There seems to be a concerted effort to keep it quiet but there is silverware up for grabs when Saints take on Wigan Warriors this Friday night (August 31, kick-off 7.45pm).
Just a week on from the handing out of the first trophy of the season (sorry Wire fans, not your year again) Saints have the chance to wrap up the League Leaders Shield against their nearest but far from dearest as the Super 8s resume. Saints have led the competition almost from the off, and although we all know that it is the side that can win two knockout games tacked on to the end of the season who will emerge with the biggest prize, the League Leaders Shield is still something which should be if not celebrated wildly then at least acknowledged.
There’s a fine line of course. Popping champagne corks and spinning Queen records at this stage is likely to get you laughed out of town as it did Castleford last season. Yet it would be criminal to let the achievement of being the most consistent side throughout the regular season and the Super 8s go unnoticed. It’s a tricky balance to strike, which is perhaps why it hasn’t been mentioned an awful lot by Saints or even the fans. Or perhaps we and those at the club just aren't that confident about beating Wigan so we're keeping it all under wraps only to unleash it once the final whistle blows. Negative? Me?
Even without a much-maligned minor prize on the line a Saints-Wigan derby would be significant. There are some who would argue that the Super 8s format renders the big games stale and repetitious, but for others any time the paths of St Helens and Wigan cross the stakes are high and the tension even higher. Saints have beaten Wigan twice already this season, giving Shaun Wane’s side the double motivation of avoiding a season white-wash and of denying Justin Holbrook’s side the chance to pick up the aforementioned silverware. For another week at least. Saints march towards topping the table seems inevitable but Wigan will not want to be the side that is beaten to seal the deal. This one matters.
With that importance in mind it is handy then that Saints have both Ryan Morgan and Luke Thompson returning to the squad. Morgan has been missing for several weeks following some persistent problems with concussions but Holbrook confirmed that the Australian centre has been given the all-clear by the medical staff. Perhaps as a precaution Matty Costello keeps his place in the squad despite Morgan’s return. Meanwhile Thompson returns from a one-match ban which he incurred for ‘other contrary behaviour’ after his exuberant try celebration led to the ball making contact with the leg of an in-goal judge in the loss to Huddersfield three weeks ago.
With confirmation that Alex Walmsley is out for the rest of the season this week the onus is very much on Thompson to lead the prop group from here on in, although Jack Ashworth and Matty Lees impressed in recent weeks. All three are included in the 19-man squad along with Luke Douglas and Kyle Amor while Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook will no doubt spend time in that middle area also. All of which is tied together by the incomparable James Roby. Smiths Aaron and Matty, drafted in as possible relief options for Roby for the win at Wakefield last time out, miss out on this occasion so look for Theo Fages to fill in for Roby as and when required. Jon Wilkin is preparing for what might possibly be his last derby, almost certainly his last on home soil while Dom Peyroux’s broken arm means that the second row pairing is likely to again be Zeb Taia and Morgan Knowles.
This might be the week that we find out exactly what has been bothering Ben Barba. The debate raged among fans as to the cause of his dip in form with some suggesting his desire to play in the red vee had waned amid interest from the NRL. Others including Holbrook insist that rib and leg injuries have been hampering the star man. With a fortnight’s rest Barba will hopefully return to something like the form which saw him light up the league in the first few months of the season. He has yet to demonstrate his bewildering skills to a live Wigan audience (assuming such a thing exists) and like Wilkin could be playing his last derby as rumours of a move back to Australia persist.
The bad news on Adam Swift is that he needs surgery on a shoulder injury so expect Tommy Makinson and Regan Grace to continue on the wings outside of Morgan or Costello and Mark Percival in the centres. Jonny Lomax is probably not going to be the answer at fullback if the question is ‘who plays there next year should Barba leave?’ given Holbrook’s admission of interest in North Queensland Cowboys’ Lachlan Coote, but Lomax is nevertheless one of Saints more consistent performers in 2018 at stand-off alongside the emerging talent of Danny Richardson at halfback.
Someone else facing the possibility of his last derby is Wigan coach Shaun Wane. He will move to Scottish rugby union at the end of the season to be replaced first by Adrian Lam and then by Shaun Edwards as the Warriors continue their commitment to employment for ex-players. No doubt there will still be a job for John Bateman somewhere in the club should someone with a bit of nous decide that he might not be worth a marquee wage after six years of being clubbed around the head by Dylan Napa in the NRL. Aswell as derby spoils and stopping Saints celebrations Wane will have second place and a home semi-final on his mind. A win in this one could go a long way to helping Wigan ensure that the DW Stadium hosts play-off rugby come October.
To that end Wane has selected a strong squad which includes the oft-crocked, curly-haired wonder that is Sean O’Loughlin. He will skipper a side which is still missing Joe Burgess, Dom Manfredi and Liam Farrell but which on the other hand will no doubt be all the better for the absence of chief pudding Talima Tautai. Liam Marshall was unfortunately lost for the season in Wigan’s win at cup-kings Catalans last time out (again Wire fans I must apologise).
Sam Tomkins has had some hugely witty things to say about the importance or otherwise of the League Leaders Shield, getting his excuses in early should he have to suffer the trauma of watching Saints celebrating post-game. He’s another Warrington fan who might be about to find out that his season will get worse before it gets better. Along with his regrettably considerable ability Wigan have threat in the backs in the shape of Tom Davies and Oliver Gildart as well as the pacey Morgan Escare. Gildart missed the defeat by Saints at the DW Stadium in July and will be one of the keys to a different outcome this time around. George Williams has finally got around to explaining to everyone that he didn’t really mean that he would rather play in the NRL next year, he meant the year after, and he will likely start in the halves alongside Sam Powell with Thomas Leuluai given the honour of being outplayed by Roby. If only they still had Mickey McIlorum who has been transformed into Cameron Smith overnight by the fawning, pro-Catalans press (sorry Wire, d’oh!).
In the pack O’Loughlin and Bateman are formidable but it will also be interesting to see how Joe Greenwood performs on his first return to Saints since joining the Warriors via Gold Coast Titans. Willie Isa, Ben Flower, Tony Clubb and others will also be on hand to bring their own special brand of shithousery to proceedings. It wouldn’t be a derby without them and their ale-house tactics. When does Adrian Lam start?
If you want a prediction I’m not going to back against Saints at home to Wigan even if their form in recent weeks is rather more convincing than that of the red vee. The win over Wakefield restored a bit of lost confidence for Saints and with local bragging rights and the League Leaders Shield to play for Saints should just have about enough motivation to get over the line.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 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, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 21. Jack Ashworth, 23. Ben Barba, 30. Matty Costello.
Wigan Warriors;
1. Sam Tomkins, 2. Tom Davies, 3. Dan Sarginson, 4. Oliver Gildart, 6. George Williams, 7. Sam Powell, 8. Tony Clubb, 9. Thomas Leuluai, 10. Ben Flower, 13. Sean O’Loughlin, 14. John Bateman, 15. Ryan Sutton, 19. Willie Isa, 20. Morgan Escare, 25. Romain Navarrete, 30. Gabriel Hamlin, 35. Oliver Partington, 36. Samuel Kibula, 40. Joe Greenwood.
Referee: Chris Kendall
Weekly comment and analysis on all things Saints with perhaps the merest hint of bias...
5 Talking Points From Wakefield Trinity 16 Saints 36
Through The Storm
Hopes were not high that Saints could avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions when they travelled to Wakefield. The pack had been battered and bruised in successive losses to Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup and Huddersfield Giants in the first Super 8s assignment, and with Luke Thompson suspended most observers of a red vee persuasion, including this writer, thought things might get worse before they got better.
How wrong we were. Saints responded and in particular the pack stood up to a Trinity group featuring the twin giants David Fifita and Pauli Pauli. Even without Thompson Saints dominated, especially in a first half which saw two Tommy Makinson tries and one from Jonny Lomax give Justin Holbrook’s side a cosy-looking 16-0 half-time lead. It looked less cosy shortly after half-time when tries from Kyle Wood and Bill Tupou narrowed the deficit to just four points at 16-12, but a sprinkling of magic from Zeb Taia allowed Mark Percival to send Theo Fages in before a Luke Douglas try and a solo effort from Regan Grace sealed the win.
It wasn’t the most free-flowing performance. Three of Saints tries, including Grace’s winding run to the line, came as a direct result of Danny Richardson kicks. It’s not quite back to the five-drives and a kick, build-pressure, stay in The Grind mantra of the previous coach but neither is it the exhilarating style that was on show earlier in the season. Yet it’s a win that means that Saints have now won on every away ground in Super League and which more importantly cements their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
It’s Just A Matter Of Time
On which subject, Saints can now seal the League Leaders Shield with victory over Wigan in their next Super 8s fixture on August 31. How sweet it would be to pick up a piece of silverware, no matter how unfairly derided that particular gong might be, with our friends from over the lump in attendance. Assuming any of them stay to the final whistle should a Saints win be on the cards. Don’t expect them to stand their applauding and showing their full R-E-S-P-E-C-T. More likely is an East Stand Exodus of biblical proportions amid mutterings of how they’ll get us at Old Trafford.
And the worst thing about that is that they just might. There’s no point carping about it now but the fact of the matter is that the team that is the most consistent over the season is not necessarily the one which picks up the main prize. Ask Castleford Tigers about that. They have a bitter experience from last season to call upon. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the Tigers themselves could be the beneficiaries of the system this time around. They could still be the ones to take the title away from Saints grasp. Their win over Warrington this week kept them firmly in the hunt for a top two berth which brings a home semi-final. That’s a prize worth having when you consider that nobody has won a Super League semi-final away from home in the first three seasons of the Super 8s system.
Yet for now Saints impending capture of the League Leaders Shield is something to be celebrated. It would be great to be able to do that against Wigan but fear not, for should the worst happen and derby day brings a defeat there will still be opportunities to seal the deal in the games against Catalans Dragons and Hull FC which follow. Wigan can delay things with a win over Saints in a fortnight, but a delay is likely to be all it will be. It’s just a matter of time.
Remember Me
One of the reasons why the Saints front men performed so much better than in recent weeks was the triumphant return of Jack Ashworth. The 23-year-old had only featured in one Super League game in 2018 up until his selection for this one in the absence of the suspended Thompson. That was against Wigan three weeks ago, since when Ashworth has suffered another injury in a career that has stalled since making his Super League debut in 2015.
Ashworth was a centre back then, but is now very much a front rower. His two strong carries help set the platform for Makinson’s first try while his delicious offload allowed James Roby to tear up the field to create another score for Lomax. In all Ashworth reeled off 92 metres on 10 carries and a couple of offloads. He also managed 10 tackles in defence, though he was rather caught out by Wood in the move that led to Wakefield’s first try. Yet as he had against Wigan Ashworth had made a real impact and has to now be considered a realistic option for selection in a Saints pack which has hardly covered itself in glory in August so far.
A Change Is Gonna Come
If Ashworth is to be included who will miss out? Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook managed to give away three penalties for ball stealing, a stat which frankly blows my mind and says everything about the negatives involved with having him around. Yet he was otherwise excellent. No Saints forward made more than McCarthy-Scarsbrook’s 126 metres (only Lomax among Saints went further with 127) and the former London man’s ability to play anywhere in the pack except hooker should guarantee his place in the 17. Luke Douglas was solid enough and scored a crucial try while Matty Lees put in 25 tackles and went over the 100-metre mark with ball in hand also. He continues to develop even if his enthusiasm can sometimes be a hindrance.
