Leigh Centurions v St Helens - Preview

Unbeaten Saints face one of Super League’s simpler tasks on paper when they travel to face newly promoted Leigh Centurions on Friday night (April 30, kick-off 6.00pm).

To paraphrase Brian Clough they don’t play on paper. But Leigh haven’t been faring all that well on grass either. A spirited display against Wigan in their opener ended in a narrow 20-18 defeat turned out to be the highlight so far for John Duffy’s men who have since been hammered by Warrington and Castleford before being comfortably beaten by Salford Red Devils last time out. Meanwhile Saints have rarely been eye-catching but nor have they been all that troubled in opening victories over Salford, Hull KR, Wakefield Trinity and Huddersfield Giants.

Saints coach Kristian Woolf has made two changes to the 21-man squad which he selected for the Giants game a week ago. Tommy Makinson is back in contention after missing out against Ian Watson’s side with a foot injury. His inclusion would be a huge boost for any side but Woolf has warned that if there is any risk involved the England winger will not play. That seems a sensible policy in a game Saints are expected to win with something to spare and with another 20 regular season rounds ahead before the playoffs begin. There will be times when the need to have Makinson on board is much greater.

Makinson has replaced Joel Thompson in the squad, while the other change sees young centre Ben Davies comes in for Tom Nisbet. Thompson will miss his first game since making the switch to Saints from Manly Sea Eagles after picking up a foot injury. Morgan Knowles is back in training but not yet ready to go so Saints back row could be set for a reshuffle. Joe Batchelor was not selected last week after starting against Wakefield and could come back into contention. James Bentley, Sione Mata’utia and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook are the others most likely to see action in that area, along with Jake Wingfield although he has been putting in shifts at hooker in relief of James Roby with Aaron Smith still mystifyingly absent from Woolf’s radar. Smith is again in the 21 but has not been involved since the Round 2 win over Rovers.

McCarthy-Scarsbrook may also see some action at prop following the hugely disappointing news that Matty Lees will be out for around 10 weeks following surgery on a broken ankle. Lees limped out of the Challenge Cup win over Leeds on April 10 inside the first 10 minutes and further investigations have revealed the extent of the problem. It’s a savage blow for Lees whose career has already been interrupted by a perforated bowel and who had just begun to establish himself as a starter now that Luke Thompson and James Graham are not around. With Lees out the other prop options are the towering presence that is Alex Walmsley, veteran Kyle Amor and the exciting former New Zealand Warrior Agnatius Paasi. 

The selection decisions in the backs depend greatly on the fitness or otherwise of Makinson. If he is in then he, opposite winger Regan Grace and fullback Lachlan Coote are lock-ins for their positions. The dilemma will be around which of Jack Welsby, Mark Percival and Kevin Naiqama are left out of that back five. Welsby’s form at left centre almost demands inclusion. He has been a shining light in an often redundant three-quarter line this year. Percival seems to be on an NBA-style minutes restriction as he works his way back from injury which would seem to indicate that he will start and possibly be withdrawn in the second half as he was in the win over the Giants. All of which leaves Naiqama looking more vulnerable than he has at any time since he arrived at Saints from Wests Tigers in 2019. The Fijian is in the final year of a three-year deal and Welsby’s rapid rise and versatility could be about to hasten his exit. 

The only remaining question is in the halves where my drum gets increasingly worn from being relentlessly beaten in support of some more game time at halfback for Lewis Dodd. It is unlikely to happen, and if it does my guess is that it will be Jonny Lomax and not Theo Fages who makes way given the Centurions hybrid, not-quite-real-grass surface and the wear and tear on Lomax’s knees over the last decade. 

To add to their problems Leigh have a host of regulars not available for this one. An already brittle squad will be tested further by the absence of the supremely mulleted Blake Wallace, influential prop Adam Sidlow, halves Joe Mellor and Jamie Ellis and NRL import Brendan Elliot. Since Leigh upset Saints in Makinson’s testimonial game in March Duffy has added the talented but troubled former Wigan and Warrington centre Anthony Gelling, former South Sydney Rabbitohs, Parramatta Eels and Gold Coast Titans hooker Nathan Peats and will have former Wigan henchman Ben Flower available. Josh Simm is on loan at Leigh from Saints but will not face his parent club. 

Along with Gelling and Flower Matty Russel, Tyrone McCarthy and Lewis Tierney have Grand Final experience. Their know how and that of other experienced campaigners like Junior S’au should start to help turn the Leigh ship around at some point. Just don’t expect it to be this week. Ryan Brierley is another exciting player who hasn’t quite reached the very peak of the game but is always capable of doing something special. Leigh’s biggest problem will be their tendency to run out of steam. A pack featuring Nathaniel Peteru, Alex Gerrard and Matty Gee doesn’t look favourite against Saints relentless physicality and superior fitness, even without both Lees and Thompson. 

Having said all that Saints attack has been fairly dysfunctional this year, so I’m not expecting any unusual scorelines. It is more likely that Leigh will hang in the game for a time before Saints start to overwhelm them. Saints by 24.

Squads;

Leigh Centurions;

1. Ryan Brierley 2. Matty Russell 3. Iain Thornley 4. Junior Sa’u 5. Lewis Tierney 8. Ben Flower 9. Liam Hood 10. Mark Ioane 11. Ben Hellewell 12. Jordan Thompson 13. James Bell 14. Matty Wildie 15. Alex Gerrard 16. Nathaniel Peteru 18. Matty Gee 19. Nathan Mason 21. Tyrone McCarthy 22. Craig Mullen 26. Nathan Peats 30. Ben Reynolds 32. Anthony Gelling

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, 12, James Bentley, 14. Sione Mata’utia, 15. LMS, 16. Kyle Amor, 17, Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jack Welsby, 19, Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 23. Jake Wingfield, 25. Dan Norman, 29. Ben Davies.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths

 

Huddersfield Giants 10 St Helens 18 - Review

The list of ways in which you could spend 80 minutes of your life that would be more fun than watching Saints maintain their 100% start to the season with this grating win over Huddersfield Giants is infinite. Yet a win is what transpired, leaving Saints with a perfect four wins from four to begin their 2021 campaign.

Coach Kristian Woolf came into this one knowing he would need to make at least one change from the side which had brushed aside Wakefield in a dazzling second half display last time out. Tommy Makinson was ruled out with a foot injury. Instead of opting to draft in youngster Tom Nisbet Woolf shunted Kevin Naiqama out into Makinson’s right wing role. The Fijian’s place at right centre was taken by the almost fit again - more on that later - Mark Percival, allowing Jack Welsby to stay in the left centre role from where he had excelled in the rout over Trinity.

