Hull FC v St Helens - Preview

Things are getting semi-serious in Super League, with just three games of the regular season left and the start of the Super 8s. Ten games to go the start of the playoffs if you are still keeping up, as Saints visit the KCom Stadium to take on Hull FC on Friday night (July 13, kick-off 7.45pm).

Saints are still unbeaten since a mid-April reverse at Wakefield and, if Huddersfield don’t do it for them by beating Wigan on Thursday night, can seal top spot going into the Super 8s with a win over Lee Radford’s side. Yet Hull need the points to stop the four-point gap between them and the top four getting any bigger going into sport's greatest about to be discarded regular season bolt-on. I told you things were getting serious.

Holbrook will travel to Hull with just one change from the 19 on duty to face Widnes Vikings last week, but the starting line-up may be markedly different. Ben Barba and Tommy Makinson were named in the 19 last week but did not play, but both are expected to feature in this one. Ryan Morgan comes back into the squad after suffering a head knock in the win over Wakefield on June 29. That means Matty Costello misses out despite another fair effort in the centres last week as Saints coasted past Widnes 36-6.

Assuming Barba is fit to play fullback then the only selection decision would appear to surround Makinson, Morgan and Adam Swift. The latter’s hat-trick against the Vikings has planted the idea in the heads of many that he will keep his place on the right wing, forcing Makinson inside to centre and Morgan to miss out. Makinson performed pretty well at centre when Morgan was out of the side earlier in the season but shifting him inside still feels like square-peggery. Holbrook is a fairly ruthless operator when it comes to team selection and it would be a surprise if Morgan was not restored to the side with Makinson returning to the wing spot. Mark Percival and Regan Grace are unlikely to be shifted from their left edge partnership to accommodate Swift, so the 25-year-old try-line botherer may face disappointment this week.

Barba’s return would lead to another change, with Theo Fages dropping to the bench as Jonny Lomax returns to stand off alongside scrum half Danny Richardson. Matty Smith is the subject of yet more transfer talk this week with Catalans Dragons thought to be the latest suitor. Perhaps as a result Smith is again omitted from the 19 so should Barba not make it back to the starting line-up Saints will almost certainly have four forwards on the bench. They are likely to be Luke Douglas, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Morgan Knowles and Matty Lees while Luke Thompson and Kyle Amor should start at prop either side of James Roby. Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux continue in the second row with Jon Wilkin the starting lock.

Hull come into this one on the back of a fairly embarrassing 29-18 reverse at Huddersfield, a result which has left their top four hopes in some peril. They are still without Jamie Shaul at fullback, likely to be replaced by the always interesting Hakim Maloudi, while Fetuli Talanoa is also missing from the backline along with the talismanic Marc Sneyd and the powerful Josh Griffin. There was some better news on Griffin this week as he penned an extension to his deal which will keep him at Hull FC until the end of 2021. For now much will depend on Albert Kelly as well as man of the moment Jake Connor, Carlos Tuimavave and Bureta Faraimo if the home side are going to cause Saints any real problems with ball in hand.

The pack is arguably as strong as any other in Super League with England man Scott Taylor joined by Danny Houghton, Mark Minichiello and Mickey Paea. Yet without Josh Bowden, Sika Manu and Joe Westerman they face a tough test against a Saints side going for its 12th straight win. Masi Matongo will add impact from the bench but Radford may need the likes of Jordan Lane and Jansin Turgut to make a significant contribution.

Aside from Super League issues this one is also the second leg of the Steve Prescott Cup, played for annually between the two clubs since the untimely passing of the former fullback and tireless fundraiser. The cup is decided on aggregate over the regular season meetings between the two, with Saints presently holding a 26-12 lead. A Barba-less Saints nevertheless cruised to victory over the black and whites in early April. It was not so straightforward when the sides met in the Challenge Cup in June as FC ran Saints close with only their ill-discipline costing them. Sin-binnings for Houghton and Matongo proved crucial as Saints squeaked through to the semi-finals 25-22.

It could be just as close here, although Hull are a little bit out of sorts. As well as that surprise defeat to the Giants they have recently sneaked by whipping boys Widnes by just seven points in a 31-24 win, lost at home to Wigan and away at Warrington since their Magic Weekend derby success over Hull KR. Rovers visit the KCom on the final day of the regular season and that, along with a visit to Wakefield on July 22 looks like a much more likely source of points in Hull’s quest to stay in touch with the top four and a shot at Old Trafford.

While it isn’t quite clear at this stage which of Saints walking wounded will be fit to take their place in the line-up, or what Holbrook will do with the Makinson-Morgan-Swift conundrum Saints look to have the depth, the form and therefore the confidence to come away from Hull with a win. It’s often been a city where Saints have struggled with both FC and KR handing out some painful defeats in the Super League era. Yet this is a somewhat more focused, less flaky outfit than some of its predecessors so I’m going with Saints to edge it by a couple of scores.

Squads;

Hull FC;

2. Bureta Faraimo, 3. Carlos Tuimavave, 6. Albert Kelly, 8. Scott Taylor, 9. Danny Houghton, 11. Dean Hadley, 12. Mark Minichiello, 14. Jake Connor, 15. Chris Green, 16. Jordan Abdul, 17. Danny Washbrook, 23. Mickey Paea, 24. Jack Logan, 25. Jansin Turgut, 26. Jordan Lane, 27. Jack Downs, 28. Hakim Miloudi, 29. Masimbaashe Matongo, 30. Cameron Scott.

St Helens;

1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 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, 20. Matty Lees, 23. Ben Barba.

Referee: Liam Moore