Saints opened up clear daylight at the top of the Super League table with another dominant derby win on Friday (April 15).
It was the champions’ fourth consecutive victory over the minor inconvenience from down the road. You have to go back to the strange world of October 2020 for the Warriors last success on derby day. That was a win which was followed three weeks later by Saints’ memorable Grand Final triumph at Hull - THAT Jack Welsby try and all that - so it is easy to forget about.
Both sides came into this one with a few personnel problems so team selection was always going to be interesting. With Curtis Sironen suspended and Sione Mata’utia still recovering from injury Saints coach Kristian Woolf gave a competitive debut to James Bell. Will Hopoate was out with a hamstring problem so Jon Bennison was handed another start following his promising performance in the 26-0 win at Leeds a fortnight ago. Bennison looks to have moved ahead of Josh Simm in the pecking order and is gaining valuable experience in the continued absence of Regan Grace and with Hopoate struggling to find fitness on a consistent basis.
Dan Norman can consider himself unfortunate to be left out of the 17 after his recent good form. Jake Wingfield was the beneficiary, taking his place on the bench alongside Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Agnatius Paasi and Joey Lussick.
Wigan were without Zak Hardaker after another breach of discipline which is so far light on detail, but off the charts heavy on predictability. Neither Ian Thornley nor Kai Pearce-Paul were available so Jake Bibby and John Bateman started in the centre positions. Abbas Miski got a start on the wing with Liam Marshall also out.
Wigan started this one pretty well and should have had the lead inside the first minute. Cade Cust broke down the left channel and found Bibby in support but his pass to Liam Farrell was poorly executed and ended up on the turf. Arguably Farrell should still have held on to it but between them the pair had managed to butcher a certain try. For this observer attending his first game of 2022 following far too much time spent in the company of a surgeon it was one of the highlights of the game if not the whole season to this point. Joyous and hysterical in equal measure.
Saints didn’t take very long to produce a response, even if ultimately they were on the wrong end of the first of several eccentric decisions by video referee Chris Kendall. Konrad Hurrell turned in a thrilling, high risk performance at right centre and he should have had his third try of the season with just seven minutes on the clock. He piled over on the right and touched down for what seemed a perfectly legitimate try. However, Kendall noted that the ball had come free from Hurrell’s hand and decided to chalk it off.
This decision ignored the fact that Hurrell’s arm seemed to stay in contact with the ball throughout the grounding process. Kendall awarded a try to Joe Batchelor in similar circumstances later in the game. Either the rules of the game changed at half time or Kendall got one of these calls wrong. Both were sent up as tries by on field referee Liam Moore. The guiding principle should be that the referee’s call stands unless there is compelling evidence to overturn. Kendall appears to have applied that principle to Batchelor’s later effort but not to Hurrell’s. I’m not sure there was enough evidence to overturn either but since Moore called try in each case then either both were tries or neither were.
Saints suffered another blow just a minute later when defensive lynchpin Morgan Knowles had his afternoon cut short. Farrell seemed to lead with his shoulder while carrying the ball into contact. As he did so Knowles fell backwards and collided with Bell on his way down. Saints’ leading tackler was sent for a head injury assessment from which he did not return.
Things were tight for a short time thereafter. A textbook steal by Lewis Dodd from crack headhunter Willie Isa came to nothing when Alex Walmsley lost possession early in the ensuing set. Saints then misfired when Jonny Lomax’s pass put Bennison in space down the left but was ruled forward by Moore. Then came another frustrating brush with Kendall and his magic TV screen. Bateman unwisely tried to offload to Jai Field near half way but only succeeded in finding the arms of Batchelor. With confusion reigning in the Wigan ranks Batchelor streaked away to touch down under the posts. After forensic examination that could have filled several episodes of CSI Kendall was somehow convinced that Batchelor had knocked the ball into a Wigan player before gaining control. He was making things up as he went along by now. So confused was he that during his deliberations - around viewing number 743 - Kendall referred to Batchelor as the already departed Knowles. Derby day gets to everyone it seems.
Having been thwarted twice Saints then fell behind. Field was always going to be one of the major offensive threats for Wigan and so it proved a quarter of the way into proceedings. Tommy Leuluai took a breather from shithousery to produce a fabulous inside ball to the fullback who raced away from the covering Welsby to score in the right hand corner. It was a bold effort by Welsby but from my position in the North Stand I could see that the race was over as soon as Field moved into space. Welsby is no slouch to use the commentator’s cliche, but there are few if any in Super League who can mix it with Field in a straight foot race. It was the former Parramatta Eel’s 10th try of an impressive season so far. If Wigan’s attack has improved greatly in 2022 so far it is as much to do with Field’s return to fitness as it is with the club’s hierarchy politely asking Adrian Lam to do one. Field could not add the extras but the visitor’s led 4-0.
