Saints return to action for the first time since their Wembley triumph when they visit Hull FC on Monday night (August 2, kick-off 7.45pm).
It seems a long time since Kristian Woolf’s side ended their 13-year wait for Challenge Cup success by beating Castleford on a scorching July day beneath the arch. In the days immediately after it emerged that there were multiple positive Covid tests within the first team squad and staff, leading to the postponement of games against Hull KR and Huddersfield Giants. Cynics have pointed to the open top bus parade through the town which followed the cup final as a possible spreader event. We may never really know, but at the speed that bus was travelling it could have caught anything, including Covid. Saints had a pretty good record of avoiding infections to that point. Given the way the league has consistently invited teams to call fixtures off with its handling of the pandemic it is tough to point the finger at Saints if the celebrations lacked the requisite social distancing.
League leaders Catalans Dragons have picked up wins over Hull KR and Wakefield Trinity during Saints period of inactivity. All of which means that Saints - who still need to complete six fixtures before the end of September to meet the minimum of 18 required to be eligible for the playoffs, could do with a win. Meanwhile Hull have suffered convincing defeats to both Huddersfield and Leeds since they returned from a month-long Covid-related absence of their own. Brett Hodgson’s side have played only one more game than Saints and sit fifth in the table ahead of Leeds’ clash with Warrington Wolves on Sunday night (August 1). They need this win just as much, if not more.
Woolf kept himself in our minds during Saints layoff by announcing that he would be staying on for a third season in 2022. As much as this irks those of us who value the concept of entertainment it was really the only decision to be made unless the man himself had designs on being elsewhere. The rugby is uninspiring and hard to watch but it is impossible to criticise him on the basis of results. Woolf was already a Grand Final winner with Saints and in adding the Challenge Cup success to his CV he now has a trophy-winning record that compares with anything achieved by any other Saints coach in their first two seasons. Letting him go now would have made no sense competitively and would arguably have made Saints a basket case. This isn’t bloody Chelsea. That said, I don’t have to like the methods.
Woolf will be excited to get his team back on the field but he doesn’t quite have everyone on deck. The other big news since the Challenge Cup final concerned Theo Fages, who was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury picked up in his error-strewn first half performance at Wembley. With a move to the Giants looking on the cards for next season the Frenchman has probably played his last game in Saints colours. There will be some dialling the helplines for support over this but I’m not among them. Often hamstrung by Woolf’s obsessive conservatism, Fages has nevertheless flattered to deceive during much of his time at Saints. He can show you his medals and he has certainly played his part over the last few years, but with Lewis Dodd coming through and Woolf employing a system that is anti-halfback in any case it makes little sense to move the Earth to keep Fages. I wish him well. Perhaps he is one Keiron Cunningham signing that the former coach and legendary player can say didn’t work out too badly.
Fages is not the only one to miss out this week. Regan Grace has featured in every game since a 12-10 defeat at Salford last October in which Woolf saw fit to rest almost the entire first team, but is one of those who hasn’t made it this week. Joining him are prop forward Agnatius Paasi and centre Josh Simm as Woolf is only able to name a 20-man squad as opposed to the usual 21-strong party. With Grace out Jack Welsby must start favourite to fill in. He has already played on the wing in the absence of Tommy Makinson earlier in the season and is the sort of player you can pretty much rely on wherever you ask him to play. Mark Percival and Kevin Naiqama should then be unchallenged in the centres ahead of fullback Lachlan Coote.
Dodd looks to be the chief beneficiary of Fages’ misfortune and should slot in alongside Jonny Lomax in the halves for only his second Super League start. The young half was left out of the Wembley 17 just a week after making his first Super League start in a 30-14 win at Wakefield. He should now get a run of games and is about to become one of the keys to Saints chances of success somewhat sooner than might have been anticipated.
With Paasi out some impact is lost off the bench but it is an experienced group charged with providing the go-forward. Alex Walmsley is still one of the most dominant props in world rugby while Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook still have key roles to play despite their Saints careers seemingly winding down in what is an era of change for Saints personnel-wise. Matty Lees provides a more youthful energy while at hooker James Roby has started to drop hints about going around again in 2022. Aaron Smith is named and might finally get a spot on the bench. He has often been ousted by one or both of Welsby and Dodd but they now look likely to start which may open up a door for Smith.
The back row sees the return of Sione Mata’utia. The former Newcastle Knight was desperately unlucky to pick up a suspension which ruled him out of the cup final and should be primed for a charge towards Old Trafford through this latter part of the season. Joel Thompson hasn’t been here long but is fast running out of time having opted to retire at the end of year. Motivation should not be an issue for him either. Behind them workaholic Morgan Knowles offers defensive solidity and that extra 1% in areas that get less attention.
Hodgson has his problems after a promising start with the black and whites but at least consistency of selection will not be one of them this week. He has been able to name the same 21-man squad which was on duty for the defeat to the Rhinos last time out but that does still leave him without some of his best talent. Jake Connor, Josh Griffin, Scott Taylor and Jamie Shaul are all still sidelined. In addition, Andre Savelio won’t face his former club as he serves the second game of his suspension for a rather public disagreement with Josh Jones in the loss to Huddersfield.
Without that group FC can still call on an array of talent. Former Saint Adam Swift has as many Super League tries this term as Grace and Makinson combined, which perhaps says more about the Woolf philosophy than it does about the Saints wide men. Elsewhere in the backs Carlos Tuimavave is an impressive performer and there is pace and power in the shape of Mahe Fonua and Bureta Fairamo. The thinking is done by the halfback duo of Marc Sneyd and Josh Reynolds, the latter in particular seeming to turn Hull into an entirely different proposition when he is there to orchestrate.
Like most sides Hull will need to control Saints up front and win ground themselves against that stellar front row duo of Walmsley and Roby as well as the ever solid Knowles. Chris Satae and Ligi Sao looked like dominating early against Leeds but seemed to fade as the game wore on. They will need more consistency if Hull are to prosper. In all likelihood they just won’t have quite enough. The one concern would be that - as Hull have found recently - it is sometimes tough to get going again after an unusually long layoff during the season. Expect Saints to edge it but with very few marks for artistic impression.
Squads;
Hull FC;
2. Bureta Faraimo 3. Carlos Tuimavave 5. Mahe Fonua 6. Josh Reynolds 7.Marc Sneyd 9. Danny Houghton 10. Chris Satae 12. Manu Ma’u 13. Ligi Sao 14. Jordan Johnstone 15. Joe Cator 16. Jordan Lane 17. Brad Fash 19. Ben McNamara 20. Jack Brown 21. Adam Swift 22. Josh Bowden 23. Connor Wynne 24. Cameron Scott 27. Mitieli Vulikijapani 30. Jack Logan
St Helens;
- Lachlan Coote, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Kevin Naiqama, 4. Mark Percival, 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, 18. Jack Welsby, 19, Aaron Smith, 20, Joe Batchelor, 21. Lewis Dodd, 24. Josh Eaves, 25. Dan Norman, 27. Matty Foster.
Referee: James Child
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