Saints finally return to action when they host free-falling Wigan Warriors on Sunday night (July 4, kick-off 7.30pm).
If it feels like a long time since you saw Saints take to the field that’s because it is. Kristian Woolf’s relentless grind has not been inflicted upon us since the fairly abject 6-2 defeat by Warrington on June 17. Back then France were nailed on to win the Euros, Matt Hancock was the Health Secretary and Greg Inglis had a minor hamstring injury. Life comes at you fast, especially for Warriors coach Adrian Lam. He is staring at a fifth consecutive league defeat in charge of the pie shifters. If he suffers that fate in a derby then surely calls will grow among the Wigan support for the former PNG international to be ushered towards the door marked ‘please leave quietly’.
Saints biggest problem is their inactivity. Prior to the Wire loss they had a game at Leeds postponed due to Covid issues in the Rhinos camp before clashes with Hull KR and Castleford were also scuppered. The Tigers game was awarded to Saints due to the West Yorkshire side’s failure to meet the threshold of having seven senior players ruled out for reasons directly related to Covid. Reports that Paul McShane had a stag do that day, Michael Shenton a wedding and Liam Watts had a note from his mum are unconfirmed.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of cancellations and postponements it is turning into another dog’s arse of a season. The authorities were given a pass on the mess that was 2020 considering that was a year of vaccine-less chaos throughout society let alone most sports. Yet this year rugby league seems to be the only sport that continues to be disrupted on a weekly basis. Only this week Salford Red Devils called off their next two fixtures while Thursday night’s Hull derby had long bitten the dust and been replaced in the Sky Sports schedules with endless re-runs. Just what are our sports’ players doing with their down time to pick up so many infections and close contacts? And while we’re about it why do close contacts still need to isolate if none of the Scotland football squad did after Billy Gilmour’s positive test following the match with England at Wembley?
Hull FC’s players were reportedly having the vaccine this week which has to be a positive step. If we don’t stop haemorraging fixtures then there will be further problems with an already reduced broadcast deal. We are sliding towards a path on which our talismen in the pack are also our groundsmen and I for one am not going back to amateurism with this team. The genie is out of the bottle. We have seen what professionalism looks like. Even now we complain about standards in Super League. Imagine paying to see it played by part-timers who are primarily plumbers and gardeners.
Back to the matter in hand, which is the still fully professional derby. Woolf had to leave Jonny Lomax out of the 21-man squad which was set to take on Castleford but the extra rest before this one means Saints’ stand off is available again. Also returning is Mark Percival. The centre hasn’t been named in a squad since the 34-16 win over Hull FC on May 28. That followed a lay off after suffering an injury in the cup win over Leeds in April. It all adds up to what has been a difficult couple of years for Percival. He made only a handful of appearances in 2020. Fingers crossed that when he gets back on the field it is for the long term and not another false dawn.
One player who looks unlikely to be around for the long term is Lachlan Coote. Reports this week suggest the Australian fullback is seriously considering an offer from Hull KR. Coote’s Saints contract expires at the end of this season and the word around the camp fire is that the offer from Rovers is longer than the one on the table from Saints. At 32 he may opt for that extra slice of security even if at first glance jumping from the ranks of the back to back champions to those of one of the league’s perennial basket cases seems a little demented.
For now Coote takes his place in a back division that also includes Lomax and Percival along with wingers Tommy Makinson and Regan Grace and centre Kevin Naiqama. Or maybe it will be Jack Welsby, whose ability to play just about anywhere has the potential to be both a help and a hindrance to his chances of selection. Another man set to be upping sticks next year completes the back division in halfback Theo Fages. Is there anyone left for next year? Spare a thought also for Lewis Ddd who was set for his first start in the halves against Castleford in the absence of Lomax but will now likely have to be content with pretending to be a hooker when James Roby gets tired. Which only really happens on Thursdays.