There were changes up front too, with Joe Batchelor dropping out of the 17 altogether to make way for Sione Mata’utia. Former Newcastle man Mata’utia had missed the Wakefield win due to concussion protocols but was restored as part of a back row also including James Bentley and Joel Thompson. In the front row there was another change with Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook starting at prop alongside Alex Walmsley with Matty Lees still out with an ankle problem.  This meant that Agnatius Paasi - Saints most influential front rower last week (and better than all but Walmsley this week as it turned out) - had to settle for a place on the bench from the start.  

There’s no real problem with Naiqama starting on the wing. He has played in the NRL in that position for Newcastle Knights, Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers. He can handle a Thursday night in Huddersfield. In any case, his growing band of detractors might prefer to see him on the wing given the number of tackles he manages to butcher when up against bigger opponents in the centres. The issue is more around Nesbit. If he is not deemed ready to step in to Makinson’s shoes for one night against demonstrably weaker opposition then when will he play? He is 21 years old now and will need to start feeling Woolf’s trust soon otherwise he could go the way of Mattys Costello and Fleming. Perhaps a spell on loan might be a reasonable short term solution. I hear Leigh Centurions are hiring.

Given that Paasi ended up with 125 metres on 14 carries there is a reasonable case that introducing him from the bench as an impact player paid off. However, as Saints toiled away pointlessly in the opening half hour it seemed obvious that they were crying out for someone who can bend a defensive line out of shape. Certainly the Tongan offered more in that regard than either lingering nuisance McCarthy-Scarsbrook (96 metres on 12 carries) or his Ireland team mate Kyle Amor (87 metres on 11 carries and one Ryan Atkins impersonation).  

It was interesting to see Percival switched from his regular left centre role over to the right. There are two schools of thought on this. One is that as the more experienced of the two Percival is still the more suited to making the transition successfully than Welsby who may only be comfortable on the left. The other is that Welsby has been playing so well there that he has become something of an immovable object. Percival was withdrawn after around 50 minutes which apparently was always the plan as he builds up his match fitness again following his latest lay-off. Yet earmarking one of your precious interchanges for a switch in the outside backs seems like a bad plan to me, but one that is probably symptomatic of the absence of reserve grade rugby post-Covid. The truth probably is that Woolf felt he had little or no option if he is going to get Percival back to his best sooner rather than later.

Things started brightly for Saints and Welsby was at the centre of it. You get shorter notice for filling in your census than you do for a hopeful Saints bomb on the last tackle these days but it nevertheless seemed to catch Huddersfield by surprise. Welsby knew the script, leaping highest to gather Lachlan Coote’s cloud botherer before finding a lovely offload for the supporting Theo Fages to score. Coote reclaimed the goal-kicking duties from the absent Makinson and slotted Saints into a 6-0 lead.

Then came the toil.  The tedium abated briefly on half an hour when Amor paid his tribute to Atkins. Burrowing over the line from close range he was surrounded by whatever collective noun is appropriate for a large group of Giants under whom the ball disappeared.  It was impossible to see whether the ball had been grounded but Amor wasn’t shy in offering his opinion, thrusting a triumphant finger into the air from under the bodies. Referee Robert Hicks did not share Amor’s conviction, sending it up for review as a no try. The video referee was predictably unable to find enough evidence to overturn Hicks’ call and the try was not awarded.

With perfect symmetry, the side that had scored four minutes into the first half eventually scored again four minutes from the end of it. The ball was shifted right with a pace and precision that had been all too rare to that point as James Roby, Fages and Jonny Lomax combined to allow Percival to stroll over untouched. Coote’s second conversion of the evening gave Saints a 12-0 lead at half time.  

Five minutes into the second period and Saints hitherto impregnable defence suffered a slight malfunction. Chris McQueen - who could be seen last week dropping the kind of pass they eat for breakfast at Rugby Tots - glided through a hole on Saints left edge created by a clever pass from former Canberra Raider and proper scrum half Aidan Sezer. Sezer had destroyed Saints with his kicking game when the Giants won the last game attended by fans around the back of Tesco in March of last year. This time it was his new halfback partner Jack Cogger setting the position up with a raking 40/20. Sezer couldn’t convert but the deficit had been reduced to 12-4.

When he wasn’t inspiring this brief rally, Sezer was busy alienating the Saints fans with some ‘simulation’ that is very much more associated with the millionaires of the round ball game. Standing at dummy half deep inside his own territory he took cynical advantage when Mata’utia rolled towards rather than away from him after completing a tackle. Sezer only got a penalty but will be disappointed not to have at least been nominated for a BAFTA or a Golden Globe, such was the drama of his subsequent tumble to the turf. Not to say that it wasn’t a penalty either. Mata’utia has a responsibility to clear the ruck and could easily have rolled away from Sezer. He got played, which is immoral but more and more these days that is professional sport. It’s the old story about the scorpion stinging the frog as they cross the water. It’s what sportsmen do. But amateur dramatics do not necessarily mean an offence has not been committed. 

Eighteen minutes from time Saints - who were still keeping the Giants revival under wraps with some characteristically strong defence while failing to create much themselves - settled the result for all intents and purposes. Lewis Dodd had been introduced into his weekly cameo at acting half, and it was from there that he found a sharp, flat offload for Lomax to grab Saints’ third try of the night. A third Coote goal saw Saints well in command at 18-4. It hadn’t been inspiring but the job was being done with something to spare.  

The comfort level took a bit of a knock nine minutes from time when Huddersfield added a second try. Bentley had knocked on 20 metres from his own line (one of three errors from him out of a team total of nine) to gift the Giants the field position from where Sezer and Cogger combined to put Jermaine McGillvary over in the right hand corner. Sezer landed an impressive touchline conversion to reduce the Saints lead to 18-10 with eight minutes on the clock.  There was one more chance when Giants centre Sam Wood forced a by that time makeshift opposite number Bentley into touch 10 metres from his own line but once again Saints defence - their strongest attribute and the one that has contributed most to their lofty league position - held firm as they held on for the win.

Even now almost 48 hours after the event the thought lingers that a win in itself isn’t enough. It is almost absurd to criticise Woolf when his team are unbeaten at the top of the Super League table and are defending a title won in circumstances that are already the stuff of rugby league legend. Yet watching Saints right now is an utterly tedious, joyless experience at times. They briefly flickered at home to Wakefield last week but for the most part it has been conservative, slow, close to the ruck drivel in attack with a predictable, spiritless kicking game to match. While it is true that only three teams have more offloads than Saints this term there is no support play, no push, unless someone breaks into an area of space the size of Hull.  Only then do we see risks taken.  It is all about grinding teams down with mistake free football. Keiron Cunningham tried to do the same thing only he tried it with Jack Owens and Lama Tasi instead of Regan Grace and Paasi.  

