Saints all but secured a top two finish in Super League with this unusually high octane, borderline exciting win at Warrington.
Kristian Woolf has enjoyed great success since arriving at Saints at the start of 2020, so it is surprising to note that this was his first league win over the Wolves. Once you have digested that startling fact you may be less surprised to learn - given Woolf’s grindtastic approach - that Kevin Naiqama’s 14th minute try was the first for Saints against Wire in the league under Woolf. Saints were caned 19-0 by Warrington prior to last season’s shutdown, and failed to score a try against them again in a dire 6-2 loss in June which is somehow held up as some sort of rugby league classic. It’s true what the doom mongers say. The game has gone.
Back to the present, or three days ago to be more accurate. There were a number of changes to Saints line-up from the one which had beaten Leigh 42-12 four days earlier. Jonny Lomax has been ruled out for around for weeks with the hamstring problem he picked up in that win so Jack Welsby slotted into the halves alongside Lewis Dodd. That meant the return of Tommy Makinson from suspension was timely as it allowed Naiqama to switch back to the centre position vacated by Welsby. Mark Percival had been rested against Leigh and was restored which meant Josh Simm unfortunately missed out.
In the pack James Bentley was another returning from suspension - though he spent most of his evening trying to earn himself another rest at the behest of the disciplinary committee. He started in the second row at the expense of the improving, infinitely more level-headed and not-at-all-Leeds-bound Joe Batchelor, while Sione Mata’utia’s good showing on Thursday earned him the other second row spot ahead of Joel Thompson. The former Manly man did not even feature on the bench, with Jake Wingfield keeping his place there alongside props Agnatius Paasi and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook. Aaron Smith had started against Leigh but dropped out of the 17 altogether as James Roby returned.
Given some of the drudgery around the league in 2021 this game was the proverbial breath of fresh air. There seemed to be just the right mix of creative, open rugby and defensive intensity. The kind of game were points really have to be earned. We’ve seen that a lot, especially with Saints. What has been missing in those five-drive tales of misery was a couple of attacking sides who looked as though they firstly knew how and secondly could be bothered to earn those points.
Naiqama started the fun when he was sent in by a fabulous Welsby pass. He had linked up with Dodd before timing the ball perfectly for Naiqama to go over. Lachlan Coote could not add the extras but Saints were on the board at 4-0. That lead was extended five minutes later when Dodd sent Coote clear and then supported on his outside to receive the return, step inside the cover and score. If that wasn’t glorious enough it was greatly enhanced by the comedy gold of Josh Thewlis and Gareth Widdop running into each other like something from a 1920’s silent comedy as they tried to get back and help. Coote goaled this time and Saints led 10-0.
It wasn’t all going to plan, even if the intent was often enterprising. There was a spectacular misfire a couple of minutes after Dodd’s try as Welsby’s searching pass sailed over the head of Makinson and into touch. Saints went close again soon after when Matty Lees failed to collect Dodd’s pass close to the line. Yet in the main these were teething problems that are bound to happen as two relatively inexperienced halves settle in and the rest of the team get used to playing alongside them. Certainly preferable to the endless stream of one-pass-off-the-ruck chugs up the middle to which we have become accustomed.
Yet the Woolfomaniacs will point out that these sorts of errors give life to your opposition, and so it was that Lees’ near miss started the chain of events which saw Wire produce a wild 10 minutes prior to half-time. George Williams exploited a gap in the Saints defensive line and sent Ben Currie racing away on his outside to score Wire’s first points of the night. Stefan Ratchford’s conversion pulled the Wolves that little bit closer at 10-6.
Five minutes later it was on the other side of the pitch where Saints were exposed. Jake Mamo broke down the right and fed Thewlis whose kick ahead bounced up beautifully for the chasing Williams to collect and squeeze over in the corner. There was a suggestion that Widdop may have been in front of the kicker - and therefore offside - but the try was awarded after a video review. It had been sent up as a try by referee Liam Moore and was probably deemed too close a call to overturn that decision. Ratchford’s second successful conversion gave Warrington a 12-10 lead that was slightly surprising on the balance of play.
They were not quite finished there. With a minute to go to the break Coote was bamboozled by a towering bomb and gifted Wire a set of six deep in Saints territory. The defence was stretched to breaking point before Batchelor slowed down the attack by holding on to the tackled player a little too long. He avoided a yellow card but Ratchford landed another goal to send the home side into the dressing rooms with a 14-10 advantage.
