They left it late but Saints restored their four-point cushion at the top of the Super League pile with a thrilling derby win in Newcastle on Saturday (July 9).
Having come out on the wrong end of the scoreline against Catalans Dragons in France last time out this one took on extra significance for Kristian Woolf’s side. Defeat would have allowed Wigan to move level on points with Saints at the top of the table while also gifting others an opportunity to close the gap. As it is the threepeaters now sit at the top with a degree of comfort thanks to this win and the weekend’s shock result which saw previously hapless Warrington hammer the Dragons.
Saints have had personnel problems throughout 2022 and Woolf found himself fighting fires again ahead of kick-off. Already without long term absentees Lewis Dodd and Mark Percival it was revealed earlier in the week that Tommy Makinson would also be missing for around a month with a hamstring problem. If all that were not tricky enough to deal there was more disruption when Alex Walmsley missed out due to the imminent arrival of the latest addition to his family.
Walmsley is a talisman for Saints in the front row. Someone who can lead his team in metre making even on an off day and dominate games on a good day. He was bound to be missed. His place in the starting line-up went to Agnatius Paasi while Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook returned after a month out with a facial injury. He took a spot on the bench alongside Joey Lussick, Jake Wingfield and Dan Norman. All of which was tough on James Bell who missed out while Curtis Sironen and Joe Batchelor took the starting second row roles.
Percival’s regular left centre slot was again filled by Sione Mata’utia and with Konrad Hurrell returning after illness that meant no place in the 17 this week for Ben Davies. Will Hopoate was having one of his healthy weeks and occupied the fullback role allowing Jon Bennison to slot into Makinson’s right wing spot.
Wigan welcomed back Cade Cust into the halves which meant that Jai Field reverted to fullback and Bevan French moved to the wing at the expense of Abbas Miski. Kai Pearce-Paul was out so Willie Isa partnered Jake Bibby in the centres. There was still no Tommy Leuluai so Cust was joined at halfback by Harry Smith. Joe Shorrocks started at loose forward with John Bateman and Liam Farrell forming a formidable looking second row.
When the action got under way it took time to develop into the thriller it became. The first half was not a classic as both sides made errors and missed opportunities. It was Saints who opened the scoring when - in a foreshadowing of the villainy to come - Brad Singleton went high on Jonny Lomax to give Bennison the chance to land the first two points of the game. Singleton’s challenge initially made contact with the shoulder but slid up, unlike his later effort.
Wigan responded on the half hour. It could have been all so different had Batchelor managed to hang on when he lunged to intercept Cust’s pass inside Saints territory. As it was the Warriors kept possession and moved the ball downfield. When Smith and Field found French out wide the winger strolled in virtually untouched at the right hand corner. It went largely unnoticed at the time - including by referee Liam Moore - but as Field released the pass to French he was contacted by Mata’utia.
The former Newcastle Knight picked up a one match ban for what was considered a late hit. However that ban has since been successfully appealed leaving Mata’utia free to take part when Huddersfield Giants visit for another big top four clash this weekend. It is the second time a suspended Saints player has won an appeal in as many weeks after Matty Lees successfully challenged his suspension for an incident in the Catalans game. All of which has caused urine to reach boiling point across the league.
Yet in Mata’utia’s case the decision seems fair enough. The challenge on Field was not late nor high, nor did it carry sufficient force to warrant another suspension. Yet perhaps it is still a surprise to see Mata’utia earn a reprieve given his less than impressive disciplinary record so far in 2022. The suspension would have been his third of the year. Add that to his injury problems and it becomes clear why he has only managed to make 12 appearances so far in 2022.
Smith added the extras to French’s try and Wigan led 6-2. They almost stretched that lead going into the break. Sam Powell thought he had grabbed a third try of the season when he was first to react to Bateman’s kick ahead after the ball had gone to ground. However, replays showed Powell was ahead of Bateman and therefore offside at the point when the ball was kicked. Wigan had to settle for a four-point advantage at the break at 6-2.
It didn’t take long for that lead to grow. Just two minutes into the second half Bateman scored Wigan’s second try. Field and Isa put French into space down the right wing and with Regan Grace bearing down on him French found a pinpoint kick back in-field which sat up perfectly for Bateman to collect and ease over. It was an impressive bit of skill from French in a game which to that point had sorely lacked it. Smith’s conversion had Saints in a bit of trouble, trailing by 10 points at 12-2.
Powell spurned the Warriors next chance as he came up with an error inside the Saints 10 metre line. That proved costly as the previously dormant Saints attack sprung into action. If the skill on show by French for Bateman’s try was impressive it was matched and even bettered by that of Batchelor as he went over to get Saints back into the contest. Hopoate had released Bennison down Saints’ right only for the youngster to be hauled down just outside the Wigan 20. Perhaps expecting Saints to spread the play from right to left, Wigan were caught out when Jack Welsby darted back towards the short side and found Batchelor.
