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
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