Keiron Cunningham was back at the club this week. The great man was in fine form as he took part in a Q & A along with James Roby hosted by former Sky Sports annoyance Eddie Hemmings. I mention this because a few days later came this performance at Salford, the kind of debacle that was unfortunately all too frequent during Cunningham’s coaching stint. If only we’d