The ex-York man still had it all do, but did it in sublime fashion as he dabbed the ball past the advancing Field and regathered to touch down in the right hand corner. Not known for his kicking game, Batchelor looked like Mikey Lewis in the Hull derby on this play. It was spectacular, and a measure of how much more there is to Batchelor’s game than seemed apparent when he arrived from the Championship club at the start of 2019. Unfortunately Bennison still couldn’t find the radar with the goal-kicking but Saints were back in touch at 12-6.
Yet they were still not impressing on last tackle plays. Mata’utia was the latest to be caught in possession on the last just a few metres from the Wigan line. It was beginning to look like a deliberate tactic in the style of Huddersfield Giants when they faced Matty Peet’s side in the Challenge Cup final. That didn’t end well and I’m not sure why we’d want to copy it. Fortunately we only had to wait a few more minutes for another opportunity.
It was Bateman who gifted Saints the chance, losing possession near his own 40 metre line as he hit the defensive line. The ball was scooped up by the ever alert Welsby, who set off down Saints’ left edge towards the try line. Chased by French, he bumped the Wigan man off just enough to give himself the space to surge over before French could recover. Referee Moore wasn’t totally convinced, sending it up as a try but asking video referee Chris Kendall to check for a double movement. It was clear from the replays that Welsby never stopped moving and grounded the ball cleanly. Bennison was still having no luck with the boot so Saints were still behind at 12-10 with just over a quarter of the game to play.
The try was another inspirational play by Welsby who has blossomed yet further since he was forced to take on extra responsibility with the move from fullback into the halves following Dodd’s injury. There is an argument - especially given Hopoate’s outstanding performance at 1 - for never moving Welsby back to the last line of defence. But then who do you drop? Dodd? Lomax? It’s a nice problem for Woolf to have but I’m glad it’s not my job to try and work out the best combination from that embarrassment of riches.
Welsby almost created more havoc a short time later when his chip and chase was gathered by Sironen only for the former Manly man’s pass to be snaffled by French. It was on Saints’ next foray deep into Wigan territory that the game took a possibly decisive twist. Sironen was brought down by Field 10 metres out. On his way to the ground he was met with a crunching hit by Singleton. On further inspection by the officials including Kendall in the video booth it turned out that Singleton had steamed in, turned his body and crashed his shoulder directly into the head of the Saints man.
Direct contact with the head - particularly with the shoulder - is always going to get you in trouble and so it proved as Singleton was shown a straight red card. He has subsequently been handed a three-game ban by the Match Review Panel which would seem to support the decision of the match day officials. That despite the endless bleating of Wigan fans mourning the fact that smashing somebody in the head is no longer just banter. Sironen left the field for an HIA but was able to return, but that doesn’t make hits to the head any less dangerous. It scarcely needs saying but in a climate where ex-players are suffering life changing brain injuries and taking legal action against the sport there has to be an attempt to eradicate this sort of contact from the game. You’ll probably never manage it completely but you can significantly reduce the risk with an effective deterrent.
As a result of Singleton’s actions not only would his side play the final quarter of an hour with 12 men, but in the immediate term they presented Bennison with one of his easier attempts at goal on the day. He landed just his second goal - both penalties - to bring Saints level at 12-12. Goal-kicking is becoming an issue for the champions. Makinson and Davies made just one of four between them last week in Perpignan as Saints lost out by just two points. History was threatening to repeat itself here with Bennison having already missed three attempts. He would miss another before the end, but that one would not be such a cause for consternation. Yet the contrast with Smith’s perfect three from three for Wigan is stark.
First though the contest swung wildly back in the direction of Wigan. Field took advantage of some tired defence to break from half way before sending a well weighted kick out towards French. The winger gathered it and skipped over to restore Wigan’s lead. Moore again elected to have it checked to see if French had strayed on to the sideline but it was never in doubt. Clearly believing this to be a decisive contribution French was moved to channel his inner Jose Mourinho, shushing the massed ranks of Saints supporters with what turned out to be the most ill advised gesture since Andrea Jenkyns flipped the bird to the crowd outside Downing Street. For now though Wigan were back in control as Smith found a superb conversion for an 18-12 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Nobody told Isa not to panic. His error inside his own half as he tried to play the ball quickly gave Saints a route back in once more. After Lussick had been held up short the ball was moved left to Hopoate by Lomax and the Tongan executed a perfect catch and pass straight into the path of Grace who walked in for his third try in only six appearances in 2022. With a deal to move to French rugby union in his pocket it is unclear how many more he will add to his Saints career tally of 87 tries and 139 appearances but this four-pointer turned out to be crucial. Bennison again missed with the conversion though so Saints still needed to find something in the final five minutes as they trailed 18-16.
