each other every other tackle) they never looked like overhauling the deficit.
Back to the international game and on Friday Craig Kopczak announces his retirement from international rugby league to concentrate fully on mid-table mediocrity with Salford Red Devils.
“Unfortunately the time has come where I am to retire from international rugby league to concentrate on my club rugby with Salford, allowing the new generation of Wales youngsters to take the mantle into the 2021 World Cup.” He Paul Scholesed, having won 22 caps, 13 as captain including at both the 2013 and 2017 World Cups.
Sunday saw Saints announce the signing of Joe Batchelor from York City Knights. The 23-year-old signs a three-year deal and will arrive for the start of the 2019 season.;
“Joe is a player we have had our eyes on this season.” Said Saints coach Justin Holbrook;
“He has been a real standout in a BetFred League 1 this year and has been very consistent for a competitive York side.”
Batchelor is a second row forward and joins James Bentley in the category of promising back rowers at Saints who might not play for a while, not that he’s worried about that prospect;
“I’m delighted to have signed with St Helens from next season and have the unbelievable opportunity to train in a full time environment with world class players and hopefully play Super League rugby.”
Ah, about that….
More senseless brawling mars the Challenge Cup tie between Toronto Wolfpack and Warrington Wolves. The Canadian side take a 10-0 lead early on against the Wire, and are well in the game until former Saint Andrew Dixon plants a right cross on to the noggin of Warrington starlet Harvey Livett a couple of minutes before half-time. Two more Toronto players are sin-binned early in the second half, including captain Josh McCrone whose attempts to debate decisions with referee Ben Thaler go on longer than your average House Of Commons debate. Next he’ll be doing filibusters. Playing with 10 men at one point the Wolfpack crumble against their more illustrious and savvy opposition and end up learning a harsh lesson to the tune of 66-10.
You can read about the quarter-final draw elsewhere on these pages so let’s fast forward to Monday when it is announced that Sam Tomkins will leave Wigan Warriors at the end of the season. It isn’t very long before Catalans Dragons own up to having signed the Sky Sports favourite on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth from 2019. With the worst kept secret in rugby league now out it is expected that Wigan will also confirm the signing of Zak Hardaker in due course. If not they really have wasted their time sending their entire staff to that hearing. If Wigan get Hardaker they will have an upgrade at fullback, but they still find a reason to be grumpy;
“It came as a surprise to us that another club had engaged with Sam so early in the year when the deadline for approaching a player under contract is at the end of April.” Said Wigan’s executive director Kris Radlinksi, a man so unscrupulously honest that he once played for his hometown club absolutely free of charge to save them from certain relegation. Stop giggling. Of course Wigan would never illegally approach another club’s player and are rightly outraged by the rampant bullying of the bottom of the table and utterly rubbish and powerless Dragons.
On which subject, somebody somewhere might have had a word to the Dragons hierarchy about their prospects of relegation to the Championship. It seems highly unlikely that Tomkins would agree a deal to play in the second tier. He certainly won’t want to be playing fullback if Misi Taulapapa is in the vicinity.
Starting on Wednesday and the joint appointment of Chris Chester and John Duffy as head coaches of Scotland. Now, this sounds like the sort of thing you might do if you can’t decide between two strong candidates. When the Powerpoint presentations at the interview are of inseparable quality and the CV’s both say ‘won far more often than not at club level but ultimately potless’.
Both Chester and Duffy are fine coaches but who is going to have final say? Who decides what toppings to have on the pizza after a win? Actually, this being Scotland that might not be too much of a problem. But there will be other dilemmas that a game of paper, scissors, stone isn’t going to adequately settle. It’s great to see two high profile coaches step into the breach left by Steve McCormack but you fear that trouble lies ahead with this arrangement.
Michael Maguire’s appointment to the head coach’s role with New Zealand is likely to be more successful but less interesting. The former Wigan coach is single-handedly responsible for all of the wrestling matches you have seen at every play-the-ball in every Super League game since 2010, but if results are your bag he will get the job done. He led Wigan to victory in the 2010 Super League Grand Final at a time when Saints turned losing at Old Trafford into an art form. Maguire will no doubt pick up the performance of a currently ragged New Zealand outfit which couldn’t even muster an appearance in the last four at the 2017 World Cup. A World Cup that started to the general consensus that only three teams could possibly win it. But the improvement that Maguire brings won’t be pretty. Anyone who has tickets for the mid-season test match in Denver between New Zealand and England might want to plan a bit more sightseeing in Colorado.
Thursday also brought with it the first match of the last 16 of the Challenge Cup between Featherstone Rovers and Hull FC. Both sides disgrace themselves in equal measure, with the black and whites finishing the game with nine men. Six players are sin-binned across both sides and FC winger Bureta Fairamo receives his second red card of the season for an agricultural swing at the head of Anthony Thackeray with the game’s final act. All which chaos could maybe have been avoided if Misi Taulapapa had received a card of any colour for wiping out Jamie Shaul several days before the Hull fullback had even considered catching the ball as it spiralled towards him out of the sky.
By this point Hull had already built a handy 18-0 lead and although Rovers held their own for the remainder of the game (when the two sides weren’t swinging handbags at each other every other tackle) they never looked like overhauling the deficit.
Back to the international game and on Friday Craig Kopczak announces his retirement from international rugby league to concentrate fully on mid-table mediocrity with Salford Red Devils.
“Unfortunately the time has come where I am to retire from international rugby league to concentrate on my club rugby with Salford, allowing the new generation of Wales youngsters to take the mantle into the 2021 World Cup.” He Paul Scholesed, having won 22 caps, 13 as captain including at both the 2013 and 2017 World Cups.
Sunday saw Saints announce the signing of Joe Batchelor from York City Knights. The 23-year-old signs a three-year deal and will arrive for the start of the 2019 season.;
“Joe is a player we have had our eyes on this season.” Said Saints coach Justin Holbrook;
“He has been a real standout in a BetFred League 1 this year and has been very consistent for a competitive York side.”
Batchelor is a second row forward and joins James Bentley in the category of promising back rowers at Saints who might not play for a while, not that he’s worried about that prospect;
“I’m delighted to have signed with St Helens from next season and have the unbelievable opportunity to train in a full time environment with world class players and hopefully play Super League rugby.”
Ah, about that….
More senseless brawling mars the Challenge Cup tie between Toronto Wolfpack and Warrington Wolves. The Canadian side take a 10-0 lead early on against the Wire, and are well in the game until former Saint Andrew Dixon plants a right cross on to the noggin of Warrington starlet Harvey Livett a couple of minutes before half-time. Two more Toronto players are sin-binned early in the second half, including captain Josh McCrone whose attempts to debate decisions with referee Ben Thaler go on longer than your average House Of Commons debate. Next he’ll be doing filibusters. Playing with 10 men at one point the Wolfpack crumble against their more illustrious and savvy opposition and end up learning a harsh lesson to the tune of 66-10.
You can read about the quarter-final draw elsewhere on these pages so let’s fast forward to Monday when it is announced that Sam Tomkins will leave Wigan Warriors at the end of the season. It isn’t very long before Catalans Dragons own up to having signed the Sky Sports favourite on a three-year deal with an option for a fourth from 2019. With the worst kept secret in rugby league now out it is expected that Wigan will also confirm the signing of Zak Hardaker in due course. If not they really have wasted their time sending their entire staff to that hearing. If Wigan get Hardaker they will have an upgrade at fullback, but they still find a reason to be grumpy;
“It came as a surprise to us that another club had engaged with Sam so early in the year when the deadline for approaching a player under contract is at the end of April.” Said Wigan’s executive director Kris Radlinksi, a man so unscrupulously honest that he once played for his hometown club absolutely free of charge to save them from certain relegation. Stop giggling. Of course Wigan would never illegally approach another club’s player and are rightly outraged by the rampant bullying of the bottom of the table and utterly rubbish and powerless Dragons.
On which subject, somebody somewhere might have had a word to the Dragons hierarchy about their prospects of relegation to the Championship. It seems highly unlikely that Tomkins would agree a deal to play in the second tier. He certainly won’t want to be playing fullback if Misi Taulapapa is in the vicinity.
Will Saints Halt Hull FC's Cup Run?
Les Quirk’s try of orgasmic proportions sprang readily to mind upon hearing the quarter-final draw for the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.
Saints were drawn at home to Hull FC, evoking memories of Ron Hoofe’s memorable commentary line as Quirk streaked down the Knowsley Road side-line to score a late winner against the black and whites back in 1991. Less happily, it reminded me of the last time Saints and Hull were paired together in the Challenge Cup in 2016, when FC romped to a 47-16 win at Langtree Park in what was one of the more calamitous performances of the Keiron Cunningham era. Saints will go into this year’s edition as favourites, however, having seen off Castleford at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle in the last round and sitting as they do, prettily atop the BetFred Super League with 12 wins from 14 outings so far. Meanwhile Hull have toiled somewhat in recent weeks, literally scrapping past Featherstone Rovers in a last 16 tie which they finished with nine men, and sweating on injuries to Albert Kelly, Marc Sneyd, Carlos Tuimavave and Josh Bowden. It might be a good time to play against Lee Radford’s side. However, they are not back-to-back cup winners for nothing and they will not let their grip on the famous old trophy go easily. They have not been beaten in the Challenge Cup since a 24-6 quarter-final defeat to Leeds Rhinos in 2015. And everyone lost to Leeds in 2015. It should be a goody.