The point is shouldn’t there be something more? Winning is great, and if you had asked the twenty-something me about it pre-Super League I’d have told you that winning was all that mattered. But at this stage of my life as a Saints fan (which believe it or not I am despite my insistence on pointing out awkward negatives in this column and on Twitter in the interests of balance) I am looking for more. I want to go on a journey, to get excited about watching my team again. Looking up at a scoreboard and seeing a bigger number next to my team’s name isn’t enough, nor is merely the collection of trophies.  No doubt this attitude has developed after seeing so much success at the club in the Super League era. I’m a bit spoiled by it. And I completely understand if younger fans aren’t bored by that yet. After all, the last two years have been a wildly exciting break from the norm for anyone born after around 2002 and whose formative years were spent watching Mick Potter’s team. 

It’s what happens when this style of rugby doesn’t produce results that I’m most concerned about. Let’s be fair, with the more attractive fixtures being held back until the return of fans we haven’t played anyone yet. Bar a banged up Leeds side who pushed us close and made our defence look human in the recent Challenge Cup tie. The same Leeds who were drubbed 26-6 by perennial strugglers Hull KR this week. What happens when we run into Wigan, Warrington, Hull FC, Catalans or Castleford? Will our water tight defence hold, particularly against the more expansive sides who want to challenge us on the edges instead of continually testing the strength and stamina of our middle men? 

We’re unlikely to find out next week with struggling Leigh Centurions on the agenda. We’ll win.  But I’m already not looking forward to it.  

Huddersfield Giants v St Helens - Preview

Saints put their 100% start to the season on the line when they visit Huddersfield Giants in a Super League Round 4 clash on Thursday night (April 22, kick-off 7.45pm).

Having sailed past Salford Red Devils and Hull KR in the opening two weeks Saints toiled in a scoreless first half last time out against Wakefield Trinity. Coach Kristian Woolf must have said something inspiring at half time as Saints came out and rattled 34 points past Trinity after the break. In truth Wakefield folded faster than a European Super League but it was a nevertheless impressive display from a Saints side finally showcasing its attacking threat. 

In a bid to preserve the winning run and hopefully serve us up a bit more of that free-flowing rugby Woolf has named largely the same 21-man squad. He’s been forced into one change after Tommy Makinson was ruled out with a foot injury. It has been described as ‘minor’ but will see his place in the squad taken by the returning Sione Mata’utia. The former Newcastle Knight sat out the win over Wakefield having left the previous week’s Challenge Cup game with Leeds Rhinos early on with a head knock.

Makinson’s absence will lead to a degree of reshuffling among the backs, dependent on the fitness or otherwise of Mark Percival. The England centre has not featured since the latter stages of the season opener with Salford but is again named in the initial party. If he makes it then Jack Welsby - who was outstanding in the left centre role against Chris Chester’s side last week - is the obvious choice to slot into Makinson’s right wing berth. If Percival remains out Mata’utia could be called upon in the centres with James Bentley or even Joel Thompson also options. More likely is that youngster Tom Nisbet will come on to the right wing and Welsby will be left to continue in the centre position where he has excelled on numerous occasions now.

Lachlan Coote is now restored to the fullback role and though not quite at his best yet will surely be benefitting from the game time he is accruing. He should continue with Kevin Naiqama and Regan Grace making up the rest of the back five. Theo Fages has found some decent form alongside Jonny Lomax in the halves and those two are backed up by the emerging talent of Lewis Dodd. Woolf has been reluctant to unleash Dodd in his favoured number seven role but he has added to his education by using him as a hooker at times. Jake Wingfield spent some time there also in the last outing all of which isn’t the best news for Aaron Smith who has designs on being the regular alternative and eventual heir to James Roby.

The front row is still without Matty Lees so Alex Walmsley should again be partnered by Agnatius Paasi either side of Roby. We saw another glimpse of Paasi’s quality last weekend when his destructive run opened up the space for Dodd and Welsby to put Grace over for his second try and the evening’s champagne moment. Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook - who played his 400th career game last week - will be the main reinforcements at prop though Dan Norman will hope to force his way in for a competitive debut.

Morgan Knowles’ thumb is still bothersome so the back row is likely to comprise Mata’utia, Thompson and Bentley with Wingfield and Joe Batchelor adding further options along with the versatile McCarthy-Scarsbrook.  

You may not remember this - you may not care to - but Huddersfield Giants beat Saints when we last had the opportunity to watch our team from inside our wretchedly named but much missed stadium.  On that night the kicking and game management of Aidan Sezer was key. New Giants coach Ian Watson will again look to the former Canberra Raider to lead his team around the field. Watson has named the same 21 which was on duty for last week’s agonising 25-24 defeat to Hull KR. However, the former Salford boss has already promised changes to his match day17, admitting that neither Jake Wardle nor Leroy Cudjoe are fit. They will join Ricky Leutele on the sidelines in what looks a banged up three-quarter line that could yet feature former Saint Josh Jones and/or butter-fingered former Wests Tiger Chris McQueen. 

Jermaine McGillvary is the constant, reassuring presence in that group of backs while it seems likely that Darnell McIntosh will move to the wing from fullback to accommodate another ex-Saint in Lee Gaskell. He played much of his rugby at stand off for Saints but changed the game for the Giants against Rovers when he was introduced from the bench into the number one role. Sam Wood could move from wing to centre with former Canterbury Bulldog Jack Cogger partnering Sezer in the ideas factory.

The hard yards will be won by the excellent and still improving Matty English, Watson’s ex-Salford charge Luke Yates and the always interesting Kenny Edwards as well as the hooking duo Adam O’Brien and James Cunningham. A third former Saint Jack Ashworth will look to contribute as will James Gavet, Oliver Wilson and the veteran Michael Lawrence. 

The Giants are yet to win a Super League game in 2021. Their only success in Watson’s first season so far came against Leigh Centurions in the Challenge Cup. That win set up a quarter-final tie with Saints which will be played just a fortnight after this one and perhaps gives this contest an extra dollop of intrigue. 

Huddersfield got close to that elusive victory against Tony Smith’s Robins in a thriller last week but Watson will be the first to accept that his side were short of the mark in defeats to Hull FC and Catalans Dragons in the opening weeks of the season. It is very difficult to see them making the kind of improvement required to challenge a Saints side which - even when not completely firing in attack - doesn’t look like shipping too many points. Woolf’s men have conceded just two tries in their first three Super League outings and are conceding an average of only four points a game. A long night for Huddersfield should lie ahead. Saints by 18.