They did of course. And how. A Mata’utia error at the Wigan 10 looked like being the champions’ last chance. Yet with some solid defence they fashioned one more. Just two minutes were left on the clock when Welsby shifted the ball right to Hopoate. With Bibby haring towards him from the defensive line Hopoate conjured an exquisite catch and pass to put Batchelor into the space vacated by the Wigan man. Batchelor surged 40 metres downfield with the aid of a masterful dummy to take Liam Marshall out of the game and virtually out of the stadium.
While virtually every Saints fan in Newcastle and at home screamed at him to use the overlap to his right Batchelor kept his composure to find Lomax on his inside. Lomax showed his big game mentality by being in the right place at the right time and being good enough to finish it off. It was a score that put Saints back in front for the first time since French’s first try some 50 minutes of game time earlier. Bennison’s latest conversion attempt hit the post but at this point, who cared?
There were seconds remaining. Just enough time for Wigan to try a short restart which they managed to bungle spectacularly. The kick failed to travel the requisite 10 metres giving Saints the opportunity to tap the penalty and take one tackle as time expired. As glorious wins go it was right up there. One for the ages. Kristian ‘it was a good game of footy’ Woolf has not been known for producing last gasp miracles in the way that an Ian Millward could. To be fair to Woolf be has been good enough to not have to produce them very often. But here his side showed that they can open up, they can thrill when the situation demands.
Looking at the stats and the top performers it is time to doff one’s cap to Hopoate. The ex-Canterbury man has been a frustrating no show more often than not in his first season with Saints but showed his worth here. Along with that assist for the Grace try and that delicious pass to Batchelor in the build up to the winner Hopoate reeled off a ridiculous 243 metres with ball in hand. As you might expect this dwarfed any other contribution on either side with Saints’ next best effort coming from Welsby with 142. Hurrell quietly accumulated 137 while the 131 made by Batchelor capped a phenomenal performance. His dribble around Field and his bamboozling of Marshall will live long in the memory. He has been establishing himself as someone who will do the tough stuff for some time now. Perhaps this was his breakout game as a genuinely classy, offensive back rower. Four other Saints passed the 100 metre mark. Lomax had 126, Paasi 113, Bennison 109 and Sironen 102.
Wigan’s top ground gainer was French with 160 metres closely followed by Bateman on 154 and Farrell on 145. Prop Ethan Havard showed he is a cut above his front row colleagues with 131, Marshall managed 117 and Field 104.
Defensively Havard was prominent too, sharing the game high tackle count with James Roby with 42. Batchelor didn’t neglect his defensive duties just because he was busy turning on the style in attack and was Saints’ next busiest defender with 35. Morgan Knowles and Lees also topped 30 with 35 and 31 respectively. For the Warriors Bateman came up with 39 tackles, Powell 36, Farrell 34 and Morgan Smithies 31.
Saints made one more clean break than their opponents with five to Wigan’s four, while Peet’s side had one extra error with 10 to Saints’ 9. Ten offloads is a measure of how much more expansive Saints were than is normally the case, a fact probably due to being behind for large parts of the game. Wigan’s tally of eight shows they weren’t afraid to open up either. I sneer at Peet’s inflated popularity and laugh at him when he complains about his players moving to Warrington, but the way his team is set up offensively is a far cry from the drudgery of the Adrian Lam regime. Of course it helps to have French and Field fit and available.
Topping the league has never been and probably never will be among Woolf’s priorities but his team are now in prime position to do it while still finding time to get players who need it a rest before the playoffs. Victory over Huddersfield at home on Friday (July 15) will leave the Giants seven points behind Saints with eight games to play, all but vanishing their hopes. It would also give Saints two wins out of three in this run of games against the other top four sides. Woolf is someone who would tell you he goes out to win every game but privately I have a feeling he’d have settled for that.
Two of those three will probably provide our post season opponents should we make it to the Grand Final. Beating them at that time of year is what will ultimately hold the key to winning four in a row.
Saints: Hopoate, Bennison, Hurrell, Mata’utia, Grace, Welsby, Lomax, Paasi, Roby, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wingfield, Norman
Wigan: Field, French, Isa, Bibby, Marshall, Cust, Smith, Singleton, Powell, Byrne, Farrell, Bateman, Shorrocks. Interchanges: Smithies, Havard, Mago, Partington
Referee: Liam Moore
Video Referee: Chris Kendall
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