Removing all notions of bias the obvious tie of the round is at Warrington, where Shaun Wane’s ale-house mob will be the visitors. The two warm up for that one with a clash at this weekend’s Magic shebang in Newcastle, with both in impressive form. Warrington have won 10 in a row in all competitions after a shaky start to 2018 while the Warriors have not been beaten since….well…..since your very own Saints sent them packing on Good Friday.
Elsewhere Leeds did what Leeds do and landed the plum draw of Leigh at home. The Centurions are the only non-Super League side to have made the last eight after their humbling of Salford Red Devils in the last round. A home draw seems ideal for Leeds but there are rumblings that the tie will have to be played away from Headingley because it clashes with the second test between England and Pakistan at the cricket ground. Not even Gary Hetherington can take on the might of the ECB, so this one could go ahead at Featherstone, who are basically Leeds’ second team anyway so there should be no issues of unfamiliarity for the Rhinos boys.
The final tie sees Huddersfield Giants host Catalans Dragons in a tie which will no doubt be last pick for the television companies, meaning you are likely to see it on either the Thursday or Friday night slot on Sky TV. Unless you choose to do something more sensible like pull out all of your teeth. The Dragons are in rather better form in recent weeks, beating Hull in the league and seeing off both York City Knights and Whitehaven in the cup. They even managed to avoid any serious thrashing at Saints, something which the Giants palpably failed to achieve recently. Yet the Giants have new coach Simon Woolford pulling the strings and their win over Wakefield in the last round serves notice that they might also be on the up. I’m still pulling all my teeth out…
Saints were drawn at home to Hull FC, evoking memories of Ron Hoofe’s memorable commentary line as Quirk streaked down the Knowsley Road side-line to score a late winner against the black and whites back in 1991. Less happily, it reminded me of the last time Saints and Hull were paired together in the Challenge Cup in 2016, when FC romped to a 47-16 win at Langtree Park in what was one of the more calamitous performances of the Keiron Cunningham era. Saints will go into this year’s edition as favourites, however, having seen off Castleford at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle in the last round and sitting as they do, prettily atop the BetFred Super League with 12 wins from 14 outings so far. Meanwhile Hull have toiled somewhat in recent weeks, literally scrapping past Featherstone Rovers in a last 16 tie which they finished with nine men, and sweating on injuries to Albert Kelly, Marc Sneyd, Carlos Tuimavave and Josh Bowden. It might be a good time to play against Lee Radford’s side. However, they are not back-to-back cup winners for nothing and they will not let their grip on the famous old trophy go easily. They have not been beaten in the Challenge Cup since a 24-6 quarter-final defeat to Leeds Rhinos in 2015. And everyone lost to Leeds in 2015. It should be a goody.
Removing all notions of bias the obvious tie of the round is at Warrington, where Shaun Wane’s ale-house mob will be the visitors. The two warm up for that one with a clash at this weekend’s Magic shebang in Newcastle, with both in impressive form. Warrington have won 10 in a row in all competitions after a shaky start to 2018 while the Warriors have not been beaten since….well…..since your very own Saints sent them packing on Good Friday.
Elsewhere Leeds did what Leeds do and landed the plum draw of Leigh at home. The Centurions are the only non-Super League side to have made the last eight after their humbling of Salford Red Devils in the last round. A home draw seems ideal for Leeds but there are rumblings that the tie will have to be played away from Headingley because it clashes with the second test between England and Pakistan at the cricket ground. Not even Gary Hetherington can take on the might of the ECB, so this one could go ahead at Featherstone, who are basically Leeds’ second team anyway so there should be no issues of unfamiliarity for the Rhinos boys.
The final tie sees Huddersfield Giants host Catalans Dragons in a tie which will no doubt be last pick for the television companies, meaning you are likely to see it on either the Thursday or Friday night slot on Sky TV. Unless you choose to do something more sensible like pull out all of your teeth. The Dragons are in rather better form in recent weeks, beating Hull in the league and seeing off both York City Knights and Whitehaven in the cup. They even managed to avoid any serious thrashing at Saints, something which the Giants palpably failed to achieve recently. Yet the Giants have new coach Simon Woolford pulling the strings and their win over Wakefield in the last round serves notice that they might also be on the up. I’m still pulling all my teeth out…
5 Talking Points From Castleford 18 Saints 36
This was no rope-a-dope
I wasn't at the Castleford game today. Truth be told I'm a bit of a homer, although I was one of those crazy enough to travel to Huddersfield on the proverbial freezing night in February. A Huddersfield whose Premier League football stadium ran out of hot water at half-time and who deemed one refreshment kiosk enough to serve our entire travelling army.
So without turning this into a literary version of a crap Michael Portillo travel show the point is that I had to settle for the BBC's live coverage of what looked on paper the best tie of the Challenge Cup's sixth round. If all I'd had was the audio I would have been left with the feeling that Saints were lucky. That they'd been pummelled throughout and stole the win thanks to a few admittedly breathtaking counter attacks. Jonathan Davies, of who I am always wary due the double whammy of his being a union man and the story he tells about turning his back on Saints when Widnes made a late, better offer, could hardly have been more affronted by Saints victory. Nor could Brian Noble, shoe-horning Australianisms into his descriptions like a man desperately auditioning for a role in Wentworth Prison. Every time Castleford attacked it was fantastic and brilliant. Every time Saints scored it was a sucker punch which rendered the Tigers unlucky.
All of which is, to coin a phrase, a load of whack. This Rumble In The Mend-A-Hose Jungle was nothing like 1974 in Zaire. Then, Muhammad Ali, having warned everyone that 'I'm gonna dance..' in his tussle with a fearsome pre-grill George Foreman, proceeded to stand still in front of Foreman and absorb everything he had before finishing him with a lightning counter-attack. Ali's strategy was labelled the 'rope-dope' and his victory written into sporting legend. This match won't be remembered in 44 years time but if you're of a mind to dig out old film of Saints games and you happen upon this one in 2062 you will find that Saints were much the better side throughout.
Barba too good.....again....
Had they not been fixated on the Tigers' non-existent ill-fortune the Beeb's commentary team might have been more able to enjoy the performance of Ben Barba a little more. The Man Of Steel Elect scored a hat-trick of tries and was involved in most of the others as Saints crossed the whitewash six times to Castleford's three. Barba's first contribution was to snuff out a Cas kick that had bounced mischievously close to the Saints goal line before helping it around the corner to Regan Grace. The Welshman, under pressure following some iffy displays and the return to fitness of Adam Swift, took off on a 90-metre run to the line to put Saints in front. No changes of direction, no looking around him in anticipation of an inevitable clubbing, just a straight, blistering run to the line. No defender got anywhere near him. It was everything we had been waiting for from Grace.
The next time the Tigers tried something similar Barba didn't need Grace. He had enough of his own as he latched on to some slapstick attempts to regather by Daryl Powell's men to race the length of the field to put Saints two scores up. Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake Barba's gone. Davies wailed that Jy Hitchcox should have forced Barba into touch as he came across to cover but Barba had the strength and class to get there. His second was perhaps generously awarded by the video referee Phil Bentham on the basis of the very summer-era idea of fingertip control, but the run that led to it had been bewildering as was that which led to his third. It looked at several points as if Barba might have spurned the chance as supporting players drifted by empty-handed like karaoke singers trying to wrestle the mic from Tom Jones, but the Aussie genius knew exactly what he was doing.
Genius is an overused word and there is a danger that the focus on Barba will detract from the fact that this is the form team in the country with or without him. Yet amid the screams from Wigan it is right to celebrate Barba's astonishing abilities. At times he's embarrassing the competition in the way that Michael Jordan did to the NBA 25 years ago. In a recent WA12 Rugby League Show poll (please do take a listen, every Monday from 6-8pm on wa12radio.net) I voted for Jamie Lyon ahead of Barba and Mal Meninga as Saints best overseas star of the modern era. That was mostly down to the fact that Lyon was brilliant over two seasons, helping Saints to silverware in 2006 with a Grand Final and Challenge Cup double. Yet if Barba sticks around that long and can pick up a few winners medals along the way he will be right up there alongside anyone that has come before him. And while he is here let's try and enjoy him even if you don't support Saints. It's odd to on the one hand bemoan the lack of quality in Super League and then in the other try to dismiss the attention that Barba gets as hyperbole.
Saints comfortable in second gear
We've seen how Barba can devastate opposition and perhaps today was an example of what a difference he can make. But the bold truth is that Saints would have won this game with or without their star man. They weren't quite at their best collectively. Jon Wilkin was involved in far too much of the ball handling in midfield again. Our right edge of Ryan Morgan and Tommy Makinson was again starved of good early ball and on the other side Zeb Taia won't consider this among his best performances in the red vee. Consequently Mark Percival was quiet as was Grace, his full length effort aside. Hell, even James Roby made a couple of errors that the word 'uncharacteristic' doesn't really cover.
