Saints look to build on a winning start to 2021 when they host Hull KR on Thursday night (April 1, kick-off 8.15pm). Technically this is Rovers’ home game but let’s not get bogged down in the vagaries of Super League scheduling post-Covid. Saints will host the whole round over Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Coach Kristian Woolf has been forced into two changes to the 21-man squad which was on duty for the Round 1 win over Salford Red Devils. Agnatius Paasi was ruled out almost immediately after the final hooter at Headingley due to concussion protocols. The former New Zealand Warrior was knocked out in a collision with Salford’s Pauli Pauli and was never going to have enough time to safely participate this week with just six days between games.
Also out is Mark Percival. The England centre left the field shortly after notching his first try of the 2021 season which effectively settled the issue with Richard Marshall’s side. Percival’s leg injury is not thought to be too serious but it makes sense to be cautious given the fitness problems that consistently troubled him throughout 2020.
The replacements in the 21 are youngsters Tom Nisbet and Jake Wingfield. The latter is one of three Saints who signed new or extended deals at the club this week. Wingfield penned an agreement which keeps him in the red vee until the end of 2023. Joining him are centre Josh Simm - who is now committed until the end of 2022 - and England forward Alex Walmsley who will be a Saint at least until the end of 2024. Walmsley’s deal is a particular boost as it wards off rumoured interest from the NRL, but all three deals are a signal of Saints intent to keep this squad together and build for the next few years.
Simm is one of those in contention to take Percival’s place in the starting 13 against Rovers. Jack Welsby is another option, but he may still be needed at fullback if Lachlan Coote does not return to the side. Nisbet can also play in the number one spot but Welsby’s greater experience is likely to get him the nod if Coote misses out. Scottish international Coote is named in the 21 but missed out last week due to Woolf’s concerns over his fitness. The Tongan coach explained that the soon to be 31 year-old needed more running to build up some more stamina but did not rule him in or out for this week. If Coote doesn’t play then expect to see both Welsby and Simm, otherwise it could come down to a straight choice between the two. Despite Welsby’s exalted status at Saints following his Grand Final exploits there is a good argument that Simm is the more natural fit at the centre position.
The rest of the back line is familiar with Tommy Makinson and Regan Grace on the wings, Kevin Naiqama at right centre and a halfback partnership of Jonny Lomax and Theo Fages. The Frenchman’s credentials have been questioned by this column recently but it was his lobbed kicks which led to three Saints tries against the Red Devils and ultimately proved the difference. It looks like the waiting game will continue for Lewis Dodd. Whoever plays at seven we have to find a way of getting them into the game more and reducing the creative burden on Lomax. Coote’s return would help enormously.
Paasi’s bench spot is potentially up for grabs, but Dan Norman would have cause to be most disappointed if his number is not called. The former London man is a like for like replacement at prop, where Saints also boast Walmsley, Matty Lees, Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy Scarsbrook. James Roby and Aaron Smith look after dummy half duties. In the back row new boys Joel Thompson and Sione Mata’utia should start alongside James Bentley. Morgan Knowles is still out with a thumb injury so Wingfield and Joe Batchelor will also press their claims for a shirt.
Rovers opened up their 2021 campaign with a thrilling but ultimately glorious failure. Trailing Catalans Dragons 28-4 just after half-time the Robins staged an improbable comeback to take the game to golden point extra time at 28-28. James Maloney’s drop-goal meant that they came away with nothing but Rovers showed in that second half that they have a resilience about them and something for Tony Smith’s side to build on.
Smith has made just one change to his 21-man squad this week. Brad Takairangi was recruited from Parramatta Eels with some fanfare, but a leg injury saw him withdraw late from the side to face the Dragons and keeps him out again. Muizz Mustapha has been drafted in as a replacement.
Rovers may be lacking Takairangi but they have plenty of NRL experience to call on. Captain Shaun Kenny Dowall will play his 300th club game if selected, 226 of which came with Sydney Roosters before a 53-game spell with Newcastle Knights. Kane Linnett is also a former Rooster but it is his 164 appearances for North Queensland Cowboys for which he is perhaps better known. Ryan Hall’s stint with the Roosters didn’t go as he would have liked but he will be a major threat again in Super League, a point underlined by his incredible hat-trick against the Dragons last time out. His next Super League try will be his 200th, making him just the second player to reach that milestone in Super League after his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate and ex-Rover Danny McGuire.
In the pack Albert Vete and Korbin Sims have been drafted in from Melbourne Storm and St George-Illawarra Dragons respectively. They will add experience and quality to the emerging potential of Elliot Minchella, Matty Storton and Jez Litten.
Rovers may play a more reserved style of football this year with relegation back on the agenda, but they still possess players who make up with flair for what they might lack in consistency. Former Saint Adam Quinlan is one who always excites while Mikey Lewis showed us a glimpse of his talents with a serene glide through the Dragons defence for one of the tries of the opening round last week. Ben Crooks and Greg Minikin are seasoned Super League whitewash crossers so there is plenty of threat in this Rovers side if Lewis and Jordan Abdull are given a platform to guide them around.
The trouble for Rovers is that that ‘if’ is doing some heavy lifting when you consider what they will be up against. Saints were more workmanlike than spectacular in the opener but they barely looked troubled throughout. They should dominate a Rovers side still trying to find itself under Smith. A start like the one they made last week could see Rovers really put through the cleaners. All ends up, Saints should keep them at arms length to record a comfortable win by something in the region of 16 points.
Squads;
Hull KR;
Adam Quinlan, Ben Crooks, Greg Minikin, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Ryan Hall, Jordan Abdull, Albert Vete, Matt Parcell, Korbin Sims, Kane Linnett, Dean Hadley, Jez Litten, George Lawler, George King, Elliot Minchella, Matty Storton, Mikey Lewis, Ethan Ryan, Rowan Milnes, Luis Johnson, Muizz Mustapha.
St Helens;
1, Lachlan Coote, 2, Tommy Makinson, 3. Kevin Naiqama, 5. Regan Grace, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Theo Fages, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Joel Thompson, 12, James Bentley, 14. Sione Mata’utia, 15. LMS, 16. Kyle Amor, 18. Jack Welsby, 19. Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 22, Josh Simm, 23. Jake Wingfield, 26. Tom Nisbet.
Referee: Robert Hicks
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