The man looking most vulnerable in the front row might be Kyle Amor. The former Trinity man made only 84 metres and managed to miss seven out of this 23 tackle attempts. This followed on from his underwhelming performances in the two defeats which preceded this win. At 31 Amor is arguably as good as he is ever going to be. It might be that with Ashworth’s emergence neither Irish international Amor nor Scotland’s Douglas can consider themselves certainties for the 17 every week at club level. One of them should certainly miss out if and when Alex Walmsley returns to fitness. Will Holbrook put his trust in youth against Shaun Wane’s men in a fortnight or will he rely once more on the experienced men who in fairness have been involved in getting Saints this far? He'll have to have a Think.
It’s Gonna Get A Bit Better. Isn’t It?
Saints slump has coincided with the loss of some key players through injury. Ryan Morgan has been out for three games with what we are led to believe are persistent problems recovering from head knocks, while Dominique Peyroux’s broken arm has no doubt been a key factor in the dip in form that the team has suffered. Yet with Peyroux due back in two to three weeks, Adam Swift returning at a similar time from a shoulder problem and hopes still of Walmsley returning to action before the end of the season it could be a different Saints outfit which embarks on a tilt at the playoffs.
Perhaps the most important player who needs to regain fitness is still in the team and therefore not getting the rest he needs. Ben Barba has rib and leg problems and should now be using the week off for the Challenge Cup final to fully recuperate. If Saints are to win the Grand Final they will need Barba at his brilliant best to give them that edge, that x-factor that other sides just do not possess. There has been much talk of opponents working out Barba’s game and shutting it down, but a fully fit Barba at full throttle will still cause seven kinds of mayhem against most Super League teams. This was another quiet outing for the Australian, thankfully without the dropped bombs and the post-game social media haranguing. But the potential for Barba to take a game over is always there and is something we might need come play-off time.
Thompson’s return should also provide a significant boost. He has been Saints best prop in 2018 and although Ashworth stepped up this week it would not be fun to see how Saints would get on without Thompson for any length of time, especially with Walmsley still side-lined. But now that the rot has been stopped there are reasons for optimism as the final furlong slides into view following this weekend’s Wembley final between Catalans Dragons and Warrington.
Hopes were not high that Saints could avoid a third straight defeat in all competitions when they travelled to Wakefield. The pack had been battered and bruised in successive losses to Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup and Huddersfield Giants in the first Super 8s assignment, and with Luke Thompson suspended most observers of a red vee persuasion, including this writer, thought things might get worse before they got better.
How wrong we were. Saints responded and in particular the pack stood up to a Trinity group featuring the twin giants David Fifita and Pauli Pauli. Even without Thompson Saints dominated, especially in a first half which saw two Tommy Makinson tries and one from Jonny Lomax give Justin Holbrook’s side a cosy-looking 16-0 half-time lead. It looked less cosy shortly after half-time when tries from Kyle Wood and Bill Tupou narrowed the deficit to just four points at 16-12, but a sprinkling of magic from Zeb Taia allowed Mark Percival to send Theo Fages in before a Luke Douglas try and a solo effort from Regan Grace sealed the win.
It wasn’t the most free-flowing performance. Three of Saints tries, including Grace’s winding run to the line, came as a direct result of Danny Richardson kicks. It’s not quite back to the five-drives and a kick, build-pressure, stay in The Grind mantra of the previous coach but neither is it the exhilarating style that was on show earlier in the season. Yet it’s a win that means that Saints have now won on every away ground in Super League and which more importantly cements their eight-point lead at the top of the table.
It’s Just A Matter Of Time
On which subject, Saints can now seal the League Leaders Shield with victory over Wigan in their next Super 8s fixture on August 31. How sweet it would be to pick up a piece of silverware, no matter how unfairly derided that particular gong might be, with our friends from over the lump in attendance. Assuming any of them stay to the final whistle should a Saints win be on the cards. Don’t expect them to stand their applauding and showing their full R-E-S-P-E-C-T. More likely is an East Stand Exodus of biblical proportions amid mutterings of how they’ll get us at Old Trafford.
And the worst thing about that is that they just might. There’s no point carping about it now but the fact of the matter is that the team that is the most consistent over the season is not necessarily the one which picks up the main prize. Ask Castleford Tigers about that. They have a bitter experience from last season to call upon. It is not beyond the realms of possibility that the Tigers themselves could be the beneficiaries of the system this time around. They could still be the ones to take the title away from Saints grasp. Their win over Warrington this week kept them firmly in the hunt for a top two berth which brings a home semi-final. That’s a prize worth having when you consider that nobody has won a Super League semi-final away from home in the first three seasons of the Super 8s system.
Yet for now Saints impending capture of the League Leaders Shield is something to be celebrated. It would be great to be able to do that against Wigan but fear not, for should the worst happen and derby day brings a defeat there will still be opportunities to seal the deal in the games against Catalans Dragons and Hull FC which follow. Wigan can delay things with a win over Saints in a fortnight, but a delay is likely to be all it will be. It’s just a matter of time.
Remember Me
One of the reasons why the Saints front men performed so much better than in recent weeks was the triumphant return of Jack Ashworth. The 23-year-old had only featured in one Super League game in 2018 up until his selection for this one in the absence of the suspended Thompson. That was against Wigan three weeks ago, since when Ashworth has suffered another injury in a career that has stalled since making his Super League debut in 2015.
Ashworth was a centre back then, but is now very much a front rower. His two strong carries help set the platform for Makinson’s first try while his delicious offload allowed James Roby to tear up the field to create another score for Lomax. In all Ashworth reeled off 92 metres on 10 carries and a couple of offloads. He also managed 10 tackles in defence, though he was rather caught out by Wood in the move that led to Wakefield’s first try. Yet as he had against Wigan Ashworth had made a real impact and has to now be considered a realistic option for selection in a Saints pack which has hardly covered itself in glory in August so far.
A Change Is Gonna Come
If Ashworth is to be included who will miss out? Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook managed to give away three penalties for ball stealing, a stat which frankly blows my mind and says everything about the negatives involved with having him around. Yet he was otherwise excellent. No Saints forward made more than McCarthy-Scarsbrook’s 126 metres (only Lomax among Saints went further with 127) and the former London man’s ability to play anywhere in the pack except hooker should guarantee his place in the 17. Luke Douglas was solid enough and scored a crucial try while Matty Lees put in 25 tackles and went over the 100-metre mark with ball in hand also. He continues to develop even if his enthusiasm can sometimes be a hindrance.
The man looking most vulnerable in the front row might be Kyle Amor. The former Trinity man made only 84 metres and managed to miss seven out of this 23 tackle attempts. This followed on from his underwhelming performances in the two defeats which preceded this win. At 31 Amor is arguably as good as he is ever going to be. It might be that with Ashworth’s emergence neither Irish international Amor nor Scotland’s Douglas can consider themselves certainties for the 17 every week at club level. One of them should certainly miss out if and when Alex Walmsley returns to fitness. Will Holbrook put his trust in youth against Shaun Wane’s men in a fortnight or will he rely once more on the experienced men who in fairness have been involved in getting Saints this far? He'll have to have a Think.
It’s Gonna Get A Bit Better. Isn’t It?
Saints slump has coincided with the loss of some key players through injury. Ryan Morgan has been out for three games with what we are led to believe are persistent problems recovering from head knocks, while Dominique Peyroux’s broken arm has no doubt been a key factor in the dip in form that the team has suffered. Yet with Peyroux due back in two to three weeks, Adam Swift returning at a similar time from a shoulder problem and hopes still of Walmsley returning to action before the end of the season it could be a different Saints outfit which embarks on a tilt at the playoffs.
Perhaps the most important player who needs to regain fitness is still in the team and therefore not getting the rest he needs. Ben Barba has rib and leg problems and should now be using the week off for the Challenge Cup final to fully recuperate. If Saints are to win the Grand Final they will need Barba at his brilliant best to give them that edge, that x-factor that other sides just do not possess. There has been much talk of opponents working out Barba’s game and shutting it down, but a fully fit Barba at full throttle will still cause seven kinds of mayhem against most Super League teams. This was another quiet outing for the Australian, thankfully without the dropped bombs and the post-game social media haranguing. But the potential for Barba to take a game over is always there and is something we might need come play-off time.
Thompson’s return should also provide a significant boost. He has been Saints best prop in 2018 and although Ashworth stepped up this week it would not be fun to see how Saints would get on without Thompson for any length of time, especially with Walmsley still side-lined. But now that the rot has been stopped there are reasons for optimism as the final furlong slides into view following this weekend’s Wembley final between Catalans Dragons and Warrington.
Wakefield Trinity v Saints - Preview
Stumbling Saints will hope to avoid a third successive defeat in all competitions when they travel to Wakefield Trinity for their second Super 8s outing on Thursday night (August 16, kick-off 7.45pm).
The wheels are, if not falling off, then certainly squirming ever looser for Justin Holbrook’s side after the cup hammering by Catalans at Bolton was followed by a fairly miserable home defeat by Huddersfield Giants last time out. The only good thing about the loss to the Dragons was that it has earned Saints a much needed week off on cup final weekend, but before then they need to steel themselves for one more push at the home of Chris Chester’s side.
They’ll have to do it without Luke Thompson. He’s been Saints best prop this year, carrying much of the burden in the absence of long-term injury victim Alex Walmsley, but Thompson misses out here after picking up a one-game ban for ‘other contrary behaviour’. Namely, that means throwing the ball in celebration at scoring a try that might have got Saints back into the game against Simon Woolford’s Giants. Unfortunately, the ball hit the in-goal judge, hence the charge and subsequent one game ban. Saints have decided against challenging the decision for fear of having the ban increased should the appeals panel deem the challenge frivolous. Whether Thompson meant to do it or not Saints have previous in this field, with Mark Percival sitting out a game after a similar incident against Salford last season.
It’s a small loss of discipline but very much in keeping with the rest of the things that are going wrong for Saints currently. The pack is in desperate need of a rest as Holbrook alluded to in his post-match comments but with Thompson out there is arguably now even more pressure on the others that remain. Jack Ashworth has been drafted back into the squad and is joined by reserve hooker Aaron Smith who had a spell on loan at Hull KR earlier in the season but is yet to make his Saints Super League debut. Kyle Amor, Matty Lees, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Luke Douglas and maybe Ashworth have a massive job on their hands to match up to a Wakefield pack that may not be the last word in stamina, but has some massive impact players in the likes of David Fifita and Pauli Pauli.
Dominique Peyroux remains out with a broken arm so Jon Wilkin, Morgan Knowles and Zeb Taia are likely to continue in the back three. James Roby is ever more important at hooker and will be backed up either by Smith, Theo Fages or another Smith in former Wigan man Matty.
In the backs all the waffle on social media has been about what day of the week might be best to send Ben Barba home. This genius of a player, a man who has been at pains to make himself accessible to the community since the day he arrived, is unbelievably the subject of the fans ire after a few injury-hit and underwhelming displays. Yet Holbrook has again chosen to include Barba despite rib and leg problems, exposing him once again to the kind of puerile abuse not seen since Jack Owens wore the red vee. Except Barba is no Owens and will, once fit, shove those badly mashed out words down the throats of those responsible at the back end of this season irrespective of whether he agrees to stay for the remainder of his contract. There are those who have made their minds up that he will not stay and who cannot accept that, despite the fact that anyone with a modicum of rationality thought it most likely that Barba would only play one full season at Saints once the NRL clubs were convinced of his return to form.