But Saints had more possession and territory, more drive and were far superior in defence. Imagine what they will do when all of these players so improved under Justin Holbrook are at the top of their game. Castleford were fairly ordinary with injuries to Luke Gale, Ben Roberts and others proving too much on top of the fact that they have failed to replace Zak Hardaker at fullback. Saints will probably have to play better than this at some point to go all the way to a first Wembley final in 10 years but they are well capable of doing just that. The draw for the quarter-finals should hold no fears.
Less is more with the video referee
A prominent former Super League referee recently told me via Twitter that the average number of video reviews for a televised game is 2.7. Stunned by this, I channelled my inner geek and began to count the reviews in games I saw over the next few weeks. Alright, maybe my geek is not so well described as 'inner'. Nevertheless, over the next month or so I didn't see a single game with less than five reviews. Some had five or more by half-time. There's either been some creative stat-collecting on video reviews or there has been a hefty increase since the figure of 2.7 per game was calculated.
How refreshing then that today's game had so few. Of the nine tries scored only Barba's second was subject to the emotional evaporation that is the video review. Gone are the days when you could celebrate a try from in front of the TV with anything like a deeply held conviction that your team had actually scored. More painfully, if your own team's line is breeched in any measure of doubtful circumstance you are now likely to go through the pain twice.
They probably got that one video review call wrong in the spirit of the game as I've said (if not the law) but a system which only checks for grounding issues would seem a lot healthier. At the very least the canning of obstruction reviews is an urgent must if we are to preserve this game as a spectacle. No sport is compelling enough as a spectacle to withstand having the emotion sucked out of it as every scoring play is reviewed, NFL-style. One cynical observer suggested that the BBC, not being a commercial channel, is less interested than its broadcasting rival in having a sponsor advertised on a big screen every five minutes. That isn't what we pay a license fee for. Not that Jonathan Davies is. But surely at some point all broadcasters should get around to the view that an emotion-free, stop-start game isn't going to be a ratings winner. And if that happens who is going to pay for the advertising space anyway?
Can Saints go all the way?
With Barba in the side the short answer is yes. You wouldn't be surprised if, as I write this, Barba and Saints are on their way to winning Eurovision. But the Challenge Cup is a strange beast. It can be cruel, as anyone who saw the BBC's excellent documentary on the 1968 Watersplash final will testify. The story of Don Fox's missed conversion with the last kick of the final which handed the cup to Leeds was genuinely moving. The knowledge that his hitherto wonderful career, even his life, would be remembered for that one moment must have haunted Fox for the rest of his days.
Which only goes to show that anything can happen in knockout football. The thrills and spills it provides are what has driven the establishment of the playoffs and Grand Final. Everyone knows that a first past the post system would be fairer and more sensible in Super League but TV demands narrative and that demands heroes and villains. In the Challenge Cup it was ever thus and that's what made it special. It's cut-throat. One bad day and you're flat out, stick-a-fork-in-you done. Maybe one bad moment can wreck your dreams, or worse as it did to Fox. There isn't a single team in the draw for the last eight, remembering that two last 16 ties are still to be played at the time of writing, that Saints will fear. Nobody that they can't beat. But if we were to be drawn away at Leeds, Wigan or Warrington we would go to any of them with a distinct sense of 'it's on the day'. You can be the best, sometimes by a distance, but you still have to do it on the day to get to and win at Wembley. Our optimism is justified but it must be mixed with a degree of caution.
I wasn't at the Castleford game today. Truth be told I'm a bit of a homer, although I was one of those crazy enough to travel to Huddersfield on the proverbial freezing night in February. A Huddersfield whose Premier League football stadium ran out of hot water at half-time and who deemed one refreshment kiosk enough to serve our entire travelling army.
So without turning this into a literary version of a crap Michael Portillo travel show the point is that I had to settle for the BBC's live coverage of what looked on paper the best tie of the Challenge Cup's sixth round. If all I'd had was the audio I would have been left with the feeling that Saints were lucky. That they'd been pummelled throughout and stole the win thanks to a few admittedly breathtaking counter attacks. Jonathan Davies, of who I am always wary due the double whammy of his being a union man and the story he tells about turning his back on Saints when Widnes made a late, better offer, could hardly have been more affronted by Saints victory. Nor could Brian Noble, shoe-horning Australianisms into his descriptions like a man desperately auditioning for a role in Wentworth Prison. Every time Castleford attacked it was fantastic and brilliant. Every time Saints scored it was a sucker punch which rendered the Tigers unlucky.
All of which is, to coin a phrase, a load of whack. This Rumble In The Mend-A-Hose Jungle was nothing like 1974 in Zaire. Then, Muhammad Ali, having warned everyone that 'I'm gonna dance..' in his tussle with a fearsome pre-grill George Foreman, proceeded to stand still in front of Foreman and absorb everything he had before finishing him with a lightning counter-attack. Ali's strategy was labelled the 'rope-dope' and his victory written into sporting legend. This match won't be remembered in 44 years time but if you're of a mind to dig out old film of Saints games and you happen upon this one in 2062 you will find that Saints were much the better side throughout.
Barba too good.....again....
Had they not been fixated on the Tigers' non-existent ill-fortune the Beeb's commentary team might have been more able to enjoy the performance of Ben Barba a little more. The Man Of Steel Elect scored a hat-trick of tries and was involved in most of the others as Saints crossed the whitewash six times to Castleford's three. Barba's first contribution was to snuff out a Cas kick that had bounced mischievously close to the Saints goal line before helping it around the corner to Regan Grace. The Welshman, under pressure following some iffy displays and the return to fitness of Adam Swift, took off on a 90-metre run to the line to put Saints in front. No changes of direction, no looking around him in anticipation of an inevitable clubbing, just a straight, blistering run to the line. No defender got anywhere near him. It was everything we had been waiting for from Grace.
The next time the Tigers tried something similar Barba didn't need Grace. He had enough of his own as he latched on to some slapstick attempts to regather by Daryl Powell's men to race the length of the field to put Saints two scores up. Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake Barba's gone. Davies wailed that Jy Hitchcox should have forced Barba into touch as he came across to cover but Barba had the strength and class to get there. His second was perhaps generously awarded by the video referee Phil Bentham on the basis of the very summer-era idea of fingertip control, but the run that led to it had been bewildering as was that which led to his third. It looked at several points as if Barba might have spurned the chance as supporting players drifted by empty-handed like karaoke singers trying to wrestle the mic from Tom Jones, but the Aussie genius knew exactly what he was doing.
Genius is an overused word and there is a danger that the focus on Barba will detract from the fact that this is the form team in the country with or without him. Yet amid the screams from Wigan it is right to celebrate Barba's astonishing abilities. At times he's embarrassing the competition in the way that Michael Jordan did to the NBA 25 years ago. In a recent WA12 Rugby League Show poll (please do take a listen, every Monday from 6-8pm on wa12radio.net) I voted for Jamie Lyon ahead of Barba and Mal Meninga as Saints best overseas star of the modern era. That was mostly down to the fact that Lyon was brilliant over two seasons, helping Saints to silverware in 2006 with a Grand Final and Challenge Cup double. Yet if Barba sticks around that long and can pick up a few winners medals along the way he will be right up there alongside anyone that has come before him. And while he is here let's try and enjoy him even if you don't support Saints. It's odd to on the one hand bemoan the lack of quality in Super League and then in the other try to dismiss the attention that Barba gets as hyperbole.
Saints comfortable in second gear
We've seen how Barba can devastate opposition and perhaps today was an example of what a difference he can make. But the bold truth is that Saints would have won this game with or without their star man. They weren't quite at their best collectively. Jon Wilkin was involved in far too much of the ball handling in midfield again. Our right edge of Ryan Morgan and Tommy Makinson was again starved of good early ball and on the other side Zeb Taia won't consider this among his best performances in the red vee. Consequently Mark Percival was quiet as was Grace, his full length effort aside. Hell, even James Roby made a couple of errors that the word 'uncharacteristic' doesn't really cover.
But Saints had more possession and territory, more drive and were far superior in defence. Imagine what they will do when all of these players so improved under Justin Holbrook are at the top of their game. Castleford were fairly ordinary with injuries to Luke Gale, Ben Roberts and others proving too much on top of the fact that they have failed to replace Zak Hardaker at fullback. Saints will probably have to play better than this at some point to go all the way to a first Wembley final in 10 years but they are well capable of doing just that. The draw for the quarter-finals should hold no fears.
Less is more with the video referee
A prominent former Super League referee recently told me via Twitter that the average number of video reviews for a televised game is 2.7. Stunned by this, I channelled my inner geek and began to count the reviews in games I saw over the next few weeks. Alright, maybe my geek is not so well described as 'inner'. Nevertheless, over the next month or so I didn't see a single game with less than five reviews. Some had five or more by half-time. There's either been some creative stat-collecting on video reviews or there has been a hefty increase since the figure of 2.7 per game was calculated.
How refreshing then that today's game had so few. Of the nine tries scored only Barba's second was subject to the emotional evaporation that is the video review. Gone are the days when you could celebrate a try from in front of the TV with anything like a deeply held conviction that your team had actually scored. More painfully, if your own team's line is breeched in any measure of doubtful circumstance you are now likely to go through the pain twice.
