Super League 2020 Preview - St Helens

The 2019 Super League season could not have gone much better for Saints. Having cantered to the League Leaders Shield in 2018 only to lose in the playoffs to Warrington there was no mistake this time around. Saints reached and subsequently won the Grand Final convincingly, beating upstart qualifiers Salford Red Devils 23-6 at Old Trafford to end a five-year title drought and cap a glorious campaign. The only disappointment was the loss to Warrington in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley in August. That was one of only four defeats suffered by Justin Holbrook’s side throughout the year.

With one or two exceptions the same squad will bid to defend their title. The biggest change has come at the top where Holbrook exits after two memorable seasons. The Australian has taken up a head coaching role at Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and is replaced by Tonga national team coach Kristian Woolf. Less than a week before the opening fixture, a Grand Final repeat as Salford come to town on January 31, Woolf has decided not to add to his squad. Of the regular first teamers from last year only Danny Richardson and Adam Swift have departed. Richardson has joined Castleford to attempt to fill the void left by Luke Gale while Swift moves to Hull FC after two frustrating years trying to oust Regan Grace or Tommy Makinson from the starting line-up.

There are conflicting views on whether the decision not to bolster the squad is the right one. Saints have a group of players that was 16 points better than anybody else’s group of players in Super League last year. Exactly how do you strengthen within the constraints of the salary cap? There are players coming off contract at the end of 2020 which might prompt some movement and allow Woolf to shape his own team, but for now there’s a sense of if it ain’t broke…..

On the other hand if you take a look at all the greatest sporting teams in living memory, the vast majority of them always chose to freshen up their squads at the height of their success. Some argue that if you stand still you go backwards, and with Richardson and Swift off the wage bill there may have been some room under the cap to bring in some new blood. There is now no experienced back-up for Theo Fages and Jonny Lomax in the halves although hopes are high that Lewis Dodd can break through to the first team after a couple of seasons impressing in the under-19s. Jack Welsby also has first team experience at stand-off and Lachlan Coote can adapt also if necessary. The lack of recruitment does not seem like a problem without solutions.

As well as a couple of League Leaders Shields and the Super League Grand Final victory, Holbrook brought back the swagger that Saints fans are used to seeing from their side. After a few years of safety first drudgery under Nathan Brown and Keiron Cunningham going to the match had become a pleasure again. First with the arrival of the brilliant but flawed Ben Barba in 2018 but then in a more considered, less flashy but no less effective way when Coote replaced Barba. Kevin Naiqama also had a sensational first season in Saints colours to improve the side still further, while having Alex Walmsley fit for the whole season after he had missed much of 2018 with a bad neck injury was an obvious boost also. It all came together to see Saints score 163 tries in their 29 league outings last term, 26 more than their closest rivals in that category, the Red Devils.

Even when you thought you had stopped the Saints juggernaut you hadn’t really. Not when they were busting out of a league-leading 1269 tackles and making 327 offloads. Saints had lagged behind most of their competitors in the offload category in the years before Holbrook, but in 2019 only Leeds, Warrington and Castleford pushed the pass more often. That led to Saints making more errors than any other team (361) but that was down to the sheer weight of possession that they were able to command against opponents who frankly struggled to live with them throughout the season. Saints were the only side to go over 4000 metres gained for the year, and did so despite the fact that Leeds and Warrington had higher average gains per carry. Saints 262 clean breaks is over 50 better than the next best tally of 211 achieved by Leeds Rhinos.

Defensively Saints had a bend-don’t-break mentality which meant that they conceded only 395 points. That is over 100 fewer than any other side in Super League. When you consider that Saints missed over 1000 tackles, more than all of Wigan, Warrington, Salford, Huddersfield, Castleford and Wakefield it shows you the desire they had to make sure that their try-line was not breached even if the defensive line was. There doesn’t seem to be too much need for Woolf to tamper with the structures they have in place defensively. This is a team which is starting to show signs of taking responsibility for their own game in the way that the great sides of the late 90’s and early 2000s managed to do. Woolf’s job should be easy on the face of it. All he needs to do is give them a reminder every now and again. On the other hand there is an argument that he is on a hiding to nothing. There isn’t much room for improvement on last season so he will be expected to match those standards without too much fuss. Should Saints fall short of that people may start looking in his direction.

All of which would be slightly unfair. Other clubs have strengthened significantly. Jackson Hastings gives Wigan a new dimension while James Maloney, Sonny Bill Williams and Aiden Sezer are all knocking about the competition in 2020 with a brief of improving their respective sides. The high expectation on Woolf brings its own pressure and he will want to put his own stamp on the side, tweaking things here and there so that nobody can say that all of his achievements belong to Holbrook only.

After the visit of Salford on opening night Saints visit Warrington in Round 2. For much of last season the Wolves were the only sides challenging Saints at the top of the table but after their Challenge Cup final victory Steve Price’s side slumped badly. They limped into the playoffs and were quietly despatched by Castleford in the first game. They will be among the contenders once more so it is far from an easy opening for the champions. Round 3 brings a visit to Hull FC where Saints have a patchy record in recent years before the Round 5 clash with Super League debutants Toronto Wolfpack which may or may not take place at the home of Saracens.

The observant among you will have spotted the big gaping hole where Round 4 should be. That’s because that week Saints host Sydney Roosters in the World Club Challenge, set for February 22. Saints have not been crowned World Champions since 2007 and their last attempt to do so ended in an ignominious 39-0 defeat to South Sydney Rabbitohs. Their last meeting with the Roosters saw them go down 38-12. There are only seven survivors from the 17 players on duty that night. It’s an altogether more rounded and potent Saints outfit that awaits Trent Robinson’s side. How Saints approach this latest tilt at the world title might influence the selections made by Woolf for the three league games which precede it. Though it is a much derided competition in some circles the World Club Challenge is a much coveted honour by others. In this age where you can’t log on to social media or pick up an article about the sport without someone walloping on about the brand, becoming world champions could open economic doors as much as it will inspire pride and bragging rights.

But the bread and butter for Saints remains the Super Leauge competition. It will be nice to go one better in the Challenge Cup this year after the stunning disappointment of Wembley but if we are sat here in a year’s time reflecting on another Grand Final success then there won’t be too much to grumble about.