St Helens v Salford Red Devils - Preview

You can come down from the walls now. The waiting is over. Super League is back as Saints host Salford Red Devils in Round One on Friday night (January 31, kick-off 7.45pm).

Just 111 days on from the last meeting between the two sides at Old Trafford in the 2019 Grand Final, the pair lock horns again as the 2020 competition gets under way. Saints start the season as most people’s favourites to repeat their triumph, while Salford remain an underdog despite last season’s heroics after losing key players in the off-season.

The rules have changed on squad announcements during the winter. Mostly due to Warrington’s chicanery and skulduggery in this field teams must now name a 21-man squad as opposed to the 19 of years gone by, but if anyone from outside that 21 takes to the field for the game then the offending club loses one of its interchanges for that game. Interchanges are a precious commodity to the modern day coach so don’t expect to see too many attempts at deception or late loan recalls this time around.

The shiny new thing about Saints this year is the man at the top. It is well documented that the champions have not added to their squad since the end of last term, but with Justin Holbrook heading down to Gold Coast in the NRL after two glorious years it falls upon Kristian Woolf to take over the reins and continue that success. Woolf has led Tonga’s national side to the last four of the World Cup and to individual Test victories over Great Britain and Australia in recent times so has quite the pedigree. All eyes will be on him in the early part of the season to see just how much of Holbrook’s winning formula he has tampered with, or whether he subscribes to the well worn view that if it ain’t broke you don’t fix it.

His first selection has been influenced by the loss through injury of three key players. Captain James Roby continues to struggle with a troublesome groin injury while Tommy Makinson and Morgan Knowles are not quite ready to return following shoulder surgeries. Kyle Amor is named despite a shoulder problem of his own.

With everyone else on deck we can take an educated guess about how Saints might line up. Lachlan Coote should start at fullback while Makinson’s spot was filled by Jack Welsby in the recent friendly win over London Broncos in Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook’s testimonial. Welsby is an option there again but Woolf has also spoken about the ability of either Kevin Naiqama or Matty Costello to fill in for the England winger. Mark Percival and Regan Grace should form the left edge in the three-quarters, and with Danny Richardson now at Castleford Tigers there isn’t an experienced challenger to either Jonny Lomax or Theo Fages in the halves. Youngster Lewis Dodd has been gaining plaudits in the under-19s and could make his first team debut this season somewhere along the line, but for this week look for him to see plenty of action in the reserve grade which makes a welcome return at the weekend.

Without Roby the hooking role looks to be between James Bentley and Aaron Smith. The pair will most likely share duties, with Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson the mainstays at prop. Matty Lees has recovered from the serious intestinal injury he suffered a week before Saints went down to defeat to Warrington at Wembley back in August. He should fill one of the spots on the bench with Amor, Jack Ashworth and one of either Bentley or Smith. McCarthy-Scarsbrook may earn a start at loose forward with Knowles out or else Woolf could turn to the silkier but somewhat less energetic Joseph Paulo. The second row pairing of Zeb Taia and Dominique Peyroux was one of the best in Super League last term and should be again. Joe Batchelor is also named but is another who could find himself benefitting from some game time in the reserves.

And so to much-changed Salford. Jackson Hastings has eventually accepted the fact that he is a Wigan player now and so Red Devils coach Ian Watson has a huge void to fill in the halfback position. The capture of former Wigan, Huddersfield, Widnes and Warrington man Kevin Brown could be a shrewd one. He is a fine player on his day, but he has been troubled with injuries of late. Brown missed all of his final season as a Warrington player but will be keen to show that he can still mix it with the very best halves in the division. His partnership with Tui Lolohea will be one of the keys to whether Salford can get anywhere near the level that they reached last term.

Also at Wigan is Jake Bibby, while Derrell Olpherts now plies his trade with Castleford Tigers. That could see goal-kicking centre Krisnan Inu pushed out wide with new recruit Dan Sarginson partnered in the centres by the ageless Kris Welham. Ken Sio was a star performer for the Red Devils in 2019 and should also feature in the three-quarter line ahead of one of the best fullbacks in Super League in the shape of Niall Evalds. Former London Bronco Rhys Williams is also in contention for one of the starting spots on the wing.

The Salford pack has been shorn of the talents of former Saint Josh Jones and the workmanlike George Griffin. Jones has moved to Hull FC after a great spell with the Red Devils resurrected a Super League career that looked in choppy waters when he left Saints for rugby union, while Griffin has joined Castleford Tigers as they look to return to something like their 2017 form. In to the AJ Bell Stadium have come Sebastine Ikahihifo from Huddersfield Giants and the giant Pauli Pauli from Wakefield Trinty. If they fire they will complement the likes of Lee Mossop, Gil Dudson and Greg Burke who have all recovered from a kick up the backside out of the exit door at Wigan to become consistent Super League performers. Luke Yates is an interesting addition from London Broncos and there is also experience in the squad in the likes of Tyrone McCarthy, Adam Walker, Mark Flanagan and James Greenwood.

The last meeting between these two sides needs no further explanation. The Red Devils’ fairy-tale run to Old Trafford was perhaps the best story of last season but in truth they were put firmly in their place by Saints on the night as they ran out 23-6 winners. Having dominated the league all year and finished 16 points clear of the rest in the race for the League Leaders Shield Saints just were not going to be denied. The previous meeting in St Helens was an absolute epic. Saints fought back from 30-16 down in the second half to eek out a 32-30 win thanks to Bentley’s highly dubious try which was awarded by the video referee. Saints passage to the two Super League points had been more straightforward earlier in the season at the AJ Bell Stadium, when two Roby tries helped them on their way to a 26-4 win.

On the face of it Saints look the more settled at the moment having had minimal changes to the playing staff. Only the exits of Richardson and Adam Swift will have impact on the outstanding depth that they had last term. By contrast Salford will be bedding in a whole host of new recruits although they have had more run outs in pre-season, playing friendly games with Swinton Lions, Leigh Centurions and Warrington Wolves. Saints have had just the one hit-out in that 36-6 win over the Broncos. Anything other than a Saints win would represent a surprise on the opening weekend but expect both of these sides to have a say in where the Super League trophy ends up come October 2020.

Squads;

St Helens;

Lachlan Coote, Kevin Naiqama, Mark Percival, Regan Grace, Jonny Lomax, Theo Fages, Alex Walmsley, Luke Thompson, Zeb Taia, Dominique Peyroux, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Matty Lees, Kyle Amor, Jack Ashworth, Joseph Paulo, Aaron Smith, James Bentley, Matty Costello, Jack Welsby, Joe Batchelor, Lewis Dodd.

Salford Red Devils;

Niall Evalds, Kris Welham, Dan Sarginson, Krisnan Inu, Tui Lolohea, Kevin Brown, Lee Mossop, Joey Lussick, Gil Dudson, Pauli Pauli, Tryone McCarthy, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Adam Walker, Greg Burke, Luke Yates, Chris Atkin, Mark Flanagan, Josh Johnson, James Greenwood, Rhys Williams, Ken Sio.

Referee: Liam Moore