They probably got that one video review call wrong in the spirit of the game as I've said (if not the law) but a system which only checks for grounding issues would seem a lot healthier. At the very least the canning of obstruction reviews is an urgent must if we are to preserve this game as a spectacle. No sport is compelling enough as a spectacle to withstand having the emotion sucked out of it as every scoring play is reviewed, NFL-style. One cynical observer suggested that the BBC, not being a commercial channel, is less interested than its broadcasting rival in having a sponsor advertised on a big screen every five minutes. That isn't what we pay a license fee for. Not that Jonathan Davies is. But surely at some point all broadcasters should get around to the view that an emotion-free, stop-start game isn't going to be a ratings winner. And if that happens who is going to pay for the advertising space anyway?
Can Saints go all the way?
With Barba in the side the short answer is yes. You wouldn't be surprised if, as I write this, Barba and Saints are on their way to winning Eurovision. But the Challenge Cup is a strange beast. It can be cruel, as anyone who saw the BBC's excellent documentary on the 1968 Watersplash final will testify. The story of Don Fox's missed conversion with the last kick of the final which handed the cup to Leeds was genuinely moving. The knowledge that his hitherto wonderful career, even his life, would be remembered for that one moment must have haunted Fox for the rest of his days.
Which only goes to show that anything can happen in knockout football. The thrills and spills it provides are what has driven the establishment of the playoffs and Grand Final. Everyone knows that a first past the post system would be fairer and more sensible in Super League but TV demands narrative and that demands heroes and villains. In the Challenge Cup it was ever thus and that's what made it special. It's cut-throat. One bad day and you're flat out, stick-a-fork-in-you done. Maybe one bad moment can wreck your dreams, or worse as it did to Fox. There isn't a single team in the draw for the last eight, remembering that two last 16 ties are still to be played at the time of writing, that Saints will fear. Nobody that they can't beat. But if we were to be drawn away at Leeds, Wigan or Warrington we would go to any of them with a distinct sense of 'it's on the day'. You can be the best, sometimes by a distance, but you still have to do it on the day to get to and win at Wembley. Our optimism is justified but it must be mixed with a degree of caution.
This Week In RL - May 1-7 2018
If you asked me to make a list of things that might help Saints overcome Castleford Tigers in this weekend’s crucial Challenge Cup tie at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle the absence of Luke Gale for the Tigers would probably be somewhere near the top.
On Tuesday the scrum-capped, hair-transplanted England scrum half was ruled out for up to three months with a knobbled knee. Gale was instrumental in Castleford’s League Leaders Shield win and subsequent run to the Grand Final in 2017, picking up Man Of Steel honours along the way. His leadership and organisational skills are expected to be sorely missed by Daryl Powell’s side who will now call on all two of Ben Roberts, Jake Trueman and Jamie Ellis in the halves for the visit of our Saints. Gale’s absence doesn’t guarantee a Saints win but it will certainly help our cause.
Meanwhile the Gale-shaped hole in the England Elite Performance Squad must be filled. That honour could go to George Williams but given that the Wigan man is the only other recognised half in Wayne Bennett’s 21-man selection and is probably more comfortable at stand-off might there be a shout for our very own Danny Richardson to be promoted from the England Knights to the senior squad ahead of the June Test match with New Zealand in Denver? Richardson has been developing well since wresting the starting slot from Matty Smith under Justin Holbrook and Bennet could do a lot worse than monitor the form of the young half over the next few weeks.
On the move on Tuesday was Matty Russell, who leaves one pack of Wolves for another in transferring from Warrington to Toronto. Russell signs a two-and-a-half year deal with the Canadian outfit;
“I believe my best rugby is in front of me and I hope to contribute to the team with a strong possibility of making the Qualifiers.” Said Russell, before going off to work on what he is going to say when he returns to the UK in six months time for ‘personal reasons’. The Wolves and the Wolfpack meet in the Challenge Cup on Sunday.
Sad news on Wednesday when two former legends of the game were lost. Former Saint Cliff Watson died at the age of 78 as did Charlie Stone just a day short of his 68th birthday. Stone was the former Hull FC captain and prop forward who also played for Featherstone Rovers and made one appearance for England. Watson made 373 appearances for Saints between 1960-71 before starring for Cronulla in Australia until 1973. Watson was capped 30 times by Great Britain and is a member of the greatest ever Saints 17-man squad.
Also on Wednesday young Saints hooker Aaron Smith, yet to make his first team debut with the club, joins Hull KR on a one-moth deal. Smith is cover for Rovers’ injured captain Shaun Lunt and made his Super League debut in the Robins’ 54-18 drubbing by Wakefield Trinity at what used to be known as Belle Vue. Not the best of starts then from a results point of view but the experience Smith gains in his spell at KCom Craven Park could be vital in helping him develop into a regular in the Saints squad. And let’s not forget that no less a light than Jon Wilkin started his career getting gubbed every week on Humberside.
Smith’s path to the first team is that little bit trickier with news on Thursday that James Roby’s one-year option on his contract has been activated. All of which legalese tripe means that the best hooker in Super League will remain at Saints until at least the end of the 2019 season. It’s a massive boost for Saints for whom Roby continues to be one of the top performers on a consistent basis;
“I'm proud to have played at Saints my whole career and looking forward to the future.” Said Roby, instantly crushing optimistic and probably mischievous suggestions on social media that he could have been snapped up by our rivals down the road. Not that they would want him. They’ve got Tommy Leuluai. What? Oh….
If missing out on Roby is not exactly a shock to the Wigan faithful the news later on Thursday that Joe Burgess will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury is rather more jarring. Burgess had been showing some fine form among Wigan’s army of top class wingers with eight tries and nine appearances in the early part of 2018;
“I’m gutted for Joe because I know how hard he has worked to get to the level he is at.” Ugged Warriors boss Shaun Wane, adding;
“His last three games have been his best of the year and he was playing really well.”
The injury is devastating for Burgess but don’t expect it to impact Wigan’s bid for the Grand Final too much. As frustrating as injuries to top players are the next cab off the rank will be just as good and they will carry on being….well….Wigan.
As no doubt Albert Kelly will carry on being Albert Kelly. The Hull FC scrum-half signs a new two-year deal with the black and whites on Saturday, tying him down until the end of the 2020 season. The deal comes after persistent rumours that Kelly would be snapped up by an NRL club at the end of the year. Reports that the Australian sides were put off by amateur videos made in an East Yorkshire branch of McDonalds are unconfirmed, but the news will be warmly welcomed by the Hull fans who have had a bit of a rocky ride so far in 2018. Kelly can be devastating on his day and would have been extremely difficult for coach Lee Radford to replace. Let’s hope the former Hull KR man can learn a few manners over the next two years.
The week ends with more bad news for Castleford as Garry Lo is released from the rest of his two-year deal having played just one game for the Tigers since arriving from Sheffield Eagles in pre-season.;
“Today we received a request from Garry Lo's representative to be released from his contract with the club to allow him to focus on a personal matter.” Snooted a club statement, refusing to be drawn on some of the mirkier rumours surrounding Lo’s sudden removal.
On Tuesday the scrum-capped, hair-transplanted England scrum half was ruled out for up to three months with a knobbled knee. Gale was instrumental in Castleford’s League Leaders Shield win and subsequent run to the Grand Final in 2017, picking up Man Of Steel honours along the way. His leadership and organisational skills are expected to be sorely missed by Daryl Powell’s side who will now call on all two of Ben Roberts, Jake Trueman and Jamie Ellis in the halves for the visit of our Saints. Gale’s absence doesn’t guarantee a Saints win but it will certainly help our cause.
Meanwhile the Gale-shaped hole in the England Elite Performance Squad must be filled. That honour could go to George Williams but given that the Wigan man is the only other recognised half in Wayne Bennett’s 21-man selection and is probably more comfortable at stand-off might there be a shout for our very own Danny Richardson to be promoted from the England Knights to the senior squad ahead of the June Test match with New Zealand in Denver? Richardson has been developing well since wresting the starting slot from Matty Smith under Justin Holbrook and Bennet could do a lot worse than monitor the form of the young half over the next few weeks.
On the move on Tuesday was Matty Russell, who leaves one pack of Wolves for another in transferring from Warrington to Toronto. Russell signs a two-and-a-half year deal with the Canadian outfit;
“I believe my best rugby is in front of me and I hope to contribute to the team with a strong possibility of making the Qualifiers.” Said Russell, before going off to work on what he is going to say when he returns to the UK in six months time for ‘personal reasons’. The Wolves and the Wolfpack meet in the Challenge Cup on Sunday.
Sad news on Wednesday when two former legends of the game were lost. Former Saint Cliff Watson died at the age of 78 as did Charlie Stone just a day short of his 68th birthday. Stone was the former Hull FC captain and prop forward who also played for Featherstone Rovers and made one appearance for England. Watson made 373 appearances for Saints between 1960-71 before starring for Cronulla in Australia until 1973. Watson was capped 30 times by Great Britain and is a member of the greatest ever Saints 17-man squad.
