5 Talking Points From Saints 36 Widnes Vikings 6

Where is Matty Smith?

For the first time in what seems like an age Matty Smith was left out of the 19-man squad to face Widnes which was named by Justin Holbrook two days before this fairly routine 36-6 victory. Smith hasn’t played very much under Holbrook and has not often been involved in the match day 17, so his omission would not normally raise an eyebrow. However, Saints had three backs missing for this one with all of Ben Barba, Tommy Makinson and Ryan Morgan carrying knocks. It made sense to recall Adam Swift and Matty Costello in these circumstances but was it logical to abandon the policy of having a back on the bench?

Theo Fages normally fills that role but he was required at stand off to allow Jonny Lomax to fill in for Barba at fullback. Costello slotted nicely into Morgan’s centre berth and Swift was outstanding in filling in for Makinson on the right wing, but even before James Roby was forced from the field close to half time it seemed that the omission of Smith represented something of a gamble. In the event it was Morgan Knowles who filled in for Roby at hooker for a spell, the England man returning after half-time before being withdrawn again once the win was assured in the second half. There isn’t too much to dislike about Knowles performance but he probably isn’t the man you want backing Roby up at this moment in time. Smith has turned in some decent performances in relief of Roby at times this season as has Fages, so it was odd to see the former Wigan half miss out.

Smith could be injured, that’s a possibility. Or, if we were to make a little more mischief out of the situation, we might suggest that his absence had something to do with the identity of the opposition. Smith has been linked with a move to Widnes, either permanently or on loan, for some time now. Could his non-selection have anything to do with the Vikings emerging as a future employer? Was there a gentleman’s agreement in place between Holbrook and the Widnes coaching staff that Smith would not play against a club he is about to join? All wild speculation of course, but this column is nothing if it is not wildly speculative.

Squad depth passes the test

Super League is a marathon not a sprint. There are still 10 games to play before the semi-finals home into view in September. The argument rages about whether there are too many games and this was surely one of the issues featuring prominently in Robert Elstone’s in-tray when he took over as the Super League CEO recently. It might be about to change, but whatever format is decided upon for 2019 you are still going to need a deep squad to be successful.

With those injuries to some key players Holbrook’s squad was tested this week. I can almost hear a collective ‘it was only Widnes’ as you contemplate this idea but as poor as they have been in recent months Widnes are still Super League opposition and are to be respected. It is not a given that you can beat them, especially with a slightly patched up side. Swift came in and showed everyone why he is probably the best back up winger in the country, while Costello didn’t look out of place either. Along with his superb hat-trick Swift led all Saints in metres gained with 173, and that on a night when seven other Saints broke the 100 metre barrier. One of those was Matty Lees, another who can reasonably be described as a squad player getting his chance because of Holbrook’s decision not to have a back on the bench. Lees gobbled up 115 metres on 18 carries. Five missed tackles suggest that the young prop’s defence could improve but his performance along with that of the other fringe players was good enough to underline the fact that Saints have the squad to go all the way on three fronts this season.

Swift evokes memories of his Super League debut

Adam Swift’s Super League debut was on 20 April 2012. He had made his first team debut in a barmy 40-38 Challenge Cup success. Both of those games were against Widnes and Swift, one of only four survivors from the 17 on duty that sunny but somehow freezing spring evening, helped himself to a hat-trick as Saints ran out 62-0 winners. I remember this being the first time my in-laws visited Langtree Park. Thankfully, some cladding-related improvements would make their next visit a little warmer.

The Vikings were a massive disappointment that day having gone so close in the cup just a few days before. But Swift was a revelation. Since then he has added another 114 tries to his tally but has found himself on the outside looking in since the emergence of Regan Grace last year. Swift has missed out on squad selection numerous times, only making eight appearances so far in 2018. He has five tries in those eight appearances, a record that compares favourably in terms of tries per game with Grace’s not too shabby 21 tries in 42 appearances since that memorable Good Friday debut at Wigan. Grace has 11 tries so far this term in 20 appearances.

So it seems we are very blessed in the wing department, especially when you remember that Makinson is now an England international in that position also. To have three players of that quality fighting for two spots is great for the team in terms of healthy competition for places, but the modern sportsman is a much more vainglorious beast now than in days gone by. If Makinson returns to fitness for the trip to Hull FC this weekend it will likely be Swift rather than Grace who makes way, unless Holbrook chooses not to recall Morgan and move Makinson inside to the centres. But I wouldn’t argue with a recall for Morgan with Grace and Makinson on either wing and Swift left out again. Grace was quiet against Widnes but scored twice in the win over Wakefield a week previously, the second of which was a spellbinding slice through three or four Trinity defenders on his way to the line. He's hardly out of form.

If Swift does miss out and continues to be viewed as a back up how long will it be before he tires of making the trip to Sheffield or some other Championship outpost every week when he knows that he could probably get a regular start for the majority of Super League clubs? Swift is 25 years old now and the next three or four years of his career should be his best. He’s a local boy who no doubt feels an immense sense of pride at pulling on the red vee but you would not blame him if he began looking for alternative employment given his current predicament.

The 10,000 barrier

When Super League was conceived back during the peak years of the battle between Oasis and Blur the somewhat arbitrary figure of 10,000 was bandied about as constituting a healthy Super League crowd. There was talk of all clubs playing in stadia which could accommodate at least that number of fans, something which still hasn’t happened in most of Yorkshire.

