When you are a week away from a major final you’d probably fancy a gentle assignment as a tune up. With that in mind Saints might have mixed feelings about travelling to Wakefield to face Trinity on Friday night (July 9, kick-off 7.45pm).
On the one hand there are many stronger outfits in Super League than Wakefield. Chris Chester’s side currently sit ninth in the table with just four wins from their 12 league outings so far. Only Huddersfield Giants, Salford Red Devils and Leigh Centurions win less frequently than the team formerly known as the Wildcats. And yet somehow a trip to the Mobile Rocket Stadium is still one to be filed under ‘difficult’. Hull KR and Wigan have both been Mobile Rocketed back from whence they came with nothing to show for their visit in recent weeks.
The small matter of the Wembley date with Castleford Tigers in the Challenge Cup final complicates this one further for Saints coach Kristian Woolf. There are just eight days between the Wakefield game and Saints bid to win a first Challenge Cup for 13 years. All of which leaves Woolf with some tricky decisions to make. Does he go strong to try and secure a dominant win to pile the pressure on League Leaders Catalans Dragons who play at in-form Leeds at the same time? Or does he wrap some of his stars up in the knowledge that the real battles in Super League will take place further down the line?
On the face of it it seems that Woolf has chosen to go pretty strong. He has made just two changes to the 21-man squad on duty for last week’s 24-6 win over Wigan. The only glaring omission is Marmite bomb-fancier Theo Fages. It’s not clear whether the Frenchman is nursing any kind of injury but Sean Long said something insightful during his derby day punditry stint which may offer a clue. Long revealed that he would always ask to be left out the week before a Wembley final as he found it hard to focus with the bigger game looming. Perhaps Fages has made a similar request. If he has then it is there that the similarities between him and Long begin and end.
From glaring omissions to headline inclusions. The name of Matty Lees is on the squad list for the first time since the Challenge Cup win over Leeds Rhinos in early April. Lees broke an ankle early in that game has not featured since. He looks set to return to the 17 this week to boost a front row in which Alex Walmsley and James Roby do far too much heavy lifting. Agnatius Paasi is a useful but sparsely used contributor but there is considerably less bite in the Saints pack when Kyle Amor or Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook have the onus on them to lead. Dan Norman was an option until news broke today that he has joined Salford on loan for a week. And you thought that rainy week in Morecambe when you were nine years old was bad.
Returning after a somewhat shorter lay-off than the one endured by Lees is Joel Thompson. Soon to be retired, Thompson is running out of time to make any sort of impact following his move from Manly at the start of this term. He has been carrying a shoulder injury and will be keen to prove his fitness for what will be his one and only shot at a Wembley final. He competes for a second row spot with Sione Mata’utia and the in-form Joe Batchelor with Morgan Knowles likely to operate behind them at 13.
Fages’ absence could open the door to Lewis Dodd for a first start in the halves. The chance to see how Dodd goes alongside Jonny Lomax for a full 80 minutes is one of the potential fascinations of the fixture. Would Saints be any more expansive with Dodd at the wheel or would it be proven once and for all that Fages’ lack of creativity is a product of the strict implementation of Woolfball? If Dodd is allowed to express himself he could fire the bullets for a who’s who of a back line which includes Tommy Makinson, Regan Grace, Mark Percival, Kevin Naiqama and Hull KR’s new addition for 2022 Lachlan Coote. Jack Welsby had to settle for a place on the bench against Wigan last week and may have to again. That is unless Woolf surprises us all and elects to field Welsby in the halves alongside Lomax. Maybe he’ll play both Welsby and Dodd and rest Lomax for the big one? No permutation is too unlikely this close to a cup final.
Wakefield have had a couple of weeks off after their last outing against Salford fell victim to rugby league’s inability to handle Covid. That may leave Chester’s side suitably refreshed, and they will be boosted by the return of Reece Lyne, Joe Westerman, Liam Kay and Kelepi Tanginoa who all featured in the England v Combined Nations game a fortnight ago. Unfortunately the C-word is still playing havoc with Chester’s plans as he revealed that despite naming 19 players in his squad he expects only 17 to be fit, well and non-contagious enough to take to the field. He has neglected to reveal who the unfortunate pair are at this stage but Wakefield’s team will literally pick itself.
Sadly, Tom Johnstone will not feature after undergoing knee surgery. It is the latest setback in a career that despite the winger’s huge potential has never really got going. The recent announcement of Dom Manfredi’s retirement at just 27 is a cautionary tale. In Johnstone’s absence much of the the flair will be provided by the halfback pairing of Mason Lino and Jacob Miller, while up front David Fifita offers a problem few other sides pose. Assuming they’re all available, of course.
Assuming also that Woolf does not tinker with his side too much it is hard to make a case for Trinity in this one. Saints relentless physicality and fitness is likely to wear flakey Wakey down at a certain point. As so often with Saints against lower opposition it is a question of whether they will break the shackles placed on them by Woolf enough to make it a more comfortable night. More likely they will keep Trinity at arms length without ever threatening to press down on the accelerator. Saints by 18.
Squads;
Wakefield Trinity;
Max Jowitt, Reece Lyne, Liam Kay, Jacob Miller, Mason Lino, David Fifita, Kyle Wood, Tinirau Arona, Matty Ashurst, Kelepi Tanginoa, Joe Westerman, Jay Pitts, Eddie Battye, James Batchelor, Innes Senior, Joe Arundel, Yusuf Aydin, Lee Kershaw, Ryan Hampshire.
St Helens;
- Lachlan Coote, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Kevin Naiqama, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Regan Grace, 6, Jonny Lomax, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Joel Thompson, 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.
Referee: Ben Thaler
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