So it will be Barba at fullback but what to do about the centre position? Matty Costello came in last week and is in the 19 again and with Adam Swift out that might mean that Tommy Makinson is unable to fill in there in the continued absence of Ryan Morgan. Regan Grace missed last week’s defeat with a dead leg but is included and should take Swift’s place on the left wing, with Percival inside him at centre. In the halves Jonny Lomax should start at six but there is a genuine case for resting Danny Richardson and allowing Matty Smith to earn a rare start at halfback. Richardson has looked just as uncomfortable as Barba in recent weeks without drawing a tenth of the criticism. That’s mostly because he’s younger and less likely to be playing for an Australian club any time soon, but none of that lessens the case for resting the young half who has been extremely erratic of late.
Wakefield’s pack is led as mentioned by Pauli Pauli and Fifita, while in the backs they have the pace of Tom Johnstone, Bill Tupou, Reece Lyne and Ben Jones-Bishop to call on. Fullback Scott Grix has know-how but also previous at making a hash of things against Saints. It was his miss-kick that allowed Jonny Lomax to score and earn Saints the win at Wakefield in last season’s Super 8s that sealed a semi-final spot for Holbrook’s men. A similar gift would be gratefully accepted as Saints look for the few wins still required to complete the job of winning the League Leaders Shield.
Absentees for Wakefield include Danny Kirmond, Keegan Hirst and Jordan Baldwinson, while Liam Finn and Mason Caton-Brown have left for Widnes and Toronto respectively since Saints were beaten 22-14 at Trinity back in April. That was Saints last defeat until the double whammy of Catalans and Huddersfield slapped them around the chops in the last two weeks, and may still be on their minds as they go in search of a little revenge.
With Wigan rocking up to Saints in the week after the Challenge Cup final Saints can ill afford to go into that one on the back of three defeats. Should they do so, and assuming Wigan can get over the top of Wembley-bound Catalans this weekend a defeat to Wigan would then cut the gap between the two old rivals to just four points, with still four Super 8 games to play. It’s an unthinkable proposition but if you are nervous about the outcome you have every right to be. Much as I wouldn’t like to see it I can see a home win by something in the region of 10 points as things get worse before they get better for Saints.
Squads;
Wakefield Trinity;
1. Scott Grix, 2. Tom Johnstone, 3. Bill Tupou, 4. Reece Lyne, 5. Ben Jones-Bishop, 6. Jacob Miller, 8. David Fifita, 9. Kyle Wood, 10. Anthony England, 11. Matty Ashurst, 13. Tyler Randell, 14. Justin Horo, 15. Pauli Pauli, 16. Tinirau Arona, 17. Craig Huby, 19. James Batchelor, 21. Max Jowitt, 23. Chris Annakin, 25. Ryan Hampshire.
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 4. Mark Percival, 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, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 21. Jack Ashworth, 23. Ben Barba, 25. Aaron Smith, 30. Matty Costello.
Referee: Liam Moore
The wheels are, if not falling off, then certainly squirming ever looser for Justin Holbrook’s side after the cup hammering by Catalans at Bolton was followed by a fairly miserable home defeat by Huddersfield Giants last time out. The only good thing about the loss to the Dragons was that it has earned Saints a much needed week off on cup final weekend, but before then they need to steel themselves for one more push at the home of Chris Chester’s side.
They’ll have to do it without Luke Thompson. He’s been Saints best prop this year, carrying much of the burden in the absence of long-term injury victim Alex Walmsley, but Thompson misses out here after picking up a one-game ban for ‘other contrary behaviour’. Namely, that means throwing the ball in celebration at scoring a try that might have got Saints back into the game against Simon Woolford’s Giants. Unfortunately, the ball hit the in-goal judge, hence the charge and subsequent one game ban. Saints have decided against challenging the decision for fear of having the ban increased should the appeals panel deem the challenge frivolous. Whether Thompson meant to do it or not Saints have previous in this field, with Mark Percival sitting out a game after a similar incident against Salford last season.
It’s a small loss of discipline but very much in keeping with the rest of the things that are going wrong for Saints currently. The pack is in desperate need of a rest as Holbrook alluded to in his post-match comments but with Thompson out there is arguably now even more pressure on the others that remain. Jack Ashworth has been drafted back into the squad and is joined by reserve hooker Aaron Smith who had a spell on loan at Hull KR earlier in the season but is yet to make his Saints Super League debut. Kyle Amor, Matty Lees, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Luke Douglas and maybe Ashworth have a massive job on their hands to match up to a Wakefield pack that may not be the last word in stamina, but has some massive impact players in the likes of David Fifita and Pauli Pauli.
Dominique Peyroux remains out with a broken arm so Jon Wilkin, Morgan Knowles and Zeb Taia are likely to continue in the back three. James Roby is ever more important at hooker and will be backed up either by Smith, Theo Fages or another Smith in former Wigan man Matty.
In the backs all the waffle on social media has been about what day of the week might be best to send Ben Barba home. This genius of a player, a man who has been at pains to make himself accessible to the community since the day he arrived, is unbelievably the subject of the fans ire after a few injury-hit and underwhelming displays. Yet Holbrook has again chosen to include Barba despite rib and leg problems, exposing him once again to the kind of puerile abuse not seen since Jack Owens wore the red vee. Except Barba is no Owens and will, once fit, shove those badly mashed out words down the throats of those responsible at the back end of this season irrespective of whether he agrees to stay for the remainder of his contract. There are those who have made their minds up that he will not stay and who cannot accept that, despite the fact that anyone with a modicum of rationality thought it most likely that Barba would only play one full season at Saints once the NRL clubs were convinced of his return to form.
So it will be Barba at fullback but what to do about the centre position? Matty Costello came in last week and is in the 19 again and with Adam Swift out that might mean that Tommy Makinson is unable to fill in there in the continued absence of Ryan Morgan. Regan Grace missed last week’s defeat with a dead leg but is included and should take Swift’s place on the left wing, with Percival inside him at centre. In the halves Jonny Lomax should start at six but there is a genuine case for resting Danny Richardson and allowing Matty Smith to earn a rare start at halfback. Richardson has looked just as uncomfortable as Barba in recent weeks without drawing a tenth of the criticism. That’s mostly because he’s younger and less likely to be playing for an Australian club any time soon, but none of that lessens the case for resting the young half who has been extremely erratic of late.
Wakefield’s pack is led as mentioned by Pauli Pauli and Fifita, while in the backs they have the pace of Tom Johnstone, Bill Tupou, Reece Lyne and Ben Jones-Bishop to call on. Fullback Scott Grix has know-how but also previous at making a hash of things against Saints. It was his miss-kick that allowed Jonny Lomax to score and earn Saints the win at Wakefield in last season’s Super 8s that sealed a semi-final spot for Holbrook’s men. A similar gift would be gratefully accepted as Saints look for the few wins still required to complete the job of winning the League Leaders Shield.
Absentees for Wakefield include Danny Kirmond, Keegan Hirst and Jordan Baldwinson, while Liam Finn and Mason Caton-Brown have left for Widnes and Toronto respectively since Saints were beaten 22-14 at Trinity back in April. That was Saints last defeat until the double whammy of Catalans and Huddersfield slapped them around the chops in the last two weeks, and may still be on their minds as they go in search of a little revenge.
With Wigan rocking up to Saints in the week after the Challenge Cup final Saints can ill afford to go into that one on the back of three defeats. Should they do so, and assuming Wigan can get over the top of Wembley-bound Catalans this weekend a defeat to Wigan would then cut the gap between the two old rivals to just four points, with still four Super 8 games to play. It’s an unthinkable proposition but if you are nervous about the outcome you have every right to be. Much as I wouldn’t like to see it I can see a home win by something in the region of 10 points as things get worse before they get better for Saints.
Squads;
Wakefield Trinity;
1. Scott Grix, 2. Tom Johnstone, 3. Bill Tupou, 4. Reece Lyne, 5. Ben Jones-Bishop, 6. Jacob Miller, 8. David Fifita, 9. Kyle Wood, 10. Anthony England, 11. Matty Ashurst, 13. Tyler Randell, 14. Justin Horo, 15. Pauli Pauli, 16. Tinirau Arona, 17. Craig Huby, 19. James Batchelor, 21. Max Jowitt, 23. Chris Annakin, 25. Ryan Hampshire.
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 4. Mark Percival, 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, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 21. Jack Ashworth, 23. Ben Barba, 25. Aaron Smith, 30. Matty Costello.
Referee: Liam Moore
5 Talking Points From Saints 12 Huddersfield Giants 16
Congratulations Jon Wilkin
We might as well start on a positive note because there isn’t going to be much else to cheer in this five-pronged review of another dismal defeat. Jon Wilkin announced on his podcast this week that he will be leaving Saints at the end of the season after 16 years. Signed in 2002 from his hometown and boyhood club Hull KR, Wilkin played in Saints 2006 treble-winning team, making the Super League Dream Team that year. No mean feat considering the number of club legends, Super League legends in fact, who graced the side that particular year. Wilkin also played in four Challenge Cup final successes for Saints and the 2007 World Club Challenge victory over Brisbane Broncos.
Despite some fierce criticism at times Wilkin has had a great career at Saints, racking up almost 400 appearances while also playing 10 times for England and six times for Great Britain. He has suffered from being played out of position in the halves for too long and from his inconsiderate refusal to be Paul Sculthorpe, but he remains among the most decorated players in the domestic game especially in the Super League era. It’s not quite clear whether he intends to continue playing away from Saints but both Rovers and Toronto Wolfpack have been linked with him in the wake of his decision. Whether he goes to either of those clubs, concentrates on his media work or his business interests we wish him well in the future and thank him for a career of which he can be immensely proud.
Another Slow Start Costs Saints
You won’t need me to remind you that Saints were 27-0 down at half time during last weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Catalans Dragons. The phrase ‘still on the bus’ has never been more apt. And it proved costly as despite a better second half effort their Wembley hopes withered on the vine. So if nothing else you would have expected Justin Holbrook’s side to get out of the blocks quickly this week.
Well, no actually. It was like Bolton all over again in the first 20 minutes. Except that I could hear the noise from the crowd (including the cow bell in the visitors section) without the aid of a speaker system. Good thing too since the speaker system in the north stand at Saints has been dysfunctional since Gareth O’Brien was running around in the red vee. Darnell McIntosh crossed twice for Simon Woolford’s side in the opening quarter while Danny Brough also put Alex Mellor through a gap in the frazzled Saints defence. Suddenly Saints found themselves 16-0 down and chasing the game. All a stark contrast to the last time the Giants visited when Saints routed them 66-4.
Despite a rally sparked by Ben Barba’s fine try five minutes before half time Saints could only add one more score through Luke Thompson in the second half. James Roby and Morgan Knowles both went close but in the final analysis we could have few complaints about the result after what was another, uninspired, jaded-looking performance from the league leaders.
Clap-gate
Social media platforms are a dark and disturbing place at times and never more so than after a Saints defeat. The latest heinous crime to be seized upon by everyone with a keyboard and an entitlement to an opinion was committed by Barba when he allegedly failed to clap the fans at the end of the game. Invitations for him to fuck off home were mashed out liberally by twitchy-thumbed, spoilt fans desperate for a reason to unleash their frustrated wrath.
Now let’s have this right. It is utterly puerile to want rid of one of the best players to have graced Super League in years because of some perceived lack of respect. It is not a lack of respect at all. The man is playing injured probably and that, plus the fact that it is affecting his form and subsequently the team’s results is likely causing a whole heap of frustration. At that moment he is probably not in the mood to be posing and smiling for photographs with fans or clapping or waving to people who genuinely believe that the price of their season ticket covers player interaction. If he had done any of that after a defeat he risked receiving the sort of treatment that Wilkin regularly receives, accusations that defeats don’t bother him and look at him smiling and shaking hands with people the villainous pug.