Also on Wednesday young Saints hooker Aaron Smith, yet to make his first team debut with the club, joins Hull KR on a one-moth deal. Smith is cover for Rovers’ injured captain Shaun Lunt and made his Super League debut in the Robins’ 54-18 drubbing by Wakefield Trinity at what used to be known as Belle Vue. Not the best of starts then from a results point of view but the experience Smith gains in his spell at KCom Craven Park could be vital in helping him develop into a regular in the Saints squad. And let’s not forget that no less a light than Jon Wilkin started his career getting gubbed every week on Humberside.
Smith’s path to the first team is that little bit trickier with news on Thursday that James Roby’s one-year option on his contract has been activated. All of which legalese tripe means that the best hooker in Super League will remain at Saints until at least the end of the 2019 season. It’s a massive boost for Saints for whom Roby continues to be one of the top performers on a consistent basis;
“I'm proud to have played at Saints my whole career and looking forward to the future.” Said Roby, instantly crushing optimistic and probably mischievous suggestions on social media that he could have been snapped up by our rivals down the road. Not that they would want him. They’ve got Tommy Leuluai. What? Oh….
If missing out on Roby is not exactly a shock to the Wigan faithful the news later on Thursday that Joe Burgess will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury is rather more jarring. Burgess had been showing some fine form among Wigan’s army of top class wingers with eight tries and nine appearances in the early part of 2018;
“I’m gutted for Joe because I know how hard he has worked to get to the level he is at.” Ugged Warriors boss Shaun Wane, adding;
“His last three games have been his best of the year and he was playing really well.”
The injury is devastating for Burgess but don’t expect it to impact Wigan’s bid for the Grand Final too much. As frustrating as injuries to top players are the next cab off the rank will be just as good and they will carry on being….well….Wigan.
As no doubt Albert Kelly will carry on being Albert Kelly. The Hull FC scrum-half signs a new two-year deal with the black and whites on Saturday, tying him down until the end of the 2020 season. The deal comes after persistent rumours that Kelly would be snapped up by an NRL club at the end of the year. Reports that the Australian sides were put off by amateur videos made in an East Yorkshire branch of McDonalds are unconfirmed, but the news will be warmly welcomed by the Hull fans who have had a bit of a rocky ride so far in 2018. Kelly can be devastating on his day and would have been extremely difficult for coach Lee Radford to replace. Let’s hope the former Hull KR man can learn a few manners over the next two years.
The week ends with more bad news for Castleford as Garry Lo is released from the rest of his two-year deal having played just one game for the Tigers since arriving from Sheffield Eagles in pre-season.;
“Today we received a request from Garry Lo's representative to be released from his contract with the club to allow him to focus on a personal matter.” Snooted a club statement, refusing to be drawn on some of the mirkier rumours surrounding Lo’s sudden removal.
5 Talking Points From Saints 26 Catalans Dragons 12
Saints sleepwalk to victory
As per Pele’s infamous tactics board plan the rag-tag mob of inmates in 1981 cheese-fest Escape To Victory did indeed Escape To Victory and in thrilling style too. Or was it a 4-4 draw? That Saints Blog You Quite Like doesn’t rightly remember and has not seen the film since it stopped playing Subbuteo on its mum’s dining table. Clearly Justin Holbrook did not use this much loved but actually quite rubbish Stallone vehicle as a motivational film for Saints ahead of this fairly average performance. It was a dire affair as Saints sleepwalked to a victory. The positives are that it is another win and it keeps the red vee top of the BetFred Super League as we inch nearer to the Super 8s and the playoffs. But that’s just about it.
The stats don’t really say too much about why this was such an underwhelming affair. Saints tally of 12 handling errors on the night is around about their average for what has been a stellar season so far, while the same is true of the eight clean breaks they managed to muster against Steve McNamara’s side. The one telling statistic is in the metres gained. Zeb Taia led the way with a modest 117 while Lukes Thompson and Douglas were close by on 114 and 111 respectively. The only other forward to top the 100 metre mark was Kyle Amor with 114. In the backs Ryan Morgan’s Herculean effort of four metres on two carries suggests that the balance the attack seems to have had in recent weeks was sat next to Ben Barba in the hospitality suites. Having said that Tommy Makinson was again outstanding with what little ball he did get, making 110 metres and soaring above the Dragons defence to score another acrobatic miracle of a try which, along with Morgan Knowles’ jinking run to the line and two pieces of Mark Percival magic lit up this rancid pudding of a game.
Holbrook took the probably wise decision to rest Barba following his dramatic, stretcher-assisted, neck-braced exit from the win at Salford last week. Catalans were always hugely unlikely to beat Saints on their own patch given the form of both so far in 2018. The Australian fullback is likely to be a key component in Saints bid to beat Castleford next week and thus keep the dream of a first Wembley appearance in 10 years alive. James Roby was deemed ready to return but even he was short of his super-human best, bothering with just 28 tackles but managing 94 metres on 10 carries, with nine trademark scoots from acting half. Lomax filled the fullback role and got his name on the scoresheet with the opening try, while Theo Fages took over at six and was largely anonymous. By the end just short of 10,000 people probably considered escaping from the stadium some sort of victory in itself.
White with a red vee
Stand by for a moan. It may be a small thing, unlikely to bring the rugby league world to a standstill, but doesn’t anybody else have an issue with Saints playing in their black away strip on their own turf? The match was sponsored by ginger beer peddlers Crabbies, who also sponsor Saints unsightly black alternative shirt which looks about as much like a Saint shirt as I resemble Leonardo Di Caprio. Having stated on these pages before that I am sick of the likes of Hull FC and Salford showing up in colours that would stop traffic I was not enamoured with the decision to get the away kit out of the cupboard for this one.
I am aware of the arguments in favour. Crabbies sponsorship of the game more than likely depended on the wearing of the alternative strip, monstrous as it is, which in turn meant that a hefty consignment of coin would be coming the club’s way as a result. But let me startle you in this Thatcherite, capitalist shithole we call 2018 by telling you that I don’t give two brown ones about sponsorship or the money involved. I want my team to look like my team when they are playing at home. I don’t want the opposition, dressed in white with a partly red vee (with a bit of yellow or something thrown in) to look more like Saints than Saints do. People said it was practical to change because of the Catalans colours, and because their alternative also features some fine redvee-ery. But isn’t that their bloody problem? If Catalans alternative shirt has so many similarities with their home shirt that it makes a change redundant then it is not a serviceable alternative and the RFL or whoever runs this racket these days should politely tell them to go back to the designers and ask for a rethink.
Grace Out?
Ratcheting up the controversy this week I want to talk to you about Regan Grace. He scored his sixth and seventh tries of the Super League season in the second half which on the face of it suggests that he is doing exactly what he is in the side to do. Yet his four-pointers masked a fairly fraught performance, particularly in the first half. Grace was twice acquainted with the touchline as the ball sailed hopelessly past him into touch while also looking shaky under the high ball and making a dinner that even your dog wouldn’t eat of a long kick downfield which ended up gifting a scrum to the Dragons deep in Saints territory.
Now it just so happens that Adam Swift was recalled to the 19-man squad for this one after a six-week lay-off. Swift injured his shoulder in the win at Hull KR at the end of March and hasn’t seen first team duty since. Yet if Grace continues this level of abject dithery it can surely be only a matter of time before Swift regains the left wing slot that he lost to Grace last season. Saints play Castleford in the Challenge Cup at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle next weekend and the young welsh winger could find himself a target if Daryl Powell can stand to sit through the film of this one for long enough to devise a strategy. Luke Gale’s knee injury means he won’t be available to pepper those raking kicks in Grace’s general direction but in Ben Roberts, Jake Trueman and Jamie Ellis the Tigers have enough in their ranks to make Grace’s fallibility an issue.
Nobody should write Grace off. He is still only a year into his first team career at Saints and he has shown flashes of how elusive and effective he can be. But if the team is going to be picked on form then we must be very close to the point at which Swift comes in and Grace takes a few weeks to consider how best he can improve. If that happens then Grace’s chance will come again.
What’s the point of the Dragons anyway?
Thursday night games on television are hardly famed for their away support and resultant hair-raising atmosphere, but last night’s affair took the concept of a flat atmosphere to new levels. At times it was positively funereal. It looked as though Saints might be wearing black out of respect for the death of the concept of away support. We can’t reasonably expect anyone to travel to what used to be Lancashire from the south of France on a Thursday night really, so questions need to be asked about why Sky chose this game for that particular weekly slot. Especially since it was never likely to be entertaining in the competitive sense. It was either going to be a one-sided stroll like those seen against Huddersfield and Salford in the last two weeks, or we’d get what we got which was a sleepy but largely routine Saints win. As one observer had it, why do Sky insist on showing Saints v Catalans every year on the back of one close finish six years ago?