Squads;

Huddersfield Giants;

2. Jermaine McGillvary 3. Jake Wardle 5. Darnell McIntosh 6. Lee Gaskell 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Luke Yates 9. Adam O'Brien 10. Michael Lawrence 11. Kenny Edwards 13. Josh Jones 14. Matty English 16. Jake Cogger 17. Chris McQueen 18. Jack Ashworth 19. James Cunningham 20. Oliver Wilson 21. Leroy Cudjoe 22. James Gavet 24. Innes Senior 27. Sam Wood 29. Ronan Michael

St Helens;

1, Lachlan Coote 3. Kevin Naiqama 4. Mark Percival 5. Regan Grace 6. Jonny Lomax 7. Theo Fages 8. Alex Walmsley 9. James Roby 11. Joel Thompson 12, James Bentley 14. Sione Mata’utia 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook 16. Kyle Amor 17. Agnatius Paasi 18. Jack Welsby 19. Aaron Smith 20. Joe Batchelor 21. Lewis Dodd 23. Jake Wingfield 25. Dan Norman 26. Tom Nisbet.

Referee: Robert Hicks

Saints 34 Wakefield Trinity 6 - Review

Saints maintained their unbeaten start to the season with this schizophrenic win over winless Wakefield Trinity. 

It took a while for the medication to kick in, but a previously unresponsive Saints racked up 34 second half points in the second half. That followed an opening 40 minutes that was more remarkable for being scoreless than for any of the rugby played. It leaves Saints with three wins out of three, with a points difference of +76 and a defence that concedes an average of only 3.3 points per game. It’s early, but all the signs are that Kristian Woolf’s side are the team to beat again in Super League in 2021.

Saints went in to this one without four first team regulars, which might go some way to mitigating the slow start. Matty Lees and Sione Mata’utia picked up injuries early in last week’s cup win over Leeds Rhinos, while Morgan Knowles is still yet to feature this term due to a thumb injury. Mark Percival also missed out with the leg injury that has kept him out since the latter stages of the opening round win over Salford Red Devils on March 26. Percival’s injury problems are a persistent irritant and an ongoing concern, so it is fortunate that Saints have the versatile Jack Welsby to step in and produce performances of the quality of his second half effort here. Especially with Josh Simm currently on loan at Leigh Centurions.

With Lees out new recruit Dan Norman must be massively disappointed to have missed out on the 17. Agnatius Paasi deserved the start after an epic performance against the Rhinos but the former London Bronco might be justified in thinking that he was worth a place on the bench. Instead Woolf went with regular dugout-dwellers Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook with Jake Wingfield and Lewis Dodd alongside them. Wingfield filled in for a spell at hooker in relief of James Roby with Aaron Smith again not selected.  It is worth noting that Wingfield - in only his second appearance and playing in an unfamiliar position - made 22 tackles and missed none.  

Smith missed the Leeds win due to concussion protocols but was named in the 21-man squad for this one before being left out of the final 17. Perhaps Woolf felt that the young hooker’s welfare would benefit from another night off but on the other hand it would not be the first time that Smith found himself out of favour with the Saints coach. Smith’s contract ends at the conclusion of the 2022 season and with Saints having been active in extending deals for others in the last week or so his situation may be one to watch.  In Mata’utia’s absence Joe Batchelor got the nod in the back row with Joel Thompson and James Bentley. Former York man Batchelor worked hard in defence with 29 tackles but made only 15 metres from just four carries in attack. Saints top metre maker was Welsby with 149. Among the forwards it was Bentley who led the way with 146 to add to his team high 43 tackles. The fella is industrious.

Coming into this game there were grumbles - not least from these pages - about the state of Saints attack. It had stuttered of late, relying on the sin-binning of George Lawler and the dismissal of Zane Tetevano to help it really click into gear in wins over Rovers and Leeds respectively. It was a similar story in the opening half here as Saints toiled away in unconvincing fashion. The closest they came to scoring was when Tommy Makinson was deemed to have been in touch when he galloped in down the right flank just before half-time. 

Defensively they weren’t tested very often by a limited Trinity side which had been brushed aside by Wigan and Catalans Dragons in its last two outings. That was despite offering Wakefield more opportunities than was strictly necessary with some poor discipline. Woolf’s Saints seemed to have concluded that a set restart was an acceptable concession if Wakefield were far enough away from Saints try-line early enough in the tackle count. Whether this influenced referee James Child’s decision to sin-bin Bentley on 15 minutes is unclear. I haven’t seen many referees get the yellow card out for a player slowing the play-the-ball down 80m from his own try-line but perhaps Child was also coming to the view that cynical tactics were being employed. Perhaps it was for something Bentley said, or the hint of a high shot on the previous play. 

Whatever the reason, it didn’t help Saints find any attacking rhythm but nor was it sufficient to spark Wakefield into life offensively. They were further hampered by the loss of playmaker Jacob Miller with a knee injury especially since they were already without Tom Johnstone and Bill Tupou among others.

Saints were a completely different side after the break. It started in the opening minutes as Lee Kershaw - standing in for Johnstone - made a mess of a routine territorial kick by Lachlan Coote to present Saints with another set inside Wakefield’s half. The ball was switched smartly to Jonny Lomax who found Kevin Naiqama who barrelled through the defensive cover to score. Coote still hasn’t reclaimed the goal-kicking duties in only his second outing of the year and so it was Makinson who landed the extras. 

Five minutes later the champagne corks were popping in celebration of a sizzlingly Saintsy score by the returned Bentley. Welsby created the space with a great break through the centre of the Wakefield rearguard before finding Theo Fages who handed on to Bentley to cut inside a bamboozled Ryan Hampshire and cross for his first try of the season. Makinson goaled for a 12-0 lead as we all wondered where this free-flowing rugby had been hiding until this point.

There was more of it to follow before the end, but first there was time for proof that Saints can get it right with their short kicking game on last tackle plays too. So often this season we have settled for a Fages bomb or an apologetic dribble through the line. Imagine all of our surprise then when Lomax took charge of the situation on the left edge to dink a perfect little grubber into the path of the on-rushing Welsby for Saints third try in little more than 10 minutes. Makinson’s third goal was the best of the lot, striking it from near the left hand touchline for an 18-0 lead.

Saints repeated the trick 10 minutes later, but this time it was Welsby with the short kicking skills on the left channel and Regan Grace providing the finish. The lesson here appeared to be for Fages to run and pass more but leave the attacking kicks to others. Makinson converted again from out wide and as the game entered its final quarter it was out of sight at 24-0. 