Ben Barba’s time at Saints has been a triumph so far. He has elevated the team’s performance on the field while off it he has constantly gone out of his way to meet fans, have pictures taken and engage with the community. He has no obligation whatsoever to do any of that in the immediate aftermath of a game when emotions are running high. Much of the criticism he has received stems from the fact that following a couple of mischievous articles in the Australian press this week some fans have made their minds up that he has already signed with an NRL club for next season and they just can’t forgive him for it. Now I don’t know if he has or he hasn’t, but if he has it should come as no surprise to all but the most naïve among us. Who expected him to stay for the duration of a two and a half year contract when he can earn six times as much in the NRL?
If Barba has agreed a deal elsewhere then perhaps we should be told but until then why should he have to say anything? Nobody is asking Kyle Amor to confirm that he will be with us next season. And why? Because nobody gives a fuck. Fear of losing Barba is addling the brains of some supporters and they need to wobble their heads quick-smart before Barba gives up on them for what is left of his stay.
Can Justin Find The Answers?
Holbrook’s comments in the wake of this defeat are instructive;
“There were too many tired bodies, too many guys couldn’t get up for it.” He said, adding;
“Sunday’s game was always going to knock us around. We came with the right intentions but there are a lot of mentally and physically tired boys and that’s when you make dumb errors.”
Clear enough then as to the coach’s thoughts on why it is not going so well at the moment but if the problem is just fatigue what can he do about it? The next game arrives quickly, with Saints visiting Wakefield on Thursday (August 16) in their next Super 8s fixture. It is not until Catalans face Warrington at Wembley the following weekend that Saints will get a chance to rest up those tired bodies and minds. So many of the same players who sleepwalked through this one will have to go again at Wakefield, a venue where it should be remembered we have already lost once this season back in April.
Regan Grace missed the Giants game with a dead leg and so may be ready to come back in a little more fresh, but that only offsets the fact that Adam Swift limped out of the game late with what looked like a wrist injury. Ryan Morgan has missed the last two and his return would be more than welcome but Dominque Peyroux and Alex Walmsley are still some way off. The likes of Thompson, Amor, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Matty Lees will need to carry the load again and the stark reality is that in the last two games they have been bullied and battered into submission by more determined, more focused opponents. Saints will need the experience of Wilkin and Roby more than ever and the introduction of Matty Smith might not be the worst idea in the world either. Danny Richardson has toiled just as much as Barba over the last month or so and was particularly woeful against Woolford’s side. The calls for him to fuck off back to Widnes have been somewhat less audible and rightly so, but when he was introduced to the first team most fans understood that it was on the proviso that he would have dips in form and may need to be stood down from time to time. He is still young and maybe that time is now.
Fans Need To Do Their Bit
Not everyone was sniping at Barba in the wake of this defeat but there were some other troubling signs among the support. First of all was the actual attendance. A mere 8,879 were on deck which is some way below the average attendance not only this year but for all of the time since we moved to Langtree Park in 2012. Taking into account that Huddersfield don’t have a vast travelling support that is still a disappointing turnout. The Giants following is so poor that the east stand was left entirely unused and there were plenty of gaps among the seats ordinarily occupied by home fans.
Was this a response to what many felt was an unacceptable performance at Bolton last week? How many won’t show up after a performance that they perceive to be unacceptable? More than we would like to think by the looks of it. Did it have anything to do with the clash with the first live Premier League game on Sky between Manchester United and Leicester City? Many Saints fans are also Manchester United fans but you would not have thought that there were so many that it would have a genuinely adverse effect on the size of the crowd.
Of those that did make it to the ground some failed to cover themselves in glory by leaving a full four minutes before the end. At this point Saints were 16-12 down and pressing for the try which would have rescued the points and maintained their 10-point buffer at the top of the table. These people, if they are regulars and know the history of their side, should know better than to write off their team’s hopes with fully four minutes still to play. There was no miracle on this occasion, no last-gasp Wide To West moment to savour. But as long as there is a chance why not stick around to find out if they can pull it off? What else are you going to do in four minutes? Publishable answers only, please.
We love to criticise Wigan for their infamous ‘walk’ yet the bold but uncomfortable truth is that we are just as bad at times. With the team going through this rough period in what has been a fabulous season so far we really need to do our bit to get them across the line in the league and to Old Trafford for the Grand Final.
We might as well start on a positive note because there isn’t going to be much else to cheer in this five-pronged review of another dismal defeat. Jon Wilkin announced on his podcast this week that he will be leaving Saints at the end of the season after 16 years. Signed in 2002 from his hometown and boyhood club Hull KR, Wilkin played in Saints 2006 treble-winning team, making the Super League Dream Team that year. No mean feat considering the number of club legends, Super League legends in fact, who graced the side that particular year. Wilkin also played in four Challenge Cup final successes for Saints and the 2007 World Club Challenge victory over Brisbane Broncos.
Despite some fierce criticism at times Wilkin has had a great career at Saints, racking up almost 400 appearances while also playing 10 times for England and six times for Great Britain. He has suffered from being played out of position in the halves for too long and from his inconsiderate refusal to be Paul Sculthorpe, but he remains among the most decorated players in the domestic game especially in the Super League era. It’s not quite clear whether he intends to continue playing away from Saints but both Rovers and Toronto Wolfpack have been linked with him in the wake of his decision. Whether he goes to either of those clubs, concentrates on his media work or his business interests we wish him well in the future and thank him for a career of which he can be immensely proud.
Another Slow Start Costs Saints
You won’t need me to remind you that Saints were 27-0 down at half time during last weekend’s Challenge Cup semi-final against Catalans Dragons. The phrase ‘still on the bus’ has never been more apt. And it proved costly as despite a better second half effort their Wembley hopes withered on the vine. So if nothing else you would have expected Justin Holbrook’s side to get out of the blocks quickly this week.
Well, no actually. It was like Bolton all over again in the first 20 minutes. Except that I could hear the noise from the crowd (including the cow bell in the visitors section) without the aid of a speaker system. Good thing too since the speaker system in the north stand at Saints has been dysfunctional since Gareth O’Brien was running around in the red vee. Darnell McIntosh crossed twice for Simon Woolford’s side in the opening quarter while Danny Brough also put Alex Mellor through a gap in the frazzled Saints defence. Suddenly Saints found themselves 16-0 down and chasing the game. All a stark contrast to the last time the Giants visited when Saints routed them 66-4.
Despite a rally sparked by Ben Barba’s fine try five minutes before half time Saints could only add one more score through Luke Thompson in the second half. James Roby and Morgan Knowles both went close but in the final analysis we could have few complaints about the result after what was another, uninspired, jaded-looking performance from the league leaders.
Clap-gate
Social media platforms are a dark and disturbing place at times and never more so than after a Saints defeat. The latest heinous crime to be seized upon by everyone with a keyboard and an entitlement to an opinion was committed by Barba when he allegedly failed to clap the fans at the end of the game. Invitations for him to fuck off home were mashed out liberally by twitchy-thumbed, spoilt fans desperate for a reason to unleash their frustrated wrath.
Now let’s have this right. It is utterly puerile to want rid of one of the best players to have graced Super League in years because of some perceived lack of respect. It is not a lack of respect at all. The man is playing injured probably and that, plus the fact that it is affecting his form and subsequently the team’s results is likely causing a whole heap of frustration. At that moment he is probably not in the mood to be posing and smiling for photographs with fans or clapping or waving to people who genuinely believe that the price of their season ticket covers player interaction. If he had done any of that after a defeat he risked receiving the sort of treatment that Wilkin regularly receives, accusations that defeats don’t bother him and look at him smiling and shaking hands with people the villainous pug.
Ben Barba’s time at Saints has been a triumph so far. He has elevated the team’s performance on the field while off it he has constantly gone out of his way to meet fans, have pictures taken and engage with the community. He has no obligation whatsoever to do any of that in the immediate aftermath of a game when emotions are running high. Much of the criticism he has received stems from the fact that following a couple of mischievous articles in the Australian press this week some fans have made their minds up that he has already signed with an NRL club for next season and they just can’t forgive him for it. Now I don’t know if he has or he hasn’t, but if he has it should come as no surprise to all but the most naïve among us. Who expected him to stay for the duration of a two and a half year contract when he can earn six times as much in the NRL?
If Barba has agreed a deal elsewhere then perhaps we should be told but until then why should he have to say anything? Nobody is asking Kyle Amor to confirm that he will be with us next season. And why? Because nobody gives a fuck. Fear of losing Barba is addling the brains of some supporters and they need to wobble their heads quick-smart before Barba gives up on them for what is left of his stay.
Can Justin Find The Answers?
Holbrook’s comments in the wake of this defeat are instructive;
“There were too many tired bodies, too many guys couldn’t get up for it.” He said, adding;
“Sunday’s game was always going to knock us around. We came with the right intentions but there are a lot of mentally and physically tired boys and that’s when you make dumb errors.”
Clear enough then as to the coach’s thoughts on why it is not going so well at the moment but if the problem is just fatigue what can he do about it? The next game arrives quickly, with Saints visiting Wakefield on Thursday (August 16) in their next Super 8s fixture. It is not until Catalans face Warrington at Wembley the following weekend that Saints will get a chance to rest up those tired bodies and minds. So many of the same players who sleepwalked through this one will have to go again at Wakefield, a venue where it should be remembered we have already lost once this season back in April.
Regan Grace missed the Giants game with a dead leg and so may be ready to come back in a little more fresh, but that only offsets the fact that Adam Swift limped out of the game late with what looked like a wrist injury. Ryan Morgan has missed the last two and his return would be more than welcome but Dominque Peyroux and Alex Walmsley are still some way off. The likes of Thompson, Amor, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Matty Lees will need to carry the load again and the stark reality is that in the last two games they have been bullied and battered into submission by more determined, more focused opponents. Saints will need the experience of Wilkin and Roby more than ever and the introduction of Matty Smith might not be the worst idea in the world either. Danny Richardson has toiled just as much as Barba over the last month or so and was particularly woeful against Woolford’s side. The calls for him to fuck off back to Widnes have been somewhat less audible and rightly so, but when he was introduced to the first team most fans understood that it was on the proviso that he would have dips in form and may need to be stood down from time to time. He is still young and maybe that time is now.
Fans Need To Do Their Bit
Not everyone was sniping at Barba in the wake of this defeat but there were some other troubling signs among the support. First of all was the actual attendance. A mere 8,879 were on deck which is some way below the average attendance not only this year but for all of the time since we moved to Langtree Park in 2012. Taking into account that Huddersfield don’t have a vast travelling support that is still a disappointing turnout. The Giants following is so poor that the east stand was left entirely unused and there were plenty of gaps among the seats ordinarily occupied by home fans.
Was this a response to what many felt was an unacceptable performance at Bolton last week? How many won’t show up after a performance that they perceive to be unacceptable? More than we would like to think by the looks of it. Did it have anything to do with the clash with the first live Premier League game on Sky between Manchester United and Leicester City? Many Saints fans are also Manchester United fans but you would not have thought that there were so many that it would have a genuinely adverse effect on the size of the crowd.
Of those that did make it to the ground some failed to cover themselves in glory by leaving a full four minutes before the end. At this point Saints were 16-12 down and pressing for the try which would have rescued the points and maintained their 10-point buffer at the top of the table. These people, if they are regulars and know the history of their side, should know better than to write off their team’s hopes with fully four minutes still to play. There was no miracle on this occasion, no last-gasp Wide To West moment to savour. But as long as there is a chance why not stick around to find out if they can pull it off? What else are you going to do in four minutes? Publishable answers only, please.