Saints regained the lead five minutes after the break with the moment of the match and one of the moments of the season and of Woolf’s entire tenure. Mamo was in possession by the right hand touchline, looking for some semblance of a clue what to do with it on the last play. His hesitation was fatal as Batchelor manhandled him, ripped the ball from his grasp and handed it to Percival in space. The centre had 70 metres to go and was being hunted down by Ratchford and Currie. They caught him, only for Percival to easily brush them off with a couple of perfectly executed fends. It was highly reminiscent of Paul Newlove at his best, the way he used to nonchalantly unburden himself of anyone with designs on tackling him. It showed a different side to Percival, who has always been fast and elusive but not necessarily known for being difficult to tackle if you get close enough.
Coote’s conversion put Saints 16-14 in front. It was a lead they would not relinquish. Things got a little strange as the game was stopped at the request of the match commissioner soon after. Confusion reigned for a while with reports that a fire alarm had been sounded and that fireworks had been let off inside the stadium. Fortunately it was not deemed necessary to evacuate the stadium and soon after the game restarted Saints produced a decisive blow. Welsby’s kick in behind the Wire defence could have bounced anywhere but in the event it hopped obligingly away from the flailing Ratchford and into the arms of the on-rushing Bentley. It was only his second try of an injury-hit 2021 and his ninth in 48 appearances for Saints. With a move to Leeds on the horizon it could yet turn out to be one of his most memorable.
Ratchford missed an opportunity to close the gap to six points when he skewed a penalty wide after a high shot by Mata’utia on Ellis Longstaff. That was probably the moment at which the jig was well and truly up for Warrington. They hadn’t really looked like scoring a try in the second half and by this time they were also spurning very presentable chances to score points with the boot.
Their frustration was palpable, and they technically ended the game with 11 men. Tom Lineham was the first to go, very fortunate to see yellow rather than red when he was wrong-footed by Coote and proceeded to throw a desperate, lunging arm into the fullback’s face. It was more of a grab than a swing but there was enough force to leave Coote requiring treatment. The Saints man popped over another penalty goal after a ball steal in the next set to round off the scoring at 24-14.
Still the drama wasn’t at an end. After Bentley was taken high by Thewlis a skirmish developed with players running in from pretty much every WA postcode. Widdop covered himself in ignominy by offering a forearm on Bentley that was so late and cowardly it had Adrian Lam and the Wigan recruitment team casting admiring glances. Bentley is as Bentley does, so he retaliated in a manner aggressive enough to ensure that he joined Widdop on the list of yellow card recipients. He game was over, so 10 minutes in the bin seemed an odd sort of sanction. But ‘rules is rules’ and it was probably the only option open to Moore short of letting them both off.
This was a pretty good team performance with Welsby and Dodd the star attractions and major creators. Industry as well as inspiration was provided by Percival (165 metres on 15 carries) and Tommy Makinson (130 metres on 18 carries). Surprisingly, no Saints forward was able to break through the 100 metre barrier. Walmsley came closest with 98. That is the same figure as Warrington’s top performing forward, Jack Hughes. Morgan Knowles, Batchelor and newly contracted cheerleader Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook managed less than 50. I think it might be high time we stopped going on about our fearsome pack and started to recognise how reliant it is on Walmsley. The retention of McCarthy-Scarsbrook at 36 (but.....Ronaldo....) is not likely to help in that department but perhaps the addition of Curtis Sironen from Manly Sea Eagles which was announced today might.
To be fair to Knowles he got through his usual impressive defensive shift with 35 tackles. That was bettered on Saints side by only Roby with 39 and Bentley’s 38. Some of which were legal and not followed by needless afters. For Wire, Chris Hill shrugged off another HIA to rack up 44 tackles while Joe Philbin made 40 and Hughes 38.
Next up for Saints is the fixture that will determine once and for all whether they retain hopes of lifting the League Leaders Shield going into the last two weeks. A showdown with Catalans Dragons at Newcastle’s Magic Weekend. The league has finally closed the buffet for long enough to announce that any games still to be arranged due to Covid postponements will now not be played. The upshot of that is that there are now only three rounds left before the start of the playoffs. A loss to the Dragons this week will leave Saints two losses worse off than Steve McNamara’s side with only two to play. It is unlikely to be the phoney war we saw when the teams met in St Helens in an early August hurricane. If Saints win and then both teams win out in the final fortnight it will be decided by the kind of points average formula so complex that one shudders to imagine how many buffets were picked clean to enable the luminaries running the show to come up with it.
Regardless, Saints seem certain now to get a week off in the first round of the playoffs. Add that to the breaking of Woolf’s Wire duck, the silencing of a noisy, under-achieving neighbour and the emergence of a hugely exciting halfback partnership and it was a pretty good night all round.
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