So far out of sight in fact that Woolf felt able to withdraw Makinson just before Naiqama - who then moved into Makinson’s right wing berth - added Saints fifth try and his second. Despite Saints second half dominance to that point there had not been many opportunities for the right winger, so Makinson would have rued the fact that one arrived straight after his departure. Lomax found Naiqama with a good wide ball and the Fijian had too much pace once the space had been created. Dodd had come on by this time but missed with his first attempt at goal so Saints led 28-0.

Saints final try was the highlight of the night. Less than 10 minutes remained when Paasi put a dint in the Wakefield line and found Dodd with an offload. Dodd’s delicious step and body swerve was a demonstration of his much advertised talent, but he also had the awareness to find Welsby in support. Welsby didn’t quite have the pace to get there but he did find Grace just in time before the desperate tackle on him was complete. The Welshman ducked inside the cover to pick up his second four-pointer and round off the try-scoring in dazzling style. Dodd did get his name on the scoreboard with the conversion which gave Saints a 34-0 lead. They had scored more points in half an hour since the break than they had in an entire 80 minutes to this point in 2021.  

There was a slight blemish when Jay Pitts took Jordy Crowther’s pass and sliced through untouched to get Trinity on the board, Mason Lino adding the extras to reduce the final arrears to 34-6. But it was a minor detail on a day when Saints showed what they are capable of and what they can be reduced to in the same evening’s work. A distinctly bipolar performance, but one that ultimately gave cause for optimism and got the job done.  

There is just one more order of business before thoughts turn to Thursday night’s meeting with Huddersfield Giants. The Wakefield game was the first Saints Super League game to be streamed live on Our League due to the continued closure of stadia. Right up until the day of the game social media was awash with misinformation about who could access the stream and at what cost. Sky - which owns the broadcast rights to all Super League games whether they choose to screen them live on their own platforms or not - made a decision that non-televised games would only be available to 2021 season ticket holders. Or members, as we are now pretentiously titled. 

The club had already made a decision that only existing members could renew. Taken together these two decisions meant that a significant number of fans who would have walked up and paid on the gate in normal times had no legal means of accessing the coverage. Sky probably felt that it was not in their interests to allow a rival broadcaster - even the RFL via Our League - to make money from an asset that they own. That’s how Rupert has got rich and why Sky is still the dominant player in UK TV sports rights. Yet it still surprises me that a deal could not be done between Sky and the RFL to get more eyes on this match. It wouldn’t have been all that attractive to neutral RL fans - which is something we Saints obsessives sometimes forget - but nevertheless an opportunity has been missed to maximise a viewing audience at a time when it would be easier to sneak unnoticed into Mordor than get into a rugby league ground on game day.

And that cannot be a good thing for a game desperate for attention.

St Helens v Wakefield Trinity - Preview

Saints look to continue their unbeaten start to 2021 when they host Wakefield Trinity on Friday night (April 16, kick-off 6.00pm).

Following opening wins over Salford Red Devils and Hull KR Saints have another favourable assignment on paper as the league holds back its marquee fixtures until after the proposed return of fans on May 17. It represents an opportunity to make a fast start to the defence of the Super League title, while Saints have already reached the last eight of the Challenge Cup with last weekend’s victory over Leeds Rhinos. 

Gaining momentum for 2021 has been made more difficult by the need to consistently make changes to the squad. Coach Kristian Woolf has had to make three alterations this week, although Mark Percival is included despite missing the last two games with a leg injury. Matty Lees and Sione Mata’utia are the latest casualties. The former hobbled out of the Leeds game with an ankle injury while the latter wasn’t too far behind him after suffering a head knock in the first 10 minutes of the Rhinos clash. They will both sit this one out, so the as yet unused new recruit Dan Norman comes in along with Aaron Smith who missed the Leeds game due to a concussion. Tom Nisbet is the other man included with Josh Simm now out on loan at Leigh for at least the next fortnight. 

Simm has been linked with a move to the NRL this week despite signing a contract with Saints to the end of 2022 only last week. This may seem surprising given his relative lack of first team experience but there is precedent with the likes of Dominic Young at Newcastle Knights and Harry Rushton at Canberra Raiders. NRL scouts are no longer just looking at English players that have established themselves in Super League. How comfortable you are with this depends on your priorities for the game in this country. To use a football analogy, do you want a world beating league and a mediocre national team like England, or an underwhelming league with a World Champion national team like France?

Back to the business of Saints v Wakefield. Lachlan Coote didn’t have the greatest game of his life on his return to action last week but in all likelihood just needs more game time to get back to his best. Class is permanent after all, so expect him to start with Jack Welsby only getting the start if one of Coote or Percival cannot. With Simm currently elsewhere Welsby is the logical choice for cover at centre inside the prolific Regan Grace. The Welshman added two more meat pies to his tally against Richard Agar’s men and has been a constant threat despite Saints penchant for plundering ground down the middle under Woolf. On the opposite side Kevin Naiqama partners England certainty Tommy Makinson. 

Theo Fages is another who has been the subject of transfer rumours this week, sparked initially by the club’s decision to tie Jonny Lomax down on a new deal until the end of 2024. Two and two invariably make five in the world of rugby league rumour but the school of thought is that the money spent on new deals for Lomax and Alex Walmsley will necessitate cutbacks elsewhere to stay within the cap. With Lewis Dodd bursting to get an opportunity and a significant number of fans desperate to see him the departure of Fages is an obvious conclusion to come to. Though in Saints system fullback is a far more influential role than halfback to the extent that we could play Theo Huxtable at seven and still not significantly stifle our creativity.

Saints win be because they beat teams to death up front, so the loss of Lees is an inconvenience. Norman will be keen to make a first appearance in Lees’ absence but given the monstrous performance of Agnatius Paasi against Leeds he too must be a contender. It seems to depend only on whether Woolf feels that Paasi is a more potent weapon off bench, coming on to rip holes in tiring defences. Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook will push their claims too, though the Londoner may see more action in the back row with both Mata’utia and Morgan Knowles out. Joel Thompson and James Bentley are currently the second row pairing of choice, though Joe Batchelor and Jake Wingfield are also in contention in that department.

Wakefield haven’t been excluded from the gossip columns this week, amusing us all with talk of doubling their Fifita quota. The suggestion is that current Wakefield star and dodger of GPS tracking devices David Fifita could soon be playing alongside brother Andrew in the front row. For now David carries the load up front for Trinity, a job made even more difficult by the suspension of the excellent Kelepi Tanginoa from the back row. 

Also out is Tom Johnstone. The speedy winger has been stood down for four weeks by Trinity after suffering from concussion problems. Liam Kay is also out so expect Innes Senior to step up with Lee Kershaw, Jack Croft and Ollie Greensmith also three-quarter options for head coach Chris Chester. Reece Lyne and Bill Tupou are the expected centre pairing and Ryan Hampshire could also feature with Max Jowitt and Alex Walker missing.  In the halves Jacob Miller partners new recruit Mason Lino. The former Newcastle Knight has looked lively in patches this term but hasn’t quite found the consistency he’d like, much like his team.