We love to criticise Wigan for their infamous ‘walk’ yet the bold but uncomfortable truth is that we are just as bad at times. With the team going through this rough period in what has been a fabulous season so far we really need to do our bit to get them across the line in the league and to Old Trafford for the Grand Final.
Jon Wilkin - Collector Of Medals And Some Time Lightning Rod
I was going to start this by stating that Jon Wilkin polarises opinion among Saints fans. But he doesn’t really. Not over the last three or four years of his 16-year spell with the club which he announced yesterday will come to an end at the end of the current season.
His three seasons as captain from 2015-2017 were particularly notable for the fact that the former Hull KR man seemed to cop the blame from the supporters for everything that went wrong. And plenty did under the stewardship of Wilkin’s former team-mate Keiron Cunningham as Wilkin’s attempts to play in the halves became a lightning rod for the fans ire. Yet here was a player making a sacrifice for the good of the team. He has found it a bit difficult at times since to get out of the habit of playmaking which has drawn more criticism but Wilkin has never given anything less than his all for Saints. He was somewhat controversially replaced as skipper by James Roby when Justin Holbrook took over from Cunningham. Some would see that as a demotion and a personal slight, but Wilkin seemed to accept with good grace, perhaps relieved that he would no longer be berated by the fans for failing to deliver the mother of all rollickings every time Saints conceded a try. It just wasn’t his style. It's not Roby’s either but the very, very best are judged by different standards. Wilkin is and has been fallible, prone to the odd stinker which is scrutinised and magnified until in the eyes of some he becomes just about good enough to play NCL.
Whatever your thoughts on Wilkin as a halfback and club captain it should be remembered that he wasn’t too shabby as a back rower. Many fans’ view of Wilkin is tainted by the fact that as a loose forward he is not comparable to the great Paul Sculthorpe. When fit, Sculthorpe was among the very best players of the Super League era, achieving a Roby-esque God-like status at the club. Like most mortals Wilkin was never on that level but he was good enough to make 10 appearances for England between 2004-2011, and six for Great Britain between 2006-2007. Good enough too to make the 2006 Super League Dream Team, a year when Saints swept everything before them including the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year Team Of The Year award.
Wilkin played in the second row in the Grand Final victory over Hull FC that year and although injury kept him out of the 2014 Grand Final triumph over Wigan he did manage to be part of four successful Challenge Cup Final sides. He came off the bench in the 2004 victory over Wigan in Cardiff and started all three of Saints consecutive cup final wins in 2006, 2007 and 2008 against Huddersfield Giants, Catalans Dragons and Hull FC respectively. He scored two tries in the first of those against the Giants at Twickenham, that despite a quite gruesome facial injury which saw his broken nose basically strapped to his face with bandages. The sort of injury that would require gas, air and two months off in certain other sports. It epitomised his courage and it wasn’t just domestically that Wilkin collected honours. He was also part of the side that beat Brisbane Broncos 18-14 in 2007 to win the World Club Challenge.
In all Wilkin has made close to 400 appearances in the red vee, a milestone that injury permitting he will reach when Saints take on Wigan in the Super 8s clash on August 31. Last week’s devastating semi-final loss to Catalans Dragons has denied Wilkin another Wembley appearance in his final year but he will leave the club if not as one of the all-time greats up there with Sculthorpe, Roby and Cunningham et al, then certainly one of the most decorated players in the clubs history. A Phil Neal of the rugby league world. Consistently excellent over a long period of time but nobody’s idea of Kenny Dalglish.
Most have observed that now is perhaps the right time for Wilkin to depart. He has been operating at loose forward and at second row at times this year and while he never seems to fail to rack up an enormous amount of tackles in defence, his declining skills maybe no longer match his tireless work rate. Yet with James Bentley and Joe Bachelor having not yet been introduced to first team action it is perhaps a slight surprise that Wilkin won’t be kept around a while longer to help smooth their transition into the side. Wilkin has largely shared playing time with Morgan Knowles this year and though the latter is still prone to bouts of indiscipline there seems little doubt that he has benefitted from having Wilkin around to help guide him.
Yet with other interests including his media work and his business venture it may be that Wilkin is not tempted to go around again in what is an increasingly unforgiving environment. At 34 the muscles and bones must take that little bit longer to recover from game to game and let’s be frank, putting your body on the line only to be met with a chorus of disapproval from large sections of the fan base is a pretty unappealing proposition. Wilkin has given everything for the cause since he walked through the door from Hull KR in 2002 as a fresh-faced 20-year-old and should leave with all our best wishes for whatever he goes on to do.
Muscles and bones permitting we may see Wilkin on a rugby league field again. He has been constantly linked with a return to Rovers, the club he supported as a boy and with whom he started his career, while there have also been whispers that Toronto Wolfpack might be interested especially if they can get through the Qualifiers and make the leap into Super League for 2019. His experience would be invaluable to either of those clubs or to anyone else interested in getting him on board. Or will he settle for the comfort of the television studio, where he has been working as a pundit on the BBC’s Challenge Cup coverage for a number of years? That role provided another stick with which he was beaten by a certain section of the fan base who offered the somewhat confused argument that turning up to talk about a game not involving Saints with Mark Chapman somehow translated to a lack of commitment to the Saints cause. Similarly, his foray into the world of coffee shops was the butt of many a lame joke whenever his standards fell below that which was expected from the fans, and cited by his fiercest critics as a reason why they were not seeing the second coming of Sculthorpe.
None of which is particularly fair. Perhaps if Wilkin had come through as a youngster in the present era he would be appreciated more. He emerged a time when the first team was jam-packed full of superstars, three or four of whom including Sculthorpe and Cunningham are now widely regarded as all-time greats of the club. There was also Sean Long, Jamie Lyon, Paul Wellens, Darren Albert, Leon Pryce and now Roby. It's quite a list. It was an unusual, slightly giddy time to be a Saints fan the legacy of which is that every Saints team since has been compared to the legendary sides of the first decade of Super League. Only now that he has announced his departure is the realisation hitting home for many that Wilkin was a fantastic player in his own right and a wonderful servant to the club over 16 trophy-laden years. I thank him and wish him all the best for the future.
His three seasons as captain from 2015-2017 were particularly notable for the fact that the former Hull KR man seemed to cop the blame from the supporters for everything that went wrong. And plenty did under the stewardship of Wilkin’s former team-mate Keiron Cunningham as Wilkin’s attempts to play in the halves became a lightning rod for the fans ire. Yet here was a player making a sacrifice for the good of the team. He has found it a bit difficult at times since to get out of the habit of playmaking which has drawn more criticism but Wilkin has never given anything less than his all for Saints. He was somewhat controversially replaced as skipper by James Roby when Justin Holbrook took over from Cunningham. Some would see that as a demotion and a personal slight, but Wilkin seemed to accept with good grace, perhaps relieved that he would no longer be berated by the fans for failing to deliver the mother of all rollickings every time Saints conceded a try. It just wasn’t his style. It's not Roby’s either but the very, very best are judged by different standards. Wilkin is and has been fallible, prone to the odd stinker which is scrutinised and magnified until in the eyes of some he becomes just about good enough to play NCL.
Whatever your thoughts on Wilkin as a halfback and club captain it should be remembered that he wasn’t too shabby as a back rower. Many fans’ view of Wilkin is tainted by the fact that as a loose forward he is not comparable to the great Paul Sculthorpe. When fit, Sculthorpe was among the very best players of the Super League era, achieving a Roby-esque God-like status at the club. Like most mortals Wilkin was never on that level but he was good enough to make 10 appearances for England between 2004-2011, and six for Great Britain between 2006-2007. Good enough too to make the 2006 Super League Dream Team, a year when Saints swept everything before them including the BBC’s Sports Personality Of The Year Team Of The Year award.
Wilkin played in the second row in the Grand Final victory over Hull FC that year and although injury kept him out of the 2014 Grand Final triumph over Wigan he did manage to be part of four successful Challenge Cup Final sides. He came off the bench in the 2004 victory over Wigan in Cardiff and started all three of Saints consecutive cup final wins in 2006, 2007 and 2008 against Huddersfield Giants, Catalans Dragons and Hull FC respectively. He scored two tries in the first of those against the Giants at Twickenham, that despite a quite gruesome facial injury which saw his broken nose basically strapped to his face with bandages. The sort of injury that would require gas, air and two months off in certain other sports. It epitomised his courage and it wasn’t just domestically that Wilkin collected honours. He was also part of the side that beat Brisbane Broncos 18-14 in 2007 to win the World Club Challenge.
In all Wilkin has made close to 400 appearances in the red vee, a milestone that injury permitting he will reach when Saints take on Wigan in the Super 8s clash on August 31. Last week’s devastating semi-final loss to Catalans Dragons has denied Wilkin another Wembley appearance in his final year but he will leave the club if not as one of the all-time greats up there with Sculthorpe, Roby and Cunningham et al, then certainly one of the most decorated players in the clubs history. A Phil Neal of the rugby league world. Consistently excellent over a long period of time but nobody’s idea of Kenny Dalglish.
Most have observed that now is perhaps the right time for Wilkin to depart. He has been operating at loose forward and at second row at times this year and while he never seems to fail to rack up an enormous amount of tackles in defence, his declining skills maybe no longer match his tireless work rate. Yet with James Bentley and Joe Bachelor having not yet been introduced to first team action it is perhaps a slight surprise that Wilkin won’t be kept around a while longer to help smooth their transition into the side. Wilkin has largely shared playing time with Morgan Knowles this year and though the latter is still prone to bouts of indiscipline there seems little doubt that he has benefitted from having Wilkin around to help guide him.
Yet with other interests including his media work and his business venture it may be that Wilkin is not tempted to go around again in what is an increasingly unforgiving environment. At 34 the muscles and bones must take that little bit longer to recover from game to game and let’s be frank, putting your body on the line only to be met with a chorus of disapproval from large sections of the fan base is a pretty unappealing proposition. Wilkin has given everything for the cause since he walked through the door from Hull KR in 2002 as a fresh-faced 20-year-old and should leave with all our best wishes for whatever he goes on to do.
Muscles and bones permitting we may see Wilkin on a rugby league field again. He has been constantly linked with a return to Rovers, the club he supported as a boy and with whom he started his career, while there have also been whispers that Toronto Wolfpack might be interested especially if they can get through the Qualifiers and make the leap into Super League for 2019. His experience would be invaluable to either of those clubs or to anyone else interested in getting him on board. Or will he settle for the comfort of the television studio, where he has been working as a pundit on the BBC’s Challenge Cup coverage for a number of years? That role provided another stick with which he was beaten by a certain section of the fan base who offered the somewhat confused argument that turning up to talk about a game not involving Saints with Mark Chapman somehow translated to a lack of commitment to the Saints cause. Similarly, his foray into the world of coffee shops was the butt of many a lame joke whenever his standards fell below that which was expected from the fans, and cited by his fiercest critics as a reason why they were not seeing the second coming of Sculthorpe.
None of which is particularly fair. Perhaps if Wilkin had come through as a youngster in the present era he would be appreciated more. He emerged a time when the first team was jam-packed full of superstars, three or four of whom including Sculthorpe and Cunningham are now widely regarded as all-time greats of the club. There was also Sean Long, Jamie Lyon, Paul Wellens, Darren Albert, Leon Pryce and now Roby. It's quite a list. It was an unusual, slightly giddy time to be a Saints fan the legacy of which is that every Saints team since has been compared to the legendary sides of the first decade of Super League. Only now that he has announced his departure is the realisation hitting home for many that Wilkin was a fantastic player in his own right and a wonderful servant to the club over 16 trophy-laden years. I thank him and wish him all the best for the future.