But questions also need asking about what the Dragons, with their non-existent away support, bring to Super League anyway. They have been around for 12 years now during which time they have reached the playoffs and one Wembley cup final but won precisely nothing. This year’s vintage have been particularly awful, winning just three of their first 13 Super League games. They are likely to avoid the ignominy of relegation purely through the game’s obsession with keeping a non-UK team around and the mouth-frothing prospect of French ‘derbies’ with Toulouse in the top flight. On telly and everything. Their remit was to help grow the game in France and improve the French national team. The captain of that particular venture can be found running around in the red vee. Yes him, the anonymous one. You can argue that is success because a French player is in one of the top teams in the land. Or you can call it a failure because the French outfit hasn't held on to its best players. In addition, France were a shambles at the World Cup in Australia last year, failing even to beat Lebanon in the group stage while taking hidings from England and Australia.
When you rail against the idea of a French or a Canadian side in Super League you get accused of being against the expansion and therefore the greater good of the game. Yet is shoehorning teams from those countries into Super League the best route to growing the game internationally? Why are we not looking to establish credible professional leagues in those countries instead of juggling with the absurd practicalities involved with Canada in particular? I’ve been offered the argument that this is impossible in France because the Vichy government banned rugby league and it has never recovered. Yet this was nearly 80 years ago. If interest in rugby league there is genuine then it should be allowed to blossom naturally. This way feels like a token effort just so we have an answer for the union-lovers who complain that only northern English teams play this game.
Road Trip
Unfathomably, Saints do not play at home again in Super League for five weeks. Following the cup tie at Castleford next week is the delights of the Magic Weekend in Newcastle, when 14 teams will descend upon the Tyneside city to distort their respective competitions with reckless abandon. This time around we have Widnes, a game which promises almost nothing. But you’ll have a great time if you are going so let’s crack on with that. Then it is Castleford again, less Escape To Victory than Groundhog Day as we face Powell’s side in another Thursday night affair which does at least promise to be more entertaining than the Catalans game.
The first week of June brings with it the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and thus the only chance of playing at home (depending on beating the Tigers next week and then receiving a home draw) before Hull KR are the visitors on June 8. It’s a hectic rugby league schedule from February to October and we are constantly debating ways to give the players a rest or shorten the season. Yet here we are facing a five-week period without a home league game. It just seems odd. A paradox. What it also represents is a test for Holbrook’s side who will find those two trips to Castleford challenging and revealing in terms of what they can expect to be in contention for come the business end of the season. Will our Wembley dreams end in humiliation as they have in each of the past two years, or is a first appearance at the soon-to-be-flogged national stadium in a decade finally on the cards?
Saints v Catalans Dragons - Preview
An angry, irritated bear recently woken from its slumber, Saints will look to pile more misery one of Super League’s lesser lights when they host Catalans Dragons this Thursday night (May 3, kick-off 7.45pm).
Following a surprise defeat at Wakefield a fortnight ago Saints have gone ballistic in wins over Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils since. They have scored 126 points across those two wins and conceded only 14. Losing to Wakefield made them very, very cross indeed. The Dragons can only hope that they have calmed down, otherwise another hefty stack of points looks on the cards for Justin Holbrook’s men.
Meanwhile the French side have been setting club records for hopelessness in 2018. Steve McNamara’s hotch-potch outfit had just two wins from their first 11 outings in Super League this year before inexplicably edging out Hull FC at home on Saturday. Rumours that the Dragons hierarchy are to launch an inquiry into how their one-point victory over the Challenge Cup holders could have happened are unconfirmed, but you can bet on the men from the Stade Brutus Gilbert to put that right by folding in a big fat heap in St.Helens this week. And why not, as a former film critic used to say? If the worst happens and they finish bottom of Super League and fail to save their collective skin in the Qualifiers the game’s ravenous need for a team outside of that awful phrase ‘the heartlands’ will likely earn them a reprieve.
Just to laugh a little louder at their opponents Saints have taken the luxury of recalling both James Roby and Adam Swift to their 19-man squad. Roby has missed the last three games with a rib injury while Swift has been out since damaging a shoulder at Hull KR at the end of March. Matty Lees will serve the first of a two-game suspension incurred for his reckless swipe at Salford’s Niall Evalds, with Matty Costello the other man to miss out from last week’s selection.
Note then that the name of Ben Barba is included. There really is no respite for the Dragons, is there? Not on the field at any rate. Barba went down dramatically late on against the Red Devils having spent much of the rest of the game carving Ian Watson’s side open. The sight of the league’s best player being placed on a stretcher with a brace around his neck was an unnerving one, but Barba has been cleared of any serious injury and is in contention to feature. If there is any doubt about Barba’s fitness he should probably have a week off. The same goes for Roby despite his return to the fold. If this Saints side can win at Salford by 50 points without Roby and with 12 men following Lees’ dismissal, it will have more than enough to see off what is still for this writer the worst side in the competition. Giants fans, don’t write in.
Swift’s return opens up the opportunity of resting Barba and leaving the preferred halfback partnership of Jonny Lomax and Danny Richardson unaltered. Tommy Makinson is a more than able fullback and could deputise there allowing Swift to play on the wing opposite Regan Grace. Ryan Morgan and Mark Percival should be the starting centres.
With Lees out the prop rotation will be limited to Kyle Amor, Luke Douglas, Luke Thompson and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, while coach Holbrook must decide whether to use Roby or else take pity on the visitors and offer them a sporting chance by persisting with the combination of Matty Smith and Theo Fages operating at hooker. Jon Wilkin, Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux will make up the back row which should leave Morgan Knowles on the bench along with one of Fages or Smith and two of the four props.
Catalans preparations for the visit of Hull FC were hit by the news that Luke Walsh was forced to retire through injury. The former Saint could not come back from yet more ankle damage sustained earlier this season and bows out at the age of just 30. McNamara brought in former Leigh man Josh Drinkwater as a replacement and he had a very impressive debut in guiding the Dragons to that unexpected win over Lee Radford’s side. Drinkwater will again be the man pulling the strings for the Dragons alongside another former Centurion Samisoni Langi, while in the backs Tony Gigot, David Mead, Brayden Williame and Jodie Broughton offer various levels of pace, power and pure comedy.
Up front the main men are moustachioed bad-boy Greg Bird and the ageless trio of Remi Casty, Louis Anderson and Sam Moa. Ex-Wigan head-hunter Mickey Mac McIlorum will swing from the hip as ever fresh from his amusing spat with Hull FC irritant Jake Connor, while the likes of Benjamin Julien, Jason Baitieri and Julian Bousquet have far more potential than their form this year suggests. If they get it right on the day they could be a real handful. They just won’t. Think Tiger Woods soaring back to his major-hoovering best. It could happen one day but it is unlikely, and it certainly won’t be this week.
The last meeting between these two sides was in Round 2 in Perpignan when Saints scored very early but were made to fight all the way for a 21-12 win Yet the Dragons travel rather less successfully, which is saying something given the nature of their dire home record this term. It would be a seismic shock on the scale of Theresa May actually taking responsibility for something she did eight years ago if the Dragons got anywhere near Saints on their own turf.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 7. Matty Smith, 9. James Roby, 10. Kyle Amor, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 15. Morgan Knowles, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 23. Ben Barba.
Catalans Dragons;
2. Jodie Broughton, 3. Iain Thornley, 4. Brayden Wiliame, 6. Samisoni Langi, 8. Rémi Casty, 10. Sam Moa, 11. Louis Anderson, 12. Benjamin Garcia, 13. Greg Bird, 14. Julian Bousquet, 16. Vincent Duport, 17. Jason Baitieri, 19. Michael McIlorum, 20. Lewis Tierney, 21. Benjamin Jullien, 23. Antoni Maria, 24. Alrix Da Costa, 31. Tony Gigot, 33. Josh Drinkwater.
Referee: Robert Hicks
Following a surprise defeat at Wakefield a fortnight ago Saints have gone ballistic in wins over Huddersfield Giants and Salford Red Devils since. They have scored 126 points across those two wins and conceded only 14. Losing to Wakefield made them very, very cross indeed. The Dragons can only hope that they have calmed down, otherwise another hefty stack of points looks on the cards for Justin Holbrook’s men.
Meanwhile the French side have been setting club records for hopelessness in 2018. Steve McNamara’s hotch-potch outfit had just two wins from their first 11 outings in Super League this year before inexplicably edging out Hull FC at home on Saturday. Rumours that the Dragons hierarchy are to launch an inquiry into how their one-point victory over the Challenge Cup holders could have happened are unconfirmed, but you can bet on the men from the Stade Brutus Gilbert to put that right by folding in a big fat heap in St.Helens this week. And why not, as a former film critic used to say? If the worst happens and they finish bottom of Super League and fail to save their collective skin in the Qualifiers the game’s ravenous need for a team outside of that awful phrase ‘the heartlands’ will likely earn them a reprieve.
Just to laugh a little louder at their opponents Saints have taken the luxury of recalling both James Roby and Adam Swift to their 19-man squad. Roby has missed the last three games with a rib injury while Swift has been out since damaging a shoulder at Hull KR at the end of March. Matty Lees will serve the first of a two-game suspension incurred for his reckless swipe at Salford’s Niall Evalds, with Matty Costello the other man to miss out from last week’s selection.