Apart from Fifita the pack boasts Tinirau Arona, Jay Pitts, Eddie Battye and James Batchelor, brother of Saints man Joe. Another Joe is influential at loose forward in the shape of Joe Westerman, but former Saint Matty Ashurst is another who misses out. Woods Kyle and Josh cover the hooking duties along with Jordy Crowther.

Wakefield were beaten 26-6 in the Challenge Cup by Catalans Dragons last week, a loss which came off the back of a narrow loss to Leeds and a bit of a towelling by Wigan. Chester is coming under increasing pressure given that the losing start to 2021 follows Trinity’s failure to win three of their last 17 Super League encounters. It’s hard to see that changing here, with Saints unlikely to concede many points on their way to a three-score win. Saints by 16.

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. Joel Thompson, 12, James Bentley, 15. LMS, 16. Kyle Amor, 17, Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jack Welsby, 19, Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 23. Jake Wingfield, 25. Dan Norman, 26. Tom Nisbet.

Wakefield Trinity;

4. Reece Lyne 6. Jacob Miller 7. Mason Lino 8. David Fifita 9. Kyle Wood 10. Tinirau Arona 13. Joe Westerman 14. Jay Pitts 15. Eddie Battye 16. James Batchelor, 17. Chris Green 18. Innes Senior 19. Jordy Crowther 20. Arundel 23. J Wood, 24. Jack Croft 25. Brad Walker 27. LeeKershaw 29. Ryan Hampshire 32. Ollie Greensmith 34. Dane Windrow.

Referee: James Child

St Helens 26 Leeds Rhinos 18 - Review

A win is a win.  When all the talking stops, when all the glib amateur reflection pieces have been written, all that really matters is that Saints have made it into the last eight of the Challenge Cup. The dream of ending a 13-year wait for a Wembley win lives on. 

But it was not a performance to remember. With Leeds missing almost their entire back line a more comfortable passage to the quarter finals was expected. There were times when you got a sense that a straightforward passage into the last eight draw was the expectation of the Saints players too, and that this affected their performance. The Rhinos had already announced a 21-man squad missing all of Jack Walker, Harry Newman, Konrad Hurrell, Ash Handley, Ritchie Myler and Robert Lui. When it was revealed that England halfback Luke Gale wouldn’t be involved either  the odds on Leeds surprising a previously unbeaten and frankly untroubled Saints side grew even longer. It looked as though Saints believed this a little too readily also.

Saints had one or two problems of their own but they were mild by comparison. Like turning up to a gunfight with a few bullets missing from your barrel but shrugging indifferently because your opponent has brought a water pistol. Mark Percival was recalled to the 21-man squad on Thursday after missing the win over Hull KR but did not make the 17. He joined the still absent Morgan Knowles on the sidelines but their loss was offset somewhat by the return to the starting line-up of Lachlan Coote. The fullback was featuring for the first time this season after missing the two opening Super League wins over Salford Red Devils and the Robins. It showed at times. 

With Coote restored to the number one role Jack Welsby was moved into Percival’s left centre berth. That meant no place in the 17 for Josh Simm who had started against Rovers. His omission perhaps tells us something about where he currently sits in the pecking order. With Percival currently unreliable physically there has been some debate about whether Welsby or Simm should be the regular back-up. Welsby’s selection suggests he is the man for the job in the mind of coach Kristian Woolf. Elsewhere Lewis Dodd came into the 17, and was ultimately used not as a halfback option but in relief of James Roby at hooker. That role would normally be occupied by Aaron Smith but he had picked up a head knock in scoring the game-breaking try against Rovers last weekend. 

He wasn’t alone by any means but Coote looked well short of his best form, particularly in Saints error-strewn first half performance. They started well, good handling from Theo Fages, Jonny Lomax and Kevin Naiqama putting Tommy Makinson over in the right hand corner inside three minutes. Perhaps the last thing you need in a game you expect to win handily against a weakened opponent is to score so early. Complacency seemed to set in for long periods after that. Saints made simple, basic handling errors and then as their frustration grew they started to make poor decisions in possession which only led to more errors. 

The malaise even spread to their defence. Saints had been all but impregnable throughout the first two Super League rounds - conceding only six points and one try over the two games. But the try conceded to Mikolaj Oledzki which tied the game up at 6-6 was the result of some decidedly brittle tackling. The Leeds prop easily bumped off two or three tacklers and suddenly just 10 minutes in it became apparent that this was going to be an awkward day at the office after all.

That feeling wasn’t eased any by the early loss of two bench options. Sione Mata’utia sustained a head knock just before Oledzki’s try and never returned after failing his HIA, while Matty Lees had already gone down with an ankle injury which would rule him out the rest of the way also. Rotation of front rowers then became an issue for Woolf and perhaps the likes of Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook had to put in a longer shift than is normally expected of them and longer than any of us are entirely comfortable with. Including those players themselves.

One man who benefitted from having to stay involved a bit longer was Agnatius Paasi. It doesn’t feel like an exaggeration to suggest that the result may have been different without the efforts of the former New Zealand Warrior. He turned in a stunning performance, and was easily Saints standout player. Each of his carries seemed to yield at least 10-15 metres territory and he always looked likely to create a second phase with an offload. One of his runs during the second half produced significantly more than 10-15 metres but he was unfortunate enough to find that McCarthy-Scarsbrook was the only man who had made it on to his shoulder in support. The fact that Saints didn’t have anyone a little speedier in the right place at the right time at that moment kind of summed up the performance. Paasi missed the win over Rovers due to concussion protocols but if this sort of effort - in only his second competitive outing for the club let’s remember - becomes the norm then the Tongan will quickly become very popular among the supporters. It is a bit of a cliche but on this evidence he looks like a traditional Saints player as I understand the term. 

For all their sloppiness Saints were perhaps unfortunate not to go in with an advantage larger than the 8-6 lead given to them by Makinson’s penalty goal. The England winger slotted two points on half an hour after Zane Tetevano was guilty of a high shot on James Bentley. Before that Roby had been denied a possible try when referee Ben Thaler ruled that he had been held up by the Leeds defence. I couldn’t decisively tell you that the ball was grounded but it certainly seemed worthy of a review, particularly in the current climate where reviews are often ordered as soon as ball carriers reach the same postcode as the goal-line.  This - and another Roby effort which was chalked off in the second half - was not totally dissimilar to Brad Dwyer’s second try which got Leeds back into the game at 20-18 with less than 10 minutes left. In the latter instance the video referee could not find compelling evidence to overturn the original award of a try, but in the case of Roby’s second effort he apparently could. This particular jury is out on that one.