St Helens v Huddersfield Giants - Preview
Have you ever had a really bad day? One of those days that is so ludicrously shocking that you want to just erase it from history? You know that you can’t do that, so the next best thing is to plough on and hope that what you do in the future can lessen the pain of the past. To make the twinges a little less ouch-some, even when you flashback, as you inevitably will from time to time, to that terrible day you once had.
This is something like Justin Holbrook and his Saints side will be feeling in the days after the humiliation of their Challenge Cup semi-final banjoing by Catalans Dragons at Bolton. Saints went down 35-16 to Steve McNamara’s side after trailing by an eye-popping, 1989 memories-inducing 27-0 at half time. Almost nothing went right on the day for Holbrook or Saints as the dream of a first Wembley final in a decade shattered. Now they must clamber back atop the old nag, for there are still trophies to be won. Saints are still just a couple of wins from the League Leaders Shield and remain any sensible bookmaker’s favourites to win at Old Trafford in October’s Grand Final. It all starts with the visit of Huddersfield Giants in the first of the Super 8s fixtures on Friday night (August 10, kick-off 7.45pm).
In a show of stunning up-yoursery to those who demanded wholesale changes to the squad following the Dragons humbling, Holbrook has named exactly the same 19 men as were on duty for Bolton. While it may have been tempting to lob the baby out with the proverbial bath water and make wholesale changes Holbrook has sensibly made a statement of belief in his squad. After all, it is a squad that has got Saints to a positon whereby they are 10 points better off in the Super League table than any other side. Yes, including the all-conquering genius Catalans Dragons who scraped into the Super 8s following an embarrassing first two months of the season and who have about as much chance of making the top four as I do of being in the last four on Love Island. Do they have a last four on Love Island? If not, they should if only because it’s fashionable to do so. Super League is all about the top four, so is Premier League football and even the group stages of the T20 blast. Four is the magic number, regardless of what De La Soul rattled on about.
The main target for the fans ire in the wake of Dragons-gate was Ben Barba. The brilliant Australian will probably win Man Of Steel in 2018 but that isn’t enough for some Saints fans who want him out of the door because he hasn’t scored a 90-metre miracle since some time in June. To look at him on Sunday you would think he would have been better suited to an episode of Only When I Laugh (ask your dad, or even your grandad) than to running around on a rugby league field. He looked jaded, a look made more noticeable by the searing heat and it was no surprise when Holbrook revealed that his star man was not fully fit. Barba flickered into life at times but that blistering acceleration was not there, nor was the ability to change direction in an instant. He became ordinary for a day. He has 22 Super League tries this year and has lifted this Saints squad to new levels. Few seem to remember the days pre-Barba, pre-Holbrook, when Greg Richards getting on his knees and elbows in record time was about the best we could hope for as an attacking ploy. But yeah, get Barba gone. What has he done for us lately?
Having said all that maybe Barba should not play in this one. If there are doubts about his fitness why would we want to risk further damage? With just two victories needed out of seven to bring home the first of the two pots still available to us there are bigger battles ahead. It would be potentially calamitous to lose Barba for the season (and therefore possibly for good) now because he’s running around half fit in games we should be able to win without him. I think he’s earned a rest, so perhaps we will see Jonny Lomax filling the fullback spot with Adam Swift and Regan Grace on the wings outside of Tommy Makinson and Mark Percival. Ryan Morgan would surely have been in contention to come in to the side but again misses out to what one can only assume is an injury. Makinson has done a reasonable job in the centres at times this year but his constant crabbing across the field was one of the major irritants of the whole Dragons debacle. Makinson is a much better bet on the wing but with Morgan out he will no doubt be required to play out of position once more. The other alternative is to draft Matty Costello into the 17 but it seems highly unlikely that either Makinson, Swift or Grace will be left out to accommodate the emerging talent of Costello.
If Lomax is switched to fullback then the battle for places in the halves hots up also. Danny Richardson was fairly woeful along with 16 other blokes at Bolton but has been consistent enough this season to deserve a reprieve, but will either of Theo Fages or Matty Smith come in to the reckoning? Fages was exposed defensively as a loose forward against Catalans but remains one of the squad’s brightest creative talents. Smith meanwhile offers a steadying influence and a reliable if unspectacular quality that might just help calm everyone down after the jolt of the last few days. And if not now then when for Smith who might well find himself leaving the club for the umpteenth time at the end of the season?
The pack were largely responsible for the manner of the semi-final defeat. They were physically beaten up by their French opponents with only Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook finding anywhere near his best form. He will add impact from the bench again while Luke Thompson and either Kyle Amor or Luke Douglas get the start. All of those need to step it up especially with this week’s news that Alex Walmsley’s scan hasn’t gone as well as we would have liked. The England prop fractured a bone in his neck at Warrington in March and may not see any more action in 2018 according to Holbrook. Walmsley makes metres, more metres than anyone else over the last two or three seasons which was a quality that was miserably lacking in the semi-final. It is now up to the front rowers that remain including James Roby at hooker to get Saints go-forward back.
Dominique Peyroux was badly missed last week, the former Samoan international suffering a broken arm in the 14-12 win over Warrington on July 26. He will again miss out so Morgan Knowles, whose indiscipline cost Saints when Catalans scored two tries while the Welsh international was in the sin-bin for a careless swing at Kenny Edwards, should continue in the second row alongside Zeb Taia with Jon Wilkin locking the scrum.
The Giants are not that dissimilar to the Dragons in as far as a very rocky start to 2018 saw them inserted among the favourites to take part in the Qualifiers with the best of the Championship before a late run of good form catapulted them up the table. A great deal of the credit for their run of nine wins from their last 10 league outings has to go to new coach Simon Woolford. The former Canberra man replaced Rick Stone at the end of April since when his side have beaten all of Leeds, Catalans, Wigan, Hull FC, Castleford and Wakefield with only a 37-10 dusting at Hull KR at the end of June blotting the copybook. It is all a far cry from the dismal shower that showed up in St Helens in mid-April and took a 66-4 pounding from a Saints side that was coming in off the back of a jarring defeat at Wakefield. Will history repeat itself for the Giants? Not by that kind of score-line.
The Giants have a few absentees, most notably in the pack where Sebastine Ikahihifo and Michael Lawrence miss out. Shannon Wakeman is on loan at Dewsbury Rams but in Ryan Hinchcliffe, Oliver Roberts, Ukuma Ta’ai, Paul Clough, Daniel Smith and Adam O’Brien there is plenty of experience and quality up front. Suaia Matagi was brought in from Parramatta Eels at the start of July, initially for the start of 2019 but his early arrival means that he could feature also.
In the backs Jake Mamo has not caught the eye as much in 2018 as he did in 2017 but remains one of the most attack-minded fullbacks around while former Saints Jordan Turner and Lee Gaskell will also push for places in a backline led by the marmite figure of Danny Brough and which contains the talents of England star Jermaine McGillvary, a rejuvenated Leroy Cudjoe and the emerging Darnell McIntosh. The Giants rise to fifth has not happened by accident and they will present a more than reasonable challenge to a Saints side under a fair bit of pressure to force the memories of a terrible day out of their collective head.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 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, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 23. Ben Barba, 30. Matty Costello.
Huddersfield Giants;
1. Jake Mamo, 2. Jermaine McGillvary, 3. Leroy Cudjoe, 4. Jordan Turner, 6. Lee Gaskell, 7. Danny Brough, 9. Kruise Leeming, 13. Ryan Hinchcliffe, 14. Dale Ferguson, 15. Jordan Rankin, 16. Oliver Roberts, 17. Ukuma Ta’ai, 18. Paul Clough, 19. Daniel Smith, 21. Adam O’Brien, 22. Alex Mellor, 23. Darnell McIntosh, 27. Matty English, Suaia Matagi.
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
This is something like Justin Holbrook and his Saints side will be feeling in the days after the humiliation of their Challenge Cup semi-final banjoing by Catalans Dragons at Bolton. Saints went down 35-16 to Steve McNamara’s side after trailing by an eye-popping, 1989 memories-inducing 27-0 at half time. Almost nothing went right on the day for Holbrook or Saints as the dream of a first Wembley final in a decade shattered. Now they must clamber back atop the old nag, for there are still trophies to be won. Saints are still just a couple of wins from the League Leaders Shield and remain any sensible bookmaker’s favourites to win at Old Trafford in October’s Grand Final. It all starts with the visit of Huddersfield Giants in the first of the Super 8s fixtures on Friday night (August 10, kick-off 7.45pm).
In a show of stunning up-yoursery to those who demanded wholesale changes to the squad following the Dragons humbling, Holbrook has named exactly the same 19 men as were on duty for Bolton. While it may have been tempting to lob the baby out with the proverbial bath water and make wholesale changes Holbrook has sensibly made a statement of belief in his squad. After all, it is a squad that has got Saints to a positon whereby they are 10 points better off in the Super League table than any other side. Yes, including the all-conquering genius Catalans Dragons who scraped into the Super 8s following an embarrassing first two months of the season and who have about as much chance of making the top four as I do of being in the last four on Love Island. Do they have a last four on Love Island? If not, they should if only because it’s fashionable to do so. Super League is all about the top four, so is Premier League football and even the group stages of the T20 blast. Four is the magic number, regardless of what De La Soul rattled on about.
The main target for the fans ire in the wake of Dragons-gate was Ben Barba. The brilliant Australian will probably win Man Of Steel in 2018 but that isn’t enough for some Saints fans who want him out of the door because he hasn’t scored a 90-metre miracle since some time in June. To look at him on Sunday you would think he would have been better suited to an episode of Only When I Laugh (ask your dad, or even your grandad) than to running around on a rugby league field. He looked jaded, a look made more noticeable by the searing heat and it was no surprise when Holbrook revealed that his star man was not fully fit. Barba flickered into life at times but that blistering acceleration was not there, nor was the ability to change direction in an instant. He became ordinary for a day. He has 22 Super League tries this year and has lifted this Saints squad to new levels. Few seem to remember the days pre-Barba, pre-Holbrook, when Greg Richards getting on his knees and elbows in record time was about the best we could hope for as an attacking ploy. But yeah, get Barba gone. What has he done for us lately?
Having said all that maybe Barba should not play in this one. If there are doubts about his fitness why would we want to risk further damage? With just two victories needed out of seven to bring home the first of the two pots still available to us there are bigger battles ahead. It would be potentially calamitous to lose Barba for the season (and therefore possibly for good) now because he’s running around half fit in games we should be able to win without him. I think he’s earned a rest, so perhaps we will see Jonny Lomax filling the fullback spot with Adam Swift and Regan Grace on the wings outside of Tommy Makinson and Mark Percival. Ryan Morgan would surely have been in contention to come in to the side but again misses out to what one can only assume is an injury. Makinson has done a reasonable job in the centres at times this year but his constant crabbing across the field was one of the major irritants of the whole Dragons debacle. Makinson is a much better bet on the wing but with Morgan out he will no doubt be required to play out of position once more. The other alternative is to draft Matty Costello into the 17 but it seems highly unlikely that either Makinson, Swift or Grace will be left out to accommodate the emerging talent of Costello.
If Lomax is switched to fullback then the battle for places in the halves hots up also. Danny Richardson was fairly woeful along with 16 other blokes at Bolton but has been consistent enough this season to deserve a reprieve, but will either of Theo Fages or Matty Smith come in to the reckoning? Fages was exposed defensively as a loose forward against Catalans but remains one of the squad’s brightest creative talents. Smith meanwhile offers a steadying influence and a reliable if unspectacular quality that might just help calm everyone down after the jolt of the last few days. And if not now then when for Smith who might well find himself leaving the club for the umpteenth time at the end of the season?
