A midweek fixture change means that Castleford Tigers - and not Wakefield Trinity - are the visitors to St Helens for Sunday’s BetFred Super League Round 9 clash (August 16, kick-off 4.15pm).
On Tuesday of this week it emerged that several members of the Hull FC squad and coaching staff had tested positive for Covid-19 following their 54-18 defeat by the Salford Red Devils. That has forced the majority of staff from both those clubs into self-isolation and meant that Hull’s planned meeting with Castleford and Salford’s clash with Catalans Dragons could not go ahead. To minimise the disruption to an already cluttered calendar a quick fixture reshuffle was necessary. It’s not an ideal situation but with all teams playing at a single venue each week and no fans to inconvenience the late alteration made sense. The game’s authorities must now figure out how to avoid a repeat of events at Hull FC. A bullet has been dodged, but as the season wears on fixture changes will become less feasible.
But we do have a game, for which Saints boss Kristian Woolf has made just one change to the 21-man party which travelled to Leeds and emerged with a 48-0 win over the Rhinos a week ago. Jack Ashworth comes in for Dominique Peyroux, who has still not quite recovered from the muscular problem that has forced him to miss the first two games since the restart. Mark Percival was a late withdrawal before last week’s pounding of the Rhinos due to a tight hamstring but is deemed fit enough for inclusion. Matty Costello was drafted into the starting 13 from outside the initial 21-man squad but is left out of this week’s selection. Should he be required he can be drafted in again with the rule which sees teams lose an interchange for that kind Warrington Wolfery suspended for 2020.
Morgan Knowles is also included despite leaving the Leeds game relatively early with a head knock. He should play at loose forward behind a second row of Zeb Taia and James Bentley, the latter having used the two games since the restart to really establish himself as a genuine threat to Peyroux’s place once the former Gold Coast Titan and New Zealand Warrior regains full fitness.
The front row is where the victory over Leeds was really engineered, and again looks formidable with Alex Walmsley and James Graham at prop and James Roby at hooker. Roby will be making his 500th appearance as a professional, having turned out a mammoth 456 times for Saints, 36 times for England and 7 times for Great Britain. It’s a monumental achievement. As a Saints fan you have to pinch yourself to think that we have been blessed with another legend of the sport in the dummy half role so soon after the retirement of Kieron Cunningham. Somebody is getting something very right in the Saints youth development set-up. Roby now skippers the side, leading them to Grand Final success at the end of 2019. He’s a little less dynamic than in his youth but he remains one of Saints most important players and a key influence on the next generation of players breaking into the first team in recent years.
Ashworth will hope to push Kyle Amor, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Joe Batchelor for two available bench spots alongside Matty Lees and back-up nine Aaron Smith.
If the forwards laid the groundwork for the Leeds performance the backs - and one in particular - added all of the decoration. Regan Grace scored a phenomenal hat-trick. Two length of the field tries came either side of a classic modern winger’s diving finish at the left corner. Grace had not scored before lockdown nor in the restart opener against the Dragons but was unstoppable against Richard Agar’s bewildered side. A more cynical writer than I might link his brilliance to Percival’s absence, but if the pair are both firing it will be a long day for the Tigers’ right edge defence. On the other side Tommy Makinson plays outside Kevin Naiqama, with Lachlan Coote at fullback. Coote’s tally of a try and two assists against Leeds was impressive if slightly overshadowed by the endeavours of Grace.
It is all knitted together by the established halfback pairing of Jonny Lomax and Theo Fages. Both took a bit of a back seat last weekend as others shone, though Fages did get on the scoresheet following Walmsley’s ridiculous break and perfectly timed pass. There will be times when the pair will be called upon to control tighter games than we have had to endure so far since the restart and both remain vital. Lewis Dodd awaits his opportunity behind them.
Castleford won’t relish having to face Saints instead of that planned meeting with a Hull FC side coming off the back of a whopping defeat to Salford. The Tigers have problems of their own having been crushed 40-14 by Catalans last week and might have benefitted from a gentler assignment. Still, you have to play everyone at some point so coach Daryl Powell may prefer to focus on the positives. Namely, former Warrington and Salford man Gareth O’Brien could make his debut in the Tigers’ problem fullback position after joining the club from the wreckage of Toronto. In addition, star forward Liam Watts could also return after an arm injury caused by some less than textbook home improvements involving a saw. DIY may not be his thing but Watts is a prop of genuine quality, and one that will be needed if Cas have any hope of containing Saints’ monstrous front three.
Behind Watts Nathan Massey, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Mike McMeeken and Adam Milner have all shown in the past that they can mix it with the league’s best while at hooker Paul McShane will relish the battle with Roby.
Peter Mata’utia is out due to his ill-advised dangerous throw on Samisoni Langi in the Dragons defeat so Sosaia Feki could feature having been named in the 21 for the first time this season following his move from Cronulla Sharks. Ex-Saint Michael Shenton had a mixed day last time out, scoring two early tries against the Dragons before finding out exactly what all the fuss is about with Israel Folau. Shenton is a consistently high performer and will see a clash with his old club as the perfect opportunity to bounce back and show what he can do. In the halves Jake Trueman and former Saint Danny Richardson have bags of potential and could develop into a partnership that is the envy of everyone across the league.
For now though Saints must start heavy favourites. They were irresistible last week while Cas, for all their individual quality and potential, looked decidedly ragged after a good start against Steve McNamara’s side. If Saints get on top early the Tigers could end up the team most affected on the field by the Covid outbreak at Hull. Saints by 20.
Squads;
St Helens;
1. Lachlan Coote 2. Tommy Makinson 3. Kevin Naiqama 4. Mark Percival 5. Regan Grace 6. Jonny Lomax 7. Theo Fages 8. Alex Walmsley 9. James Roby 11. Zeb Taia 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook 14. Morgan Knowles 15. Matty Lees 16. Kyle Amor 17. Jack Ashworth 19. Aaron Smith 20. James Bentley 22. Jack Welsby 23. Joe Batchelor 27. Lewis Dodd 32. James Graham
Castleford Tigers;
2. Derrell Olpherts 4. Michael Shenton 5. Sosaia Feki 6. Jake Trueman 7. Danny Richardson 8. Liam Watts 9. Paul McShane 10. Grant Millington 11. Oliver Holmes 12. Mike McMeeken 13. Adam Milner 14. Nathan Massey 15. Jesse Sene-Lefao 16. George Griffin 17. Alex Foster 20. Junior Moors 21. James Clare 22. Jacques O’Neill 24. Tyla Hepi 26. Calum Turner 34. Gareth O’Brien
Referee: James Child
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