The decision to kick the goal was arguably a sign of Saints frustration at their inability to complete sets consistently and often enough to really threaten the Rhinos try-line in that first half. Tetevano did not learn from it and it was his second half dismissal which went a long way to turning this game back in Saints favour. The 2020 NRL Grand Finalist was abruptly removed from proceedings just five minutes after the break for a late, high, armless but hardly harmless assault on Fages. 

The Frenchman was not braced having turned away to pass the ball to his left when he was unceremoniously clattered by Tetevano. It was the reddest of red cards. Redder than a lobster’s corset. The kind of challenge which when it is punished appropriately often provokes ludicrous complaints about how the game has ‘gone soft’. Those complainants will nevertheless nod in agreement at the suggestion that something needs to be done to reduce head injuries given the increasing prevalence of long term brain injuries among former athletes. If you don’t legislate against hits like Tetevano’s you might not have a game to watch in the not too distant future. Thaler got the decision absolutely right.

Before Dwyer’s two-try intervention Saints had stretched out to a 20-6 lead thanks to two Regan Grace scores.  It looked as though that would be that, and that this writer might finally get a prediction right having tipped Saints to win by 14 in the preview. But the same frailties in defence which had allowed Oledzki’s early try were on display for Dwyer’s double. The former Warrington man twice just simply forced his way right through the middle of Saints rearguard from fairly close range. Saints finally restored order late on when they went out wide to the right again for Naiqama to put Makinson in for his second try of the afternoon. Yet there is plenty for Woolf to fix up in both attack and defence ahead of next week’s Super League clash with Wakefield Trinity.

Looking further ahead the quarter-final draw threw up a meeting with the winner of Sunday’s tie between Leigh Centurions and Huddersfield Giants. Either offers a very presentable opportunity to get through to a last four tie. Getting to that and through that tie and then the final itself is the only thing that really matters. Which is just as well after this unconvincing, distinctly iffy performance against a gallant but decimated opponent.

St Helens v Leeds Rhinos - Challenge Cup Preview

Saints bid to end a 13-year wait for Challenge Cup success starts when they host Leeds Rhinos in a last 16 tie on Saturday (April 10, kick-off 2.30pm).

You have to go back to 2008 for the last time Saints lifted the Challenge Cup with a 28-16 final victory over Hull FC. Three Super League titles have followed since then but the nearest Saints have come to cup glory in that time was in 2019 when they lost 18-4 to Warrington at Wembley. This year’s campaign starts with a meeting with the holders. In 2020 the Rhinos held off the Challenge of Salford Red Devils to win 17-16 in a final pushed back to October and played at an empty national stadium due to Covid-19. Fans are still sadly absent from this round and from the quarter-finals on the weekend of May 7-8, but all being well there will be reduced capacity crowds in attendance for the semi-finals and final.

Saints coach Kristian Woolf has made two changes to the 21-man squad which was on duty for the 25-0 win over Hull KR in the last Super League outing. Mark Percival sat that one out after coming off before the end of the opening round win over Salford with a leg injury. He returns, as does Agnatius Paasi after he was forced to miss the Rovers win due to concussion protocols. The duo replace Tom Nisbet and Aaron Smith, the latter having picked up a concussion problem of his own while scoring his first try of the season against the Robins.

Woolf has intimated that Lachlan Coote will return to the starting line-up. The Scotland and Great Britain international fullback has yet to feature for Saints in 2021 despite being named in the 21 for both of the opening Super League games. His return and potentially that of Percival could be bad news for Jack Welsby and Josh Simm, both of whom may have to make way. Tommy Makinson is one of six Saints named in Shaun Wane’s 35-man England training squad this week and will feature in a fairly settled back line elsewhere. Kevin Naiqama operates inside him at right centre with Regan Grace on the opposite wing. 

Jonny Lomax this week joined Alex Walmsley, Jake Wingfield and Simm in signing a new deal with the club. Lomax is another of Wane’s England party and has pledged his future to Saints until the end of the 2024 season. By then Lomax will be 34 and will have spent 15 years in the red vee since debuting in 2009. His new deal has already sparked conversations among fans and media about Saints salary cap and the implications on the future of Lomax’s regular halfback partner Theo Fages. 

The Frenchman is criminally under used in Woolf’s system so it is easy to see why the Tongan coach might feel he can do without the ex-Salford man. Especially with Lewis Dodd breathing down his neck for a first team chance. Fages’ supporters point out that he is a fierce competitor and a great defender, which isn’t really what he’s for if we’re honest. Undoubtedly Woolf should be using Fages more in attack but if he’s not going to then there’s a certain logic in making some room on the cap. 

Morgan Knowles is still missing so expect a back row of Joel Thompson, James Bentley and Sione Mata’utia. They’ll back up a formidable front row of Walmsley, Matty Lees and James Roby with Paasi, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Kyle Amor waiting for opportunities off the bench. Joe Batchelor pressed his claims for a place with his run out against Hull KR and he completes the squad alongside Wingfield. There is no obvious recognised back-up hooker to Roby despite Josh Eaves having returned from a short loan period at Leigh. 

Leeds arrive with a whole world of problems in their back line. Starting centre pairing Konrad Hurrell and Harry Newman remain out as are winger Ash Handley and stand-off Robert Lui. Fullbacks Jack Walker and Ritchie Myler are also injured, so it will be a patched up backline that faces the defensively formidable champions. This had been earmarked as the game where former Saint Kyle Eastmond would make his Leeds debut but he is not in Richard Agar’s 21-man selection either. It’s very difficult to see how a Rhinos side unable to call on its best attacking talent will trouble a Saints side which has conceded just six points and only one try in two league outings to date.

Luke Gale has had his fair share of injury problems down the years but is named which at least gives Leeds some experience in the creative department. Other than that and Briscoe brothers Tom and Luke on the wings they’ll largely be relying on lesser known talents like Corey Hall, Jack Broadbent and Alex Sutcliffe. Up front they look a little steadier with Mikolaj Oledzki, Kruise Leeming and Matt Prior in front of Alex Mellor, Rhyse Martin and 2020 NRL Grand Finalist Zane Tetevano in the back row. King Vuniyayawa is also named and could make a debut after joining Leeds from New Zealand Warriors in 2020. Brad Dwyer is a lively alternative to Leeming at hooker which is the one position where the Rhinos 21 appears to have more depth than the Saints selection.