The pack were largely responsible for the manner of the semi-final defeat. They were physically beaten up by their French opponents with only Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook finding anywhere near his best form. He will add impact from the bench again while Luke Thompson and either Kyle Amor or Luke Douglas get the start. All of those need to step it up especially with this week’s news that Alex Walmsley’s scan hasn’t gone as well as we would have liked. The England prop fractured a bone in his neck at Warrington in March and may not see any more action in 2018 according to Holbrook. Walmsley makes metres, more metres than anyone else over the last two or three seasons which was a quality that was miserably lacking in the semi-final. It is now up to the front rowers that remain including James Roby at hooker to get Saints go-forward back.
Dominique Peyroux was badly missed last week, the former Samoan international suffering a broken arm in the 14-12 win over Warrington on July 26. He will again miss out so Morgan Knowles, whose indiscipline cost Saints when Catalans scored two tries while the Welsh international was in the sin-bin for a careless swing at Kenny Edwards, should continue in the second row alongside Zeb Taia with Jon Wilkin locking the scrum.
The Giants are not that dissimilar to the Dragons in as far as a very rocky start to 2018 saw them inserted among the favourites to take part in the Qualifiers with the best of the Championship before a late run of good form catapulted them up the table. A great deal of the credit for their run of nine wins from their last 10 league outings has to go to new coach Simon Woolford. The former Canberra man replaced Rick Stone at the end of April since when his side have beaten all of Leeds, Catalans, Wigan, Hull FC, Castleford and Wakefield with only a 37-10 dusting at Hull KR at the end of June blotting the copybook. It is all a far cry from the dismal shower that showed up in St Helens in mid-April and took a 66-4 pounding from a Saints side that was coming in off the back of a jarring defeat at Wakefield. Will history repeat itself for the Giants? Not by that kind of score-line.
The Giants have a few absentees, most notably in the pack where Sebastine Ikahihifo and Michael Lawrence miss out. Shannon Wakeman is on loan at Dewsbury Rams but in Ryan Hinchcliffe, Oliver Roberts, Ukuma Ta’ai, Paul Clough, Daniel Smith and Adam O’Brien there is plenty of experience and quality up front. Suaia Matagi was brought in from Parramatta Eels at the start of July, initially for the start of 2019 but his early arrival means that he could feature also.
In the backs Jake Mamo has not caught the eye as much in 2018 as he did in 2017 but remains one of the most attack-minded fullbacks around while former Saints Jordan Turner and Lee Gaskell will also push for places in a backline led by the marmite figure of Danny Brough and which contains the talents of England star Jermaine McGillvary, a rejuvenated Leroy Cudjoe and the emerging Darnell McIntosh. The Giants rise to fifth has not happened by accident and they will present a more than reasonable challenge to a Saints side under a fair bit of pressure to force the memories of a terrible day out of their collective head.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 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, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 20. Matty Lees, 23. Ben Barba, 30. Matty Costello.
Huddersfield Giants;
1. Jake Mamo, 2. Jermaine McGillvary, 3. Leroy Cudjoe, 4. Jordan Turner, 6. Lee Gaskell, 7. Danny Brough, 9. Kruise Leeming, 13. Ryan Hinchcliffe, 14. Dale Ferguson, 15. Jordan Rankin, 16. Oliver Roberts, 17. Ukuma Ta’ai, 18. Paul Clough, 19. Daniel Smith, 21. Adam O’Brien, 22. Alex Mellor, 23. Darnell McIntosh, 27. Matty English, Suaia Matagi.
Referee: Scott Mikalauskas
5 Talking Points From Saints 16 Catalans Dragons 35
The Wait Goes On
When the draw for the Challenge Cup semi-finals was made in early June there was a very audible cheer from the Saints fans who had stayed behind after the quarter-final victory over Hull FC. Catalans Dragons were the plum draw at the time, struggling as they were in the lower reaches of Super League and not looking like getting it together any time soon. Warrington and Leeds were the other sides in the hat and with Wire showing this year that they are a genuine contender for major honours and Leeds having what Australians call the wood over Saints in finals there was only one side that Saints fans wanted to face.
When they got their wish it was thought that the 10-year wait for a Challenge Cup final would finally end. A decade is far too long for a club of Saints standing to go without a Wembley appearance but now that figure will rise to 11 years. The wait will go on after a quite disastrous first half at Bolton. Saints went in to listen to Justin Holbrook’s words of advice 27-0 down, a score-line which haunted anyone who was at Wembley to see Saints humiliated by Wigan by that score in 1989 and one which left Saints with little hope of a comeback yesterday. Even Saints, a side who should never be written off, were never realistically in with a chance of recovering from that kind of deficit and so it proved. They were competitive in the second half and perhaps even arguably slightly better than the Dragons, but the damage had already been done.
It’s Not Only About Ben
Prime target for the Saints fans ire on social media was star turn and Man Of Steel elect Ben Barba. The Australian fullback had a pretty dire afternoon, showing his defensive vulnerability while also failing to show any of the devastating skill and pace that has torn so many teams apart in 2018. To this observer he looked unfit and short of conditioning. The searing heat seemed to be making life even more difficult for him. At times he would threaten to come to life, squirming out of a tackle but then not having that extra gear of pace to move into to take him away from the defence. On the one occasion that he did break free he seemed to lack the confidence to go on with it, instead trying to place a grubber down the left hand side only to see the ball hit the ground before he could get his foot to it.
But while Barba had a bit of a Joe Cocker he was not alone. The awful truth is that probably only this column’s favourite player Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook came out of this debacle with any real credit. This game was lost largely because the Saints pack, still missing the influential Alex Walmsley, was battered from the proverbial pillar to post for most of the first half. Luke Thompson had one early break but aside from that most of the Saints pack seemed to lack any real go-forward. By contrast the Dragons forwards made metres on almost every play, consistently winning the collisions and the rucks and then translating that dominance into points as the normally rigid Saints defence rather wilted in the heat.
The sin-binning of Morgan Knowles for a lazy high lunge on Kenny Edwards hardly helped. Knowles has previous in the field of indiscipline against the French side, seeing red for a dangerous throw when the teams met in the league in Perpignan back in February. Saints won that game despite Knowles indiscipline but could not repeat the trick, conceding two more tries while down to 12 men and effectively waving goodbye to their cup hopes for another year.
For all of that we shouldn’t worry too much about Barba. There were murmurings were I was sat and on social media about how he has lost interest in the club and isn’t trying and all manner of over-emotional gubbins. I’m one of those who did not expect him to stay beyond the end of 2018 when he arrived and I would still say that that outcome is where the smart money is. But given what he has provided us with this year and how he has taken the club and the town to his heart I cannot find it in me to believe that he has just thrown in the towel. Even if he has designs on a move back to the NRL, heck, even if he has already secured one, do we not think that he would want to make sure that he leaves these shores with a Wembley appearance? If he does go home then this was his only chance to do that. I don’t think he struggled for motivation and I don’t think he will struggle for motivation to get us to Old Trafford and pick up the big one. Those writing off our hopes after this result would do well to remember that we are 10 points clear at the top of the table and are still a firm favourite to win in Manchester in October.
And It Is Not Only About Justin
Those not blaming Barba were pointing the finger at Holbrook for the defeat. It was suggested that his relative inexperience as a coach found him out. Yet nobody was saying that about him last week, when a last-gasp win over Warrington left the coach with a record of 21 wins from 23 regular season games. He has overseen victories against every other Super League team in 2018, with nobody until yesterday coming up with a game-plan that he was unable to respond to. He has also, until yesterday, instilled a winning mentality in the squad which has ensured that even when the performance levels dip the results do not suffer. Holbrook teams by and large find a way to win.
So what could he have done differently? The loss of Ryan Morgan in the week leading up to the game went almost unnoticed but was a significant blow. Tommy Makinson is a capable replacement but no back can do an effective job when the pack is being blitzed, much less one who is really only there as a stop-gap. Makinson’s tendency to crab across the field is infuriating whereas Morgan, for all that he is not exactly a top class NRL import, is at least more direct which may have helped.
Another option Holbrook had at his disposal was to leave Barba out. I’ve alluded to the notion that Barba may not have been 100% fit and if that was the case there is a solid argument that he should not have played. Jonny Lomax is an international fullback about whom we should have no worries should he get the nod to start there. Theo Fages could then have come in at stand-off and spared himself the indignity of getting run over at loose forward by the much bigger Dragons pack. Fages is willing to tackle anything but whether or not he is able to do so is open to question. Was it wise to utilise him in the middle against such a powerful pack especially when it was quite clear that we were being outgunned in that area? All hindsight genius of course, and had Holbrook been brave enough to leave Barba out and the result had gone the same way anyway you don’t need a PHD to know what the reaction from the fans would have been.
Catalans Keep It Simple
Despite the flaws in Saints performance you cannot take it away from Catalans and their coach Steve McNamara. Widely viewed, including by this writer, as a negative and uninspiring appointment by the Dragons McNamara presided over a disastrous first half of the season, amusingly blaming it on the number of Dragons players who had been involved in the World Cup. Meanwhile, a Saints side which had 11 players on duty in the autumn jamboree has led the Super League table pretty much from the get-go.
How far they have travelled since then. Coming into this semi-final the Dragons had preserved their Super League status for 2019 by winning seven of their last 10 league games since losing 26-12 at Saints in early May. Still few fancied their chances of springing a surprise against a Saints side that had not lost since mid-April. During that run there have been some scary moments for Saints. The three-point win over Hull FC in the last round of the cup was one, when two FC players were crucially sin-binned. Then there was a one-point victory at a struggling Leeds side when Danny Richardson kicked the winning drop-goal late in the game. And it was Richardson again who rescued Saints even later last week at home to Warrington with a 55-metre penalty to earn a 14-12 win to edge Saints nearer to the League Leaders Shield. Yet even with these scratchy wins there would have been few people expecting Saints to be blown away by what is still an average Super League outfit in the Dragons.
McNamara deserves credit not only for the winning run his side have been on but for getting his game plan absolutely spot on against Holbrook’s men. It wasn’t all that expansive, certainly not the sort of rugby that would keep your average Saints fan off the forums palpitating about the lack of entertainment on show. But it was effective. A forward-based game. Win the ruck, tackle hard, force mistakes, don’t make many in possession. It worked a treat. Catalans completion rate was markedly higher than Saints in that first half and that gap got bigger as Saints became more desperate in the second half and started to force the ball wider more often. They had little choice but to do that having been battered so badly in the middle of the field. They were never going to bridge a 27-point gap by playing conservatively. Conversely the Dragons forced their hand by playing the percentages and being more physical on the day. You can have all the razzle dazzle in the world in your side but if you get beaten physically you are probably going to have a very long day.
When Will The RFL Get Access Right?
I hate to use this platform to moan about disability access but you’ll appreciate that it is one of the few effective ways I have to raise awareness of these issues. I will try and cut this long story short by telling you first of all that I was unable to buy tickets for the semi-final double header from Saints, instead being directed to the RFL. All of the other clubs taking part sold accessible tickets to their fans but for reasons that I still have not been able to ascertain Saints did not. They did at least reserve places for season ticket holders, passing on the responsibility for the actual ticket sales to the governing body. No doubt they were wary of irrepressible keyboard warriors getting awfully close to pointing out that to fail to at least reserve space would be to strip member rights away from those who need accessible seating.
So I left it at that initially, slightly miffed that the club had forced me to go through the RFL but thankful that they had at least managed to secure my place among the Saints fans. I didn’t want to go through a repeat of the 2014 Grand Final when I was in among several thousand very upset Wiganers. It was amusing in one respect but actually I would much rather have celebrated that win with like-minded individuals, not screaming knicker-wetters bemoaning the luck of poor old Bennie Flower.