Speaking of the forwards I wonder if Woolf caught the recent England v Combined Nations game and was in any way influenced by it. Morgan Knowles - who wasn’t even English until a week last Tuesday - was a revelation at prop that night. Playing there allowed him to do all the things he is good at - tackling, harrassing kickers, generally annoying opponents - but also some of the things we don’t really see from him in a Saints shirt. Like getting his hands on the ball often enough to make significant metres, it turns out he is quite a handful, which has been a well kept secret in the age of the plodding, false loose forward.
Of course, Woolf will not do this. Why would he when he can pair one of Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Kyle Amor or the lesser spotted Dan Norman with Alex Walmsley at prop? Yes, that was sarcasm. Knowles will no doubt stay put at 13 leaving Agnatius Paasi as the only really threatening prop other than Walmsley. Paasi tends to be used sparingly by Woolf so we will need McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Amor to be at their best to help dampen the fire of Wigan’s young thugs in the front row. Help is on the way though, with Woolf suggesting that Matty Lees may be in contention for a return from his ankle injury next week when Saints face Wakefield.
Behind those guys Joel Thompson - who recently announced he would retire at the end of his first year of a two-year deal with Saints - is out with a shoulder injury. Expect Sione Mata’utia to be partnered in the second row by Joe Batchelor with Jake Wingfield and Leeds-bound James Bentley still out injured.
Wigan will no doubt point to injuries as mitigation for the foul run they have been on. A quite hilarious 48-0 walloping in Perpignan was followed by defeats to Hull KR, Wakefield and then a pretty comprehensive 40-14 pumping by Warrington. Bevan French has been lost for the season to an Inglis-style hamstring injury while a similar problem has been afflicting Jai Field since the early weeks of the season. Dom Manfredi had to announce his retirement this week at the age of just 27, though there are still plans for him to get back on the field and finish this season first. Zak Hardaker has a neck injury, John Bateman picked up a knee problem on England duty and head grub Morgan Smithies joined the casualty list when he damaged his ankle in the loss to Warrington. Tony Clubb remains suspended following the racist language he directed at Andre Savelio.
So who do they have? Jackson Hastings has been filling in at fullback which means that Harry Smith and Thomas Leuluai are the likely halfback pairing. Oliver Gildart has missed much of this season at centre but returned recently, while a once frightening group of wingers now relies on Jake Bibby and injury-prone Liam Marshall. Willie Isa looks favourite to partner Gildart in the centres.
Up front hooker Sam Powell and the excellent Liam Farrell are the experienced standouts along with former Leeds man Brad Singleton. Beyond them it is indisciplined youth wherever you look in Liam Byrne, Oliver Partington, Joe Bullock and company. Among the Warriors’ group of young debt collectors the best prospect could be Ethan Havard. Yet you get the feeling that without the leadership of Clubb and the blatant shithousing of Smithies Lam’s men will have it all on to stop Saints rolling when Walmsley is on the field.
It is hard to make a case for Wigan avoiding that fifth straight loss. It probably won’t be pretty and we’ll probably have to put up with another presser in which Woolf claims our dreadful attack is just a bit off but getting better. But in the end Saints should be too strong, earning a win to finally get back in a League Leadership race that was in danger of passing them by as they lay inactive. 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, 13, Morgan Knowles, 14. Sione Mata’utia, 15. LMS, 16. Kyle Amor, 17, Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jack Welsby, 19, Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 22. Josh Simm, 25. Dan Norman, 29. Ben Davies.
Wigan Warriors;
4. Oliver Gildart 5. Liam Marshall 7. Tommy Leuluai 8. Brad Singleton 9. Sam Powell 10. Joe Bullock 11. Willie Isa 12. Liam Farrell 14. Oliver Partington 19. Liam Byrne 20. Harry Smith 21. Ethan Havard 22. Jake Bibby 23. Mitch Clark 25. Joe Shorrocks 27. Kai Pearce-Paul 29. James McDonnell 30. Umyla Hanley 31. Jackson Hastings 34. Brad O’Neill
Referee: James Child
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