Ok...ok...ok. Let’s not phone the Samaritans just because we lost. Saints went down 25-24 to Leigh Centurions in Tommy Makinson’s testimonial. Ryan Brierley’s late drop-goal proved the difference in what was an entertaining enough affair. But how much can we read into it ahead of the new Super League season which starts in less than a fortnight?
Friendlies have their limits in terms of what you can learn about your squad. Winning is always an objective, particularly for a club that is back-to-back champions playing against a newly promoted side. But that’s an expectation that comes from fans, media and facetious bloggers. Losing the game ought not to worry Kristian Woolf too much.
What he should be more concerned with is whether he got enough out of the game in terms of preparing his side for the Super League opener against Salford Red Devils. This is Saints only friendly tune-up before then, yet Woolf chose to play more than half of it with several of the more inexperienced players on the field together. It’s obviously great for them to get game time, but it’s not unreasonable to question how much they gain from being pitched in at the same time. We saw in an infinitely more damaging defeat to Salford last year - one that ultimately cost us a third consecutive league leaders shield - how disjointed and scrappy the team can become when it is loaded with too many youngsters at once. Far better to drip feed them in to a stronger side so we can get a sense of exactly where they would fit in if they were really needed.
Which is the crux of the issue around playing time. The likes of Nico Rizelli, Jake Wingfield, Tom Nisbet and even Josh Eaves will probably not be needed when the serious stuff starts. But should they be we are none the wiser about how they would look when slotted in to Saints strongest side at a crucial moment.
Lewis Dodd is one youngster who has shown enough to suggest that he does have Woolf’s trust. He again got good minutes here. They were much needed after another insipid display from Theo Fages. When conditions are windy then kicking the ball low is a wise tactic. The problem was one of execution as Fages repeatedly failed to get the ball through the defensive line, instead serving it up appetisingly for the Leigh backs to recover easy ball. It’s too early to write Fages off but if any of the senior players are under serious threat from young players coming through it is the Frenchman. He’s more frustrating than the buffering on your Our League stream.
A consequence of over-using the youth was that we didn’t get to see as much of the new signings as we would like. Joel Thompson started the game along with Sione Mata’utia while Dan Norman and Agnatius Paasi came in off the bench. Thompson crossed for a confidence-boosting try after winning the race to Jack Welsby’s clever grubber. Paasi’s highlight was catching a second half restart which had been held in the wind and travelled only about 10 metres as a result. Paasi plucked it out of the air in stride. There’s nothing wrong with his hands on that evidence. He could not have taken it more smoothly if his name had been James Tedesco. He showed some other good touches which suggest that the cry of ‘go on Aggy’ will be prevalent at home matches for the first time since Sir Roy of The Elephant Hotel was running around Saints back row in the 1980s.
As well as the choices Woolf made to limit his stars’ involvement Saints were further hampered by some notable forced absentees. Lachlan Coote and Joe Batchelor had been ruled out when the 28-man squad was named two days before the game. Yet there were no sightings of Regan Grace, Matty Lees or Morgan Knowles. Mata’utia started at loose forward with Kevin Naiqama occupying Grace’s left wing spot. Josh Simm moved into Naiqama’s regular right centre role. Lees’ absence meant Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook got a start at prop, which I’m sure we can all agree is not something that will happen often in a side taking itself seriously as title contenders.
James Roby picked up a head injury in the opening minutes and was not seen again. That is a slight concern though with a weekend off before the Salford game we can be hopeful that the skipper will be ok by then. His exit did give Woolf a chance to assess which of Aaron Smith and Eaves is better placed to back up the great man. Smith hasn’t been favoured by Woolf since the Tongan coach arrived at the start of 2020 but that could change if Roby’s concussion is significant enough to sideline him.
The moaning over with, what went well? Makinson was named Man Of The Match by his old mate Jon Wilkin in the commentary box. That was even before Makinson took Nisbet’s impressive offload and scored his second try followed by his fourth goal which seemed to have earned Saints a draw before Brierley’s intervention. It might not be a coincidence that Leigh started to reassert their early dominance when Makinson was taken off just after half-time having helped Saints build an 18-6 advantage. His return coincided with another swing of the pendulum in Saints direction but it was not quite enough as it turned out.
If Makinson was a plus then so too was Mark Percival. His break for Naiqama’s first half try was arguably the turning point of the opening 40. Until then Leigh had dominated territory and possession without making it count on the scoreboard. That was testament to Saints defence which held firm for the most part and only started to flake when the regulars headed for the bench. Among them was Percival. In that one moment as he latched on to Jonny Lomax’s perfectly timed pass and streaked away to put Naiqama in Percival reminded us of what we have been missing during his injury struggles of the recent past. I don’t think anyone would argue with Woolf exercising caution around the fitness of the England centre.
The pressure that Saints came under - particularly early when their starters were still on the field - will have demonstrated to Woolf that his side will be difficult to score against next season. That’s often what titles are built on. Yet with no more games between now and that meeting with former assistant coach Richard Marshall’s new Salford side, there is still work to do on the training field if Saints are going to find their attacking timing and cohesion in time.
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