But then I got to the stadium in and the inability of anyone connected with rugby league to cater for the disabled shone through once more. In order to allow me to sit in close proximity to other Saints fans without having to settle for a ground level view they placed me behind a sound-proof sheet of plexi-glass. The sound from the crowd was coming in through a speaker, making it all feel like you were not really there at all. In addition, my partner who accompanied me to the game (not my carer, that is a job you don’t want) had to sit on a high chair three feet behind me. The message is clear here that if you are disabled you should not expect to be able to sit next to the person you are with at Bolton Wanderers. It’s almost as if they wonder why you would need to, since they are only there to ‘care’ for you and couldn’t possibly have any personal relationship with you. Similar arrangements exist at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre. I haven’t been there for that reason. The argument that it doesn’t matter because that person gets in for free at many venues does not wash. I would much rather pay for my partner’s ticket and enjoy the experience. Because yeah, I’m a human being, like.
The upshot of all of this is that we left at the end of the Saints game. I had told myself that I would not do that, that I would stay and watch the Warrington-Leeds game no matter what result of the Saints game. Those conditions changed my mind. I would be better off watching the other game in the pub down the road, which is what I did before heading back to the hotel.
Now I don’t know if I am alone among wheelchair users and those with mobility problems in expressing my displeasure at the set-up. Some may have been satisfied with what they were provided with but I just feel that since we are paying the same price as everyone else we should be given access to the same experience. That does not mean being made to feel like you are not really there at all. I would very much like to hear from anyone else who was behind the soundproof sheet yesterday to find out whether they think this is an acceptable way to treat disabled fans. I hope they do not, because if you accept shite you will get fed more of it. It is time to stand up, metaphorically, and do something about this.
When the draw for the Challenge Cup semi-finals was made in early June there was a very audible cheer from the Saints fans who had stayed behind after the quarter-final victory over Hull FC. Catalans Dragons were the plum draw at the time, struggling as they were in the lower reaches of Super League and not looking like getting it together any time soon. Warrington and Leeds were the other sides in the hat and with Wire showing this year that they are a genuine contender for major honours and Leeds having what Australians call the wood over Saints in finals there was only one side that Saints fans wanted to face.
When they got their wish it was thought that the 10-year wait for a Challenge Cup final would finally end. A decade is far too long for a club of Saints standing to go without a Wembley appearance but now that figure will rise to 11 years. The wait will go on after a quite disastrous first half at Bolton. Saints went in to listen to Justin Holbrook’s words of advice 27-0 down, a score-line which haunted anyone who was at Wembley to see Saints humiliated by Wigan by that score in 1989 and one which left Saints with little hope of a comeback yesterday. Even Saints, a side who should never be written off, were never realistically in with a chance of recovering from that kind of deficit and so it proved. They were competitive in the second half and perhaps even arguably slightly better than the Dragons, but the damage had already been done.
It’s Not Only About Ben
Prime target for the Saints fans ire on social media was star turn and Man Of Steel elect Ben Barba. The Australian fullback had a pretty dire afternoon, showing his defensive vulnerability while also failing to show any of the devastating skill and pace that has torn so many teams apart in 2018. To this observer he looked unfit and short of conditioning. The searing heat seemed to be making life even more difficult for him. At times he would threaten to come to life, squirming out of a tackle but then not having that extra gear of pace to move into to take him away from the defence. On the one occasion that he did break free he seemed to lack the confidence to go on with it, instead trying to place a grubber down the left hand side only to see the ball hit the ground before he could get his foot to it.
But while Barba had a bit of a Joe Cocker he was not alone. The awful truth is that probably only this column’s favourite player Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook came out of this debacle with any real credit. This game was lost largely because the Saints pack, still missing the influential Alex Walmsley, was battered from the proverbial pillar to post for most of the first half. Luke Thompson had one early break but aside from that most of the Saints pack seemed to lack any real go-forward. By contrast the Dragons forwards made metres on almost every play, consistently winning the collisions and the rucks and then translating that dominance into points as the normally rigid Saints defence rather wilted in the heat.
The sin-binning of Morgan Knowles for a lazy high lunge on Kenny Edwards hardly helped. Knowles has previous in the field of indiscipline against the French side, seeing red for a dangerous throw when the teams met in the league in Perpignan back in February. Saints won that game despite Knowles indiscipline but could not repeat the trick, conceding two more tries while down to 12 men and effectively waving goodbye to their cup hopes for another year.
For all of that we shouldn’t worry too much about Barba. There were murmurings were I was sat and on social media about how he has lost interest in the club and isn’t trying and all manner of over-emotional gubbins. I’m one of those who did not expect him to stay beyond the end of 2018 when he arrived and I would still say that that outcome is where the smart money is. But given what he has provided us with this year and how he has taken the club and the town to his heart I cannot find it in me to believe that he has just thrown in the towel. Even if he has designs on a move back to the NRL, heck, even if he has already secured one, do we not think that he would want to make sure that he leaves these shores with a Wembley appearance? If he does go home then this was his only chance to do that. I don’t think he struggled for motivation and I don’t think he will struggle for motivation to get us to Old Trafford and pick up the big one. Those writing off our hopes after this result would do well to remember that we are 10 points clear at the top of the table and are still a firm favourite to win in Manchester in October.
And It Is Not Only About Justin
Those not blaming Barba were pointing the finger at Holbrook for the defeat. It was suggested that his relative inexperience as a coach found him out. Yet nobody was saying that about him last week, when a last-gasp win over Warrington left the coach with a record of 21 wins from 23 regular season games. He has overseen victories against every other Super League team in 2018, with nobody until yesterday coming up with a game-plan that he was unable to respond to. He has also, until yesterday, instilled a winning mentality in the squad which has ensured that even when the performance levels dip the results do not suffer. Holbrook teams by and large find a way to win.
So what could he have done differently? The loss of Ryan Morgan in the week leading up to the game went almost unnoticed but was a significant blow. Tommy Makinson is a capable replacement but no back can do an effective job when the pack is being blitzed, much less one who is really only there as a stop-gap. Makinson’s tendency to crab across the field is infuriating whereas Morgan, for all that he is not exactly a top class NRL import, is at least more direct which may have helped.
Another option Holbrook had at his disposal was to leave Barba out. I’ve alluded to the notion that Barba may not have been 100% fit and if that was the case there is a solid argument that he should not have played. Jonny Lomax is an international fullback about whom we should have no worries should he get the nod to start there. Theo Fages could then have come in at stand-off and spared himself the indignity of getting run over at loose forward by the much bigger Dragons pack. Fages is willing to tackle anything but whether or not he is able to do so is open to question. Was it wise to utilise him in the middle against such a powerful pack especially when it was quite clear that we were being outgunned in that area? All hindsight genius of course, and had Holbrook been brave enough to leave Barba out and the result had gone the same way anyway you don’t need a PHD to know what the reaction from the fans would have been.
Catalans Keep It Simple
Despite the flaws in Saints performance you cannot take it away from Catalans and their coach Steve McNamara. Widely viewed, including by this writer, as a negative and uninspiring appointment by the Dragons McNamara presided over a disastrous first half of the season, amusingly blaming it on the number of Dragons players who had been involved in the World Cup. Meanwhile, a Saints side which had 11 players on duty in the autumn jamboree has led the Super League table pretty much from the get-go.
How far they have travelled since then. Coming into this semi-final the Dragons had preserved their Super League status for 2019 by winning seven of their last 10 league games since losing 26-12 at Saints in early May. Still few fancied their chances of springing a surprise against a Saints side that had not lost since mid-April. During that run there have been some scary moments for Saints. The three-point win over Hull FC in the last round of the cup was one, when two FC players were crucially sin-binned. Then there was a one-point victory at a struggling Leeds side when Danny Richardson kicked the winning drop-goal late in the game. And it was Richardson again who rescued Saints even later last week at home to Warrington with a 55-metre penalty to earn a 14-12 win to edge Saints nearer to the League Leaders Shield. Yet even with these scratchy wins there would have been few people expecting Saints to be blown away by what is still an average Super League outfit in the Dragons.
McNamara deserves credit not only for the winning run his side have been on but for getting his game plan absolutely spot on against Holbrook’s men. It wasn’t all that expansive, certainly not the sort of rugby that would keep your average Saints fan off the forums palpitating about the lack of entertainment on show. But it was effective. A forward-based game. Win the ruck, tackle hard, force mistakes, don’t make many in possession. It worked a treat. Catalans completion rate was markedly higher than Saints in that first half and that gap got bigger as Saints became more desperate in the second half and started to force the ball wider more often. They had little choice but to do that having been battered so badly in the middle of the field. They were never going to bridge a 27-point gap by playing conservatively. Conversely the Dragons forced their hand by playing the percentages and being more physical on the day. You can have all the razzle dazzle in the world in your side but if you get beaten physically you are probably going to have a very long day.
When Will The RFL Get Access Right?
I hate to use this platform to moan about disability access but you’ll appreciate that it is one of the few effective ways I have to raise awareness of these issues. I will try and cut this long story short by telling you first of all that I was unable to buy tickets for the semi-final double header from Saints, instead being directed to the RFL. All of the other clubs taking part sold accessible tickets to their fans but for reasons that I still have not been able to ascertain Saints did not. They did at least reserve places for season ticket holders, passing on the responsibility for the actual ticket sales to the governing body. No doubt they were wary of irrepressible keyboard warriors getting awfully close to pointing out that to fail to at least reserve space would be to strip member rights away from those who need accessible seating.
So I left it at that initially, slightly miffed that the club had forced me to go through the RFL but thankful that they had at least managed to secure my place among the Saints fans. I didn’t want to go through a repeat of the 2014 Grand Final when I was in among several thousand very upset Wiganers. It was amusing in one respect but actually I would much rather have celebrated that win with like-minded individuals, not screaming knicker-wetters bemoaning the luck of poor old Bennie Flower.
But then I got to the stadium in and the inability of anyone connected with rugby league to cater for the disabled shone through once more. In order to allow me to sit in close proximity to other Saints fans without having to settle for a ground level view they placed me behind a sound-proof sheet of plexi-glass. The sound from the crowd was coming in through a speaker, making it all feel like you were not really there at all. In addition, my partner who accompanied me to the game (not my carer, that is a job you don’t want) had to sit on a high chair three feet behind me. The message is clear here that if you are disabled you should not expect to be able to sit next to the person you are with at Bolton Wanderers. It’s almost as if they wonder why you would need to, since they are only there to ‘care’ for you and couldn’t possibly have any personal relationship with you. Similar arrangements exist at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre. I haven’t been there for that reason. The argument that it doesn’t matter because that person gets in for free at many venues does not wash. I would much rather pay for my partner’s ticket and enjoy the experience. Because yeah, I’m a human being, like.
The upshot of all of this is that we left at the end of the Saints game. I had told myself that I would not do that, that I would stay and watch the Warrington-Leeds game no matter what result of the Saints game. Those conditions changed my mind. I would be better off watching the other game in the pub down the road, which is what I did before heading back to the hotel.
Now I don’t know if I am alone among wheelchair users and those with mobility problems in expressing my displeasure at the set-up. Some may have been satisfied with what they were provided with but I just feel that since we are paying the same price as everyone else we should be given access to the same experience. That does not mean being made to feel like you are not really there at all. I would very much like to hear from anyone else who was behind the soundproof sheet yesterday to find out whether they think this is an acceptable way to treat disabled fans. I hope they do not, because if you accept shite you will get fed more of it. It is time to stand up, metaphorically, and do something about this.
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