Note then that the name of Ben Barba is included. There really is no respite for the Dragons, is there? Not on the field at any rate. Barba went down dramatically late on against the Red Devils having spent much of the rest of the game carving Ian Watson’s side open. The sight of the league’s best player being placed on a stretcher with a brace around his neck was an unnerving one, but Barba has been cleared of any serious injury and is in contention to feature. If there is any doubt about Barba’s fitness he should probably have a week off. The same goes for Roby despite his return to the fold. If this Saints side can win at Salford by 50 points without Roby and with 12 men following Lees’ dismissal, it will have more than enough to see off what is still for this writer the worst side in the competition. Giants fans, don’t write in.
Swift’s return opens up the opportunity of resting Barba and leaving the preferred halfback partnership of Jonny Lomax and Danny Richardson unaltered. Tommy Makinson is a more than able fullback and could deputise there allowing Swift to play on the wing opposite Regan Grace. Ryan Morgan and Mark Percival should be the starting centres.
With Lees out the prop rotation will be limited to Kyle Amor, Luke Douglas, Luke Thompson and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, while coach Holbrook must decide whether to use Roby or else take pity on the visitors and offer them a sporting chance by persisting with the combination of Matty Smith and Theo Fages operating at hooker. Jon Wilkin, Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux will make up the back row which should leave Morgan Knowles on the bench along with one of Fages or Smith and two of the four props.
Catalans preparations for the visit of Hull FC were hit by the news that Luke Walsh was forced to retire through injury. The former Saint could not come back from yet more ankle damage sustained earlier this season and bows out at the age of just 30. McNamara brought in former Leigh man Josh Drinkwater as a replacement and he had a very impressive debut in guiding the Dragons to that unexpected win over Lee Radford’s side. Drinkwater will again be the man pulling the strings for the Dragons alongside another former Centurion Samisoni Langi, while in the backs Tony Gigot, David Mead, Brayden Williame and Jodie Broughton offer various levels of pace, power and pure comedy.
Up front the main men are moustachioed bad-boy Greg Bird and the ageless trio of Remi Casty, Louis Anderson and Sam Moa. Ex-Wigan head-hunter Mickey Mac McIlorum will swing from the hip as ever fresh from his amusing spat with Hull FC irritant Jake Connor, while the likes of Benjamin Julien, Jason Baitieri and Julian Bousquet have far more potential than their form this year suggests. If they get it right on the day they could be a real handful. They just won’t. Think Tiger Woods soaring back to his major-hoovering best. It could happen one day but it is unlikely, and it certainly won’t be this week.
The last meeting between these two sides was in Round 2 in Perpignan when Saints scored very early but were made to fight all the way for a 21-12 win Yet the Dragons travel rather less successfully, which is saying something given the nature of their dire home record this term. It would be a seismic shock on the scale of Theresa May actually taking responsibility for something she did eight years ago if the Dragons got anywhere near Saints on their own turf.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 7. Matty Smith, 9. James Roby, 10. Kyle Amor, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 15. Morgan Knowles, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 23. Ben Barba.
Catalans Dragons;
2. Jodie Broughton, 3. Iain Thornley, 4. Brayden Wiliame, 6. Samisoni Langi, 8. Rémi Casty, 10. Sam Moa, 11. Louis Anderson, 12. Benjamin Garcia, 13. Greg Bird, 14. Julian Bousquet, 16. Vincent Duport, 17. Jason Baitieri, 19. Michael McIlorum, 20. Lewis Tierney, 21. Benjamin Jullien, 23. Antoni Maria, 24. Alrix Da Costa, 31. Tony Gigot, 33. Josh Drinkwater.
Referee: Robert Hicks
This Week In RL - April 24-30 2018
It’s been a busy week in rugby league. It started with the unfortunate retirement of former Saint Luke Walsh due to an ongoing ankle issue, and ended with leniency shown to Zak Hardaker which would be mystifying where it not for the obvious involvement of everyone’s least favourite rugby league club. There were several points in between, so buckle up and let me attempt to take you through it all.
First to Walsh, who arrived at Saints in 2014 from Penrith Panthers and looked, in the early weeks at least, like the halfback that Saints had been missing since the departure of Sean Long back in 2009. Walsh was assured, could take on the line and had a varied kicking game. He lacked a yard of pace but for the needs of a Super League team he looked a perfect fit. And then it happened. During a routine win over Widnes at Langtree Park in July 2014 Walsh suffered a gruesome double fracture of the ankle and leg. It was one of the most unpleasant injuries I have seen in my 30+ years attending rugby league games and watching them on television.
To his credit Walsh battled back but he was never the same player. There was a visible reluctance to run at defenders when he returned nine months on from that Widnes game. He preferred instead to just ship the ball on to the next receiver. The kicking game was still there and there were still moments of brilliance, but they became ever more isolated. More regularly Walsh began to look ordinary, predictable even, and it was no surprise when he was moved on to Catalans Dragons at the end of the 2016 season. Well, I say no surprise. It was a bit of a jolt to learn that his replacement would be Matty Smith but that is another story.
Walsh played an underwhelming season with the Dragons in 2017, disrupted again by injury until in the early weeks of this season he suffered ankle ligament damage in a game against Hull KR. This time there was no way back for the 30-year-old Aussie. He called time on a career that saw him make 120 NRL appearances before his move to Saints, for whom he appeared 56 times scoring 16 tries and landing 183 goals. Despite the shortcomings he developed as a result of the injury Walsh made a significant contribution in the red vee and I’m sure the majority of my fellow Saints will join me in wishing him well in whatever he chooses to do next.
The Challenge Cup draw has been covered elsewhere on these pages to let’s skip straight to the potential sale of Wembley stadium which the FA announced on Thursday. They revealed that they had received a bid in excess of 800million from Shahid Khan, owner of Fulham Football Club and, perhaps more pertinently, Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. I have a view on why the FA should not sell Wembley but coming at it from a rugby league angle the issue is whether the sale, should it go through, will have any effect on the Challenge Cup final which has been played at the national stadium regularly since the mid-1940s.
Social media is awash with apathy on the subject. Many have cited reduced attendances at the final in recent years and the general devaluation of the competition as reasons why we no longer need to cling to the Wembley dream. I have a different view. If the Challenge Cup final is no longer held at Wembley then the greatest knockout competition in world rugby is devalued even further. It becomes just another event if you hold it at Newcastle, Manchester or heaven for-bloody-fend Coventry! We already have the Magic Weekend and the Grand Final filling the void marked ‘events’. The Challenge Cup is special. It represents the game’s history in a way that the Magic Weekend and the Grand Final will never do. In many ways they are both gimmicks. Extra fixtures that we could function perfectly well without. Unlike the FA Cup in football the Challenge Cup still matters. It is not something to be scoffed at, a reason to sack your coach if that is ‘all’ you manage to win one year.
Then there is the question of what moving from Wembley would do to the profile of our already undervalued sport. Wembley gives an event a sense of importance that no other venue in the UK can match. If an event is being held at Wembley it enters the national consciousness. Giving that up would move the sport further away from the attention of the casual sports viewer. At a time when we are forever squabbling among ourselves about how best to raise the profile of the game leaving the national stadium doesn’t seem like a good PR move. Mr Khan may have no intentions of keeping the Challenge Cup final away from Wembley but it is clear that his long term goal is to make Wembley an NFL venue first and foremost. Rugby league must do everything in its power to stay in its plans so that the national stadium does not become known only for American football in years to come.
York City Knights are one of the more upwardly mobile clubs in the UK. On the fringe of extinction not so long ago they are now flying high in League One, attracting some big crowds along the way. They made the news this week when they smashed West Wales by a world record 144-0 score-line. Many congratulated the Knights on their achievement which is justified on one level, but the result does raise concerns about the competitiveness of the division.
West Wales have lost all five of their matches so far and in so doing have managed to score only 26 points. That’s only just over 5 points per game. At the same time they have shipped in well over 400 at the other end. It has been suggested that many amateur sides in the NCL would be more competitive than West Wales have been, a feeling only added to by the fact that they had to postpone a game earlier in the season due to the lack of some medical facilities. The postponement came on the day when fans had travelled from the north east of England to see the game. It was not a good look for the game, and this latest result will be viewed by some as another embarrassment for the game.
The RFL needs to look at whether it has the balance right in the lower leagues in terms of competitiveness. Their need to have representation in as many parts of the UK as possible is understandable given the criticism the game receives for being geographically limited. Yet spreading the game far and wide cannot come at the expense of a proper contest. Though York’s crowds have been good that support for the game is at risk if we cannot ensure that games are more seriously contested. Someone has to win and someone has to lose, and the odd blowout score should be nothing for the game to worry about. But 144-0 takes that to new and dangerous levels.
And so to Zak. The news broke on Monday that the former Leeds and Castleford fullback will serve a 14-month suspension after he was found guilty of taking a banned substance. The length of ban is interesting given that Rangi Chase among others has been handed a two-year ban for effectively the same offence. He has already tweeted his displeasure at what he understandably sees as an injustice, so why has Hardaker been given relative leniency?
The report on the UKAD website is heavily redacted, but there is enough in there to gather that Hardaker has been judged to have had mitigating circumstances. There is something in there about an anniversary and something about depression. All of this may be entirely genuine, but was any of this taken into account when Chase and others were banned? It now seems that the two-year ban which many thought was mandatory for taking a banned substance during competition is out of the window. The door has been opened for any player found guilty of taking a recreational drug to be treated more leniently if they can convince the panel that they were feeling low enough to make drug use seem like a reasonable course of action. It will be very interesting to see what happens to Thomas Minns of Hull KR after he admitted to a similar indiscretion recently.