Hurrell has been handed a two-match penalty notice for an incident which occurred shortly after, but which nobody - not even Moore - seemed to notice. In attempting to tackle Cust Hurrell was placed into a position where he was applying pressure to Cust’s neck by Farrell as he attempted to lend weight to Cust’s carry. Whether Hurrell would have found himself in the same position but for Farrell’s intervention is extremely debatable. At the start of the season the authorities’ strict liability policy might have made this a bit more understandable. Yet since this approach was seemingly thrown out of the nearest window a few weeks ago it is perplexing to say the least. The upshot is that barring a successful appeal Saints will now be without one of their most impressive performers for a couple of games starting with next Friday’s visit to Castleford (April 22).
I wasn’t sold on Hurrell when he made the move over from Leeds. Yet I loved the way he played here. He made a lot of errors in the end (three of Saints’ total of 15) yet he was a constant threat, forever looking for an offload that would put Tommy Makinson in space. Hurrell finished the day with 90 metres on 10 carries, three tackle busts and a try assist.
That assist came just two minutes after the alleged crusher tackle on Cust and helped get Saints right back into the game. James Roby and Jonny Lomax combined on the right hand edge to create the opportunity for Hurrell to put Makinson over in the corner. It was the winger’s 11th try in Super League in 2022, putting him joint top of the try-scoring charts alongside Salford’s Ken Sio. Makinson has been known more for his kick-returning and hard graft early in sets in recent years rather than his try scoring. He has not reached 20 in a season since 2019. Yet that part of his game is flourishing again in the absence of Grace.
Not that he has given up the tougher, less celebrated work. Nobody on either side made more than the 236 metres chewed up by Makinson in this game. A tally of over 200 metres is common in the NRL where metres are measured slightly differently. It is virtually unheard of in Super League. Makinson leads the league in this category this year with 1326 metres from his eight league appearances so far. That’s almost 100 more than Field who is his nearest challenger. Makinson kicks goals too, although he couldn’t convert his own try here leaving the match level at 4-4. Makinson has kicked 19 goals this season but is converting only around 55% of his attempts. This might be the one area where Saints are demonstrably weaker than in the last three seasons when they could rely on Lachlan Coote. Now winning derbies for Hull KR, Coote was successful with around 79% of his attempts at goal last season.
Saints should have taken the lead a few minutes after Makinson’s try. Dodd sent a searching bomb towards the Wigan line and it was McCarthy-Scarsbrook who climbed highest to claim possession. Unfortunately his attempted off load hit nothing but grass as it fell behind the supporting chasers.
This was put right five minutes later after a slightly scrappy period of play. Welsby’s errant pass was put down by Bennison putting Saints under pressure but the Wigan set ended with Makinson miraculously sidewinding his way out of his own in-goal area. A couple of minutes and one McCarthy-Scarsbrook error later the go ahead try arrived. It was set up by two excellent bursts by Paasi as his influence off the bench grew. Again it was Roby, Lomax and Hurrell combining to find Makinson. This time the winger drew the covering defence before finding Lomax supporting on his inside for an easy walk-in. This conversion was much more straightforward for Makinson and Saints led 10-4 just after the half hour mark.
Another iffy call by Moore prevented Hurrell creating a further opportunity. The Tongan was adjudged to have knocked on when competing for an attacking high ball yet it seemed to go forward off Bevan French. Saints did extend their lead right on half time as Leuluai tackled Paasi without the ball deep inside the Warriors quarter. The halfback protested his innocence, claiming that Paasi had run straight at him but replays seemed to show a definite lunge towards the former New Zealand Warrior. It was another easy opportunity for Makinson and Saints went to the break with a 12-4 lead. It hardly reflected how well they had ripped control of the game from Wigan after their bright start.
The second half started poorly. Paasi knocked on from the first carry following the kick-off but Wigan could not take advantage as Cust gifted possession back to Saints. The ball was actually stripped by Lomax, which is fine if you catch Moore on a day like this but not exactly the smartest way to defend your line. Nevertheless Lomax got away with it and after another attempted miracle ball from Hurrell forced Makinson into touch Wigan indulged in more self harm when Oliver Padtington’s pass to Patrick Mago went forward.
On the next set Saints decisively stretched their advantage. This time it was Batchelor’s turn to test Kendall’s powers of observation as he twisted away from a group of Wigan tacklers to snake out an arm to ground the ball. Again it seemed that the ball had come free from the hand but stayed in contact with the arm all the way to the ground. What had not been good enough for Hurrell earlier was deemed good enough for Batchelor as the eccentric officiating continued. Makinson could not convert but at 16-4 the wind was only blowing one way. And it was not towards Wigan.
Three minutes later Makinson had a chance to absolutely seal it but instead made pretty much his only non-goal-kicking mistake of the day. He went clear down the right flank but his attempted inside pass to Hurrell was knocked down by French. A simple dummy would have meant try number 12 of the season for the England winger. In choosing the selfless route he delayed too long and allowed French the chance to intervene.