Saints are one of the few clubs in Super League to regularly attract that many fans, rarely falling below the 10,000 barrier. Yet Friday’s crowd of 9.923 was one such occasion when they fell short. Had they been playing Catalans, Huddersfield or any other club to whom the concept of away support is terribly old fashioned this would be nothing out of the ordinary. But this was Widnes. A club situated about 6 miles down the road and an age-old local rival. A former world champion club, a club which served the game well by breaking up the monotony of Wigan’s dominance by winning two league titles in the late 80s when stars like Martin Offiah, Jonathan Davies, John Devereux and company lit up the old Naughton Park.

The low crowd may partly be a consequence of how far the Vikings have fallen since then. Omitted from the original Super League line-up in fairly scandalous circumstances Widnes have fought their way back up to the top flight but never really threatened to return to their previous standing in the game. They are currently bottom of Super League, dead certs for middle eight involvement in August and less than certain of coming through that ordeal unscathed given their current form. They have not won a league game since the end of March and will be well aware of the challenges they will face from the likes of Toronto, Toulouse et al in the qualifiers.

But it wasn’t the Widnes fans staying at home. The East Stand has been markedly less populated by visitors from other clubs this season yet still we have managed to rustle up a crowd of over 10,000. Did a World Cup quarter-final between Brazil and Belgium on the television that night put some fans off? Or was it simply down to apathy and complacency, with many fans including this one never really convinced that Francis Cummins’ ailing side could pull of a shock victory? And so it proved. It was a fairly routine win for Saints yet still there was much to admire about some of the rugby played.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s fine to be a football fan, especially at a time when our national team is on the cusp of something so outrageously great that the country may well come to a standstill. Certainly if it can do so for Wills and Kate’s wedding in 2011 then there is an argument that it should do so if Gareth Southgate’s troops emulate the boys of ’66. But it wasn’t that hard to record the football and watch it as live after the Saints game. I managed it, and I am a buffoon. Many will argue that their circumstances prevent them from attending every game and that is a reasonable argument. You don’t have to be at every game to be considered a valued supporter. Yet it always seems to be the Widnes’ of this world whose fixtures fall at a time when cash is tight, work is awkward and the wife has the car. Had we been playing Wigan on Friday night, even up against a World Cup quarter final, there would have been a full house. The biggest problem would have been for those unable to get a ticket, desperately trawling the forums and social media to see if anyone lucky enough to have one is mad enough to sell it.

The World Cup will be over when Saints host Warrington in their next home fixture, their last of the regular season at THAT stadium. It’s a Thursday, which fans despise, but I’m willing to bet that more than 10,000 of us are on hand to witness it.

It’s Coming Home

No, not that. Although that is. Maybe. The it I refer to here is the League Leaders Shield. Saints have not always been convincing in recent weeks but they have kept on winning and still hold a six-point advantage at the top of the Super League table. Only three straight defeats and even then by ludicrous margins would stop Holbrook’s side starting the Super 8s in pole position. Which is just as well because Saints next three fixtures are somewhat tricky.

First up is a visit to Hull FC this weekend. It remains to be seen which of the personnel who missed this one will be fit to return against Lee Radford’s side but Hull away is always a difficult test. FC will be looking for a response after a quite woeful performance in going down 29-16 to an erratic Huddersfield outfit last time out but do they have it in them? They have suffered with injuries all season and do not look the same outfit without the influential Marc Sneyd.

And then there is Wigan. Always a 50-50 except for one June day in 2005 in the Challenge Cup at Knowsley Road when you had a feeling we would be too strong for them, Wigan have complicated matters by coming into form at just the wrong time. Their thrashing of Leeds Rhinos was followed by a gutsy 13-12 success over Warrington Wolves last weekend and with Shaun Wane now entering the death throes of his time at the helm you can be sure he will be ratcheting up his unique motivation techniques ahead of the clash at the DW on July 19. Another Thursday game, by the way. Saints sneaked past Wigan 21-18 on Good Friday and will find the going equally tough away from home against a Wigan side who know that defeat could well rule them out of the race for the League Leaders Shield. Eight points would be an awful lot to recover in eight games assuming Saints beat Hull FC and Wigan can see off temporarily useful Huddersfield.

Finally Saints host Warrington in the final regular season game of 2018. Saints swept Wire aside at the Halliwell Jones Stadium earlier in the season but since then coach Steve Price has turned around the Wolves’ season. Defeat to Wigan saw them slip to fourth in the table as Castleford handed Leeds their latest pasting but Warrington remain a firm favourite to make it into the semi-finals when all is said and done. They will want to lay down a marker that they can not only make it to the knockout games but that they are also a genuine contender to take home the trophy.

Victories in all three of these games will keep Saints six-point lead in tact at worst and maybe even improve it if the others in the top four slip up. At that point it would be very hard to see anyone catching them over that final seven game push towards the playoffs. Saints haven’t won the League Leaders Shield since they last won the Grand Final in 2014, a statistic that needs improving upon despite the somewhat lax attitude of many fans towards what is often sneeringly referred to as the hub cap. It may not mean as much as it used to, hence the sniggering at the Castleford fans celebration of their achievement in winning it last year, but if you really want to be considered a dominant champion side in any one season then the League Leaders Shield is a must. It looks good for Saints in that regard, so let’s just hope they don’t forget the small matter of a couple of playoff games at the end of the year too.