The backdating of the ban is also a head-scratcher. Hardaker’s ban is said to start from September 8, which is the date that he was tested. Yet he played in competitive games for the Tigers after that date. How can he be said to have already served that time then if he was playing until the end of September? The Grand Final on October 7 was the first game that Hardaker was forced to miss because of the test and so surely this should be the earliest date that any ban should be backdated to. Cynics have suggested that this abhorrent fudging of the rules has something to do with Hardaker’s impending arrival at Wigan. Others have claimed that the Warriors club doctor and other club employees poked their noses into UKAD’s business in helping determine the length of the ban and the date that it should start. Certainly Chris Brookes, the Wigan club doctor, is also involved with England who are another side who have sorely missed Hardaker since his failed test.
Whatever you think of Wigan’s conduct spare a thought for Castleford in among all of this. They were morally obliged to sack Hardaker at the time of his failed test, only for another club to come along and benefit from UKAD’s rather generous decision making. So, is there one rule for the bigger clubs and one rule for the rest in rugby league? Wigan fans will point to Ben Barba’s 12-game ban for drug use as a reason for this writer to wind his neck in about the whole affair. But the key difference is that firstly Barba’s drug use was out of competition, and that secondly Saints nor any of their employees had any part to play in deciding what punishment should be meted out to Barba. Saints took advantage of what you could reasonably argue was a lenient sentence after the fact, which has its own rights and wrongs. But Wigan appear to have played a part in engineering a lenient sentence for a guilty player whose past record is hardly the stuff of the nice boy next door.
Most fans outside a certain Lancashire town can smell something unpleasant in all of this.
First to Walsh, who arrived at Saints in 2014 from Penrith Panthers and looked, in the early weeks at least, like the halfback that Saints had been missing since the departure of Sean Long back in 2009. Walsh was assured, could take on the line and had a varied kicking game. He lacked a yard of pace but for the needs of a Super League team he looked a perfect fit. And then it happened. During a routine win over Widnes at Langtree Park in July 2014 Walsh suffered a gruesome double fracture of the ankle and leg. It was one of the most unpleasant injuries I have seen in my 30+ years attending rugby league games and watching them on television.
To his credit Walsh battled back but he was never the same player. There was a visible reluctance to run at defenders when he returned nine months on from that Widnes game. He preferred instead to just ship the ball on to the next receiver. The kicking game was still there and there were still moments of brilliance, but they became ever more isolated. More regularly Walsh began to look ordinary, predictable even, and it was no surprise when he was moved on to Catalans Dragons at the end of the 2016 season. Well, I say no surprise. It was a bit of a jolt to learn that his replacement would be Matty Smith but that is another story.
Walsh played an underwhelming season with the Dragons in 2017, disrupted again by injury until in the early weeks of this season he suffered ankle ligament damage in a game against Hull KR. This time there was no way back for the 30-year-old Aussie. He called time on a career that saw him make 120 NRL appearances before his move to Saints, for whom he appeared 56 times scoring 16 tries and landing 183 goals. Despite the shortcomings he developed as a result of the injury Walsh made a significant contribution in the red vee and I’m sure the majority of my fellow Saints will join me in wishing him well in whatever he chooses to do next.
The Challenge Cup draw has been covered elsewhere on these pages to let’s skip straight to the potential sale of Wembley stadium which the FA announced on Thursday. They revealed that they had received a bid in excess of 800million from Shahid Khan, owner of Fulham Football Club and, perhaps more pertinently, Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL. I have a view on why the FA should not sell Wembley but coming at it from a rugby league angle the issue is whether the sale, should it go through, will have any effect on the Challenge Cup final which has been played at the national stadium regularly since the mid-1940s.
Social media is awash with apathy on the subject. Many have cited reduced attendances at the final in recent years and the general devaluation of the competition as reasons why we no longer need to cling to the Wembley dream. I have a different view. If the Challenge Cup final is no longer held at Wembley then the greatest knockout competition in world rugby is devalued even further. It becomes just another event if you hold it at Newcastle, Manchester or heaven for-bloody-fend Coventry! We already have the Magic Weekend and the Grand Final filling the void marked ‘events’. The Challenge Cup is special. It represents the game’s history in a way that the Magic Weekend and the Grand Final will never do. In many ways they are both gimmicks. Extra fixtures that we could function perfectly well without. Unlike the FA Cup in football the Challenge Cup still matters. It is not something to be scoffed at, a reason to sack your coach if that is ‘all’ you manage to win one year.
Then there is the question of what moving from Wembley would do to the profile of our already undervalued sport. Wembley gives an event a sense of importance that no other venue in the UK can match. If an event is being held at Wembley it enters the national consciousness. Giving that up would move the sport further away from the attention of the casual sports viewer. At a time when we are forever squabbling among ourselves about how best to raise the profile of the game leaving the national stadium doesn’t seem like a good PR move. Mr Khan may have no intentions of keeping the Challenge Cup final away from Wembley but it is clear that his long term goal is to make Wembley an NFL venue first and foremost. Rugby league must do everything in its power to stay in its plans so that the national stadium does not become known only for American football in years to come.
York City Knights are one of the more upwardly mobile clubs in the UK. On the fringe of extinction not so long ago they are now flying high in League One, attracting some big crowds along the way. They made the news this week when they smashed West Wales by a world record 144-0 score-line. Many congratulated the Knights on their achievement which is justified on one level, but the result does raise concerns about the competitiveness of the division.
West Wales have lost all five of their matches so far and in so doing have managed to score only 26 points. That’s only just over 5 points per game. At the same time they have shipped in well over 400 at the other end. It has been suggested that many amateur sides in the NCL would be more competitive than West Wales have been, a feeling only added to by the fact that they had to postpone a game earlier in the season due to the lack of some medical facilities. The postponement came on the day when fans had travelled from the north east of England to see the game. It was not a good look for the game, and this latest result will be viewed by some as another embarrassment for the game.
The RFL needs to look at whether it has the balance right in the lower leagues in terms of competitiveness. Their need to have representation in as many parts of the UK as possible is understandable given the criticism the game receives for being geographically limited. Yet spreading the game far and wide cannot come at the expense of a proper contest. Though York’s crowds have been good that support for the game is at risk if we cannot ensure that games are more seriously contested. Someone has to win and someone has to lose, and the odd blowout score should be nothing for the game to worry about. But 144-0 takes that to new and dangerous levels.
And so to Zak. The news broke on Monday that the former Leeds and Castleford fullback will serve a 14-month suspension after he was found guilty of taking a banned substance. The length of ban is interesting given that Rangi Chase among others has been handed a two-year ban for effectively the same offence. He has already tweeted his displeasure at what he understandably sees as an injustice, so why has Hardaker been given relative leniency?
The report on the UKAD website is heavily redacted, but there is enough in there to gather that Hardaker has been judged to have had mitigating circumstances. There is something in there about an anniversary and something about depression. All of this may be entirely genuine, but was any of this taken into account when Chase and others were banned? It now seems that the two-year ban which many thought was mandatory for taking a banned substance during competition is out of the window. The door has been opened for any player found guilty of taking a recreational drug to be treated more leniently if they can convince the panel that they were feeling low enough to make drug use seem like a reasonable course of action. It will be very interesting to see what happens to Thomas Minns of Hull KR after he admitted to a similar indiscretion recently.
The backdating of the ban is also a head-scratcher. Hardaker’s ban is said to start from September 8, which is the date that he was tested. Yet he played in competitive games for the Tigers after that date. How can he be said to have already served that time then if he was playing until the end of September? The Grand Final on October 7 was the first game that Hardaker was forced to miss because of the test and so surely this should be the earliest date that any ban should be backdated to. Cynics have suggested that this abhorrent fudging of the rules has something to do with Hardaker’s impending arrival at Wigan. Others have claimed that the Warriors club doctor and other club employees poked their noses into UKAD’s business in helping determine the length of the ban and the date that it should start. Certainly Chris Brookes, the Wigan club doctor, is also involved with England who are another side who have sorely missed Hardaker since his failed test.
Whatever you think of Wigan’s conduct spare a thought for Castleford in among all of this. They were morally obliged to sack Hardaker at the time of his failed test, only for another club to come along and benefit from UKAD’s rather generous decision making. So, is there one rule for the bigger clubs and one rule for the rest in rugby league? Wigan fans will point to Ben Barba’s 12-game ban for drug use as a reason for this writer to wind his neck in about the whole affair. But the key difference is that firstly Barba’s drug use was out of competition, and that secondly Saints nor any of their employees had any part to play in deciding what punishment should be meted out to Barba. Saints took advantage of what you could reasonably argue was a lenient sentence after the fact, which has its own rights and wrongs. But Wigan appear to have played a part in engineering a lenient sentence for a guilty player whose past record is hardly the stuff of the nice boy next door.
Most fans outside a certain Lancashire town can smell something unpleasant in all of this.
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