Makinson did add to Saints lead a minute later, converting a penalty goal after Farrell had gone high on Bell. That put Wigan in a 14-point hole at 18-4. They never really threatened to clamber out of it. Their chances of doing so were reduced further when Leuluai left the game with a knee injury and Sam Powell was marched to the sin-bin soon after. The Wigan hooker was extraordinarily lucky not to have been shown a red card after a quite scandalous crusher tackle on Bennison. How Moore saw fit to only issue yellow only he will know. I suspect he didn’t see it at all and took advice from Kendall who had already shown that he was in no mood to make any decisions that would make this game more one-sided.
Powell would probably have been yellow carded for his first effort on Bennison, the kind of clumsy lowering of a ball carrier that you see more and more in the modern game and which is sometimes unavoidable. Yet his second effort, failing to adjust his dangerous position and then slamming Bennison violently to the ground was appalling. Bennison has only made three first team appearances in his young career and Powell’s tackle was the kind which could easily have made this one Bennison’s last. The consequences of Powell’s actions could potentially have been life changing for Saints’ 19 year-old winger. The disciplinary have set up a tribunal date of this coming Wednesday (April 20) and need to throw the book at the Wigan man. If you read any whiny posts or articles from journalists and fans suggesting that the ban is too harsh or that ‘the game’s gone’ then chances are the authorities will have done their job. The whole affair was an act of indefensible grubbery. And let’s be clear, he is that sort of player even if Wigan boss Matty Peet will no doubt argue that he is not.
It took a while for the game to restart. McCarthy-Scarsbrook reacted to Powell’s shameful behaviour by rushing in and initiating an unseemly bout of handbags. No doubt the bloodthirsty element would have enjoyed it, particularly since Moore neglected to issue any more cards. Instead he settled for a quiet word with Roby and Bateman as the two captains. Had there been further yellows I wouldn’t have argued, but nor would I have been too critical of McCarthy-Scarsbrook. Clearly he realised how dangerous the tackle was and was obviously further incensed by the fact that Powell had picked on an inexperienced teenager - and a winger to boot who is giving away not just experience but plenty of weight to Powell too.
The game never really settled over the next 10 minutes. There was another misfire between Hurrell and Makinson while Ethan Havard’s break was cheekily halted by Dodd who trailed the Wigan prop before snaffling his attempted pass. It looked like the young Saints half had called for the ball and that Harvard had naively trusted the shout. It was the second steal of an otherwise understated performance from Dodd which ended early with an injury. More on which later.
If Saints needed another score to wrap the points up it arrived on 64 minutes. Again it required confirmation from Kendall after several replays. Though Mark Percival looked close to being offside from the kick it was clear that Miski had been the one to get a hand to it before the Saints centre produced a deft flick over a second Wigan defender, regathered and grounded the ball. Another missed conversion seemed academic as Saints pushed out to a commanding 22-4 lead.
Thoroughly ground down, Wigan were even denied the consolation of a late score inside the last 10 minutes. Miski seemed certain to score in the right hand corner but Bennison’s desperate effort was enough to force the Warriors winger to put a foot in touch. It was an effort which typified the defensive desire of the champions which is often the difference between them and the rest of this league at present.
The last few minutes were error strewn. Farrell throwing the ball forward to Bibby after it had earlier been kicked into Hurrell’s face and broken kindly for Wigan. Paasi making another telling charge only to lose all of the yardage he had gained with a wild offload to nobody in particular. Welsby putting it down after a hospital ball from Lomax. Makinson making the final mistake, probably through sheer fatigue after another all-action performance.
Derby or not, Saints’ defence continues to suffocate opponents. The four points conceded here mean that across the first eight rounds of Super League Saints are shipping fewer than seven points per game to their opponents. The next best defence in Super League belongs to Catalans Dragons who average more than twice that figure at 15 points per game.
Just three days after this high octane if ultimately comfortable win Saints face another top four opponent when they travel to Huddersfield on Easter Monday (April 18). They will be without Knowles due to the mandatory concussion protocols and Dodd around whom there are some disturbing, as yet unconfirmed reports of a serious, long term injury. Bell should get another opportunity in Knowles’ absence after a superb debut which saw him gain 133 metres and complete 32 tackles. Sironen should return from suspension to give Saints’ back row a solid look to it despite the absence of Knowles.
Replacing Dodd is more complex. Welsby could move into the halves and Bennison to fullback to allow Simm to return on the wing. Roby or Lussick would do a job in the halves if required and Sironen also has experience of what he would call five-eighth, albeit a long time ago now.
In the end it was frantic for a while, and maybe Wigan are making improvements with the extra speed they have in their side this year. But Saints remain levels above not just Wigan but all of the other teams in Super League at the moment. Defeat at Toulouse clearly stung. They have since responded by nilling Leeds, dominating Catalans in the cup and now this ultimately comfortable win over the old enemy.
Injuries look like the only thing that can stop Saints making a real charge for a fourth title in a row.
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