None of which will help prevent them from losing their grip on the trophy. I don’t expect a lot of points given the way Woolf’s team goes about it’s business but I do expect Saints to breach the Leeds defence often enough to make their passage to the last eight fairly comfortable. There have been some classic cup encounters between these two, not least of which were the finals of 1972 and 1978 and the semi-final of 2002. This is unlikely to be another with Saints set to be a couple of scores better without really setting the pulse racing. Saints by 14.

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, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Joel Thompson, 12, James Bentley, 14. Sione Mata’utia, 15. LMS, 16. Kyle Amor, 17, Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jack Welsby, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 22, Josh Simm, 23. Jake Wingfield.

Leeds Rhinos;

2. Tom Briscoe 7. Luke Gale 8. Mikolaj Oledzki 9. Kruise Leeming 10. Matt Prior 11. Alex Mellor 12 Rhyse Martin 13. Zane Tetevano 14. Brad Dwyer 15. Liam Sutcliffe 17. Cameron Smith 19. King Vuniyayawa 20. Bodene Thompson 21. Alex Sutcliffe 22. Sam Walters 24. Luke Briscoe 25. James Donaldson 26. Jarrod O’Connor 27. Jack Broadbent 28. Corey Hall 31. Morgan Gannon

Referee: Ben Thaler

Hull KR 0 Saints 25 - Review

Saints will face bigger challenges in 2021 than they got from this willing but limited Hull KR side.  Finding accurate stats for this game would be much more difficult for starters. Yet coach Kristian Woolf will be happy enough that his side now sit top of the incipient Super League table with two wins out of two. 

Saints have conceded only six points across those two outings against Salford Red Devils and here against Rovers. In truth the Robins rarely looked like crossing the Saints try-line. Defence has been consistently outstanding so far this term and is the principal reason why Woolf’s side look a level above anything else we’ve seen in the first two rounds. 

For a short while there were signs that Saints have an attack to match. The first 10 or 15 minutes of this one were perhaps the most exciting period of play since Woolf took over from Justin Holbrook at the end of 2019, with one obvious KCom Stadium post-inspired exception. Breaks were made, players supported, passes stuck. Simple but effective, pretty good looking rugby. It was a spell that yielded two tries and 10 points which - given the strength of Saints defence and the flaws in the KR attack - effectively ended the contest. 

The first was scored by Regan Grace, who took Jonny Lomax’s looping pass out wide before producing a step of Robinsonian brilliance to beat Adam Quinlan to score. Grace flirted very closely with the sideline, but once he changed direction there was never any prospect of former Saints turnstile Quinlan stopping him. It was Grace’s second try of the season - his third would come later - and sent the Welshman’s touches to tries ratio into another dimension. He rarely gets a pass in Woolf’s centre-free, false halfback philosophy, but it seems when he does it results in four points. That’s not a bad trait to have in your game.

A few minutes later there was more dazzling skill on show as Theo Fages got in on the act. Taking a simple, none too threatening offload from James Roby the Frenchman swerved and stepped his way through a clutch of defenders before serving up an absolute dream of a ball around the corner to the supporting Jack Welsby. This was how Saints have traditionally played the game prior to Woolf’s arrival. The Tongan coach cannot be questioned for his results but he has made Saints a hard watch at times. Yet here they were going at a point a minute and threatening to embarrass Tony Smith’s side. It didn’t last. 

Saints did not cross the try-line again until George Lawler was yellow carded inside the last 20 minutes for a professional foul. In fact they scored twice while Rovers were short handed. Soon after Lawler’s transgression Aaron Smith bundled his way to the line, injuring himself and ending his night in the process. Between Welsby’s try and that moment from Smith all Saints had to show for their attacking endeavours was a Tommy Makinson penalty goal and a Fages drop-goal. Smith’s effort made it 19-0 and left just enough time for Welsby to finally find his passing range to put Grace over for his second with a stunning cut out ball.

Stunning cut out balls are rather more regular when Lachlan Coote plays, and therein probably lies the problem in terms of Saints attack at the moment. Coote was again deemed not ready for action despite more positive noises about him from Woolf in the week leading up to kick-off. His absence continues to place too much responsibility on Lomax and unfair pressure on Welsby to deliver. It all adds up to an attack that is not quite clicking despite the early signs in this one. Saints face Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup next week which could be a significant step up in class if Leeds get their first choice outside backs on the park. None of Konrad Hurrell, Harry Newman, Jack Walker or Ash Handley have featured so far for the Richard Agar’s side. Some of these are out long term but if any of them should return for the cup clash Coote could be a huge key to securing our progress. Which is essential since we haven’t won the thing since 2008. 

Also missing from this one was Mark Percival. The centre left the field shortly after scoring against Salford last week and was not named in Woolf’s 21-man squad for Round 2. That gave an opportunity to Josh Simm to celebrate signing his new deal with the club with another opportunity in the first team. Simm never lets anyone down but is perhaps lucky that this game was played behind closed doors otherwise someone might have asked him for an entrance fee. Woolf’s tactical plan does not really concern itself with getting early ball to the centres. Simm and Kevin Naiqama carried the ball 21 times between them, often early in sets and deep in their own territory. This relative lack of involvement doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about their quality. Naiqama has played 113 NRL games and is the captain of Fiji, but his only opportunity to score in two games came when Krisnan Inu dropped the ball a couple of metres from his own line in Saints opener. Simm had one opportunity to stamp his mark on this game just after half-time but knocked on when it looked like Saints had numbers on their left edge.

Those unreliable stats prevent me from giving you an accurate analysis of how the pack went (Alex Walmsley 54 metres on only 5 carries, can this be true?), but as with the backs it is not the personnel but the philosophy which keeps them from shining too brightly. Sione Mata’utia, Joel Thompson and James Bentley all run hard and - according to those stats I have such trust issues with - made 91 tackles between them. Bentley is alleged to have made 46 of those which goes some way to explaining why he only has the energy for 52 metres on eight carries. Even if the true figure is twice that it is not quite the NRL-bothering stat-line that would explain to me why everyone you talk to has Bentley down as the second coming of Gorden Tallis. Which isn’t his fault necessarily. It is the Woolf way and we should probably get used to it until he we fail to win a title and the entire fan base is pointing out that the rugby is boring. 

Which on this evidence doesn’t look all that likely for a while. Look around Super League in the first two rounds and you won’t find anything to match the dominant defence played by Woolf’s side. Clearly he believes that it is this - rather than passing the ball between your legs for an assist like Ben Currie or throwing it out to Tom Johnstone on your own goal-line and watching the carnage unfold as Wakefield did against Leeds in Round 1 - which wins championships.  He’s probably right too, but he needs to be.

As each week passes it looks more and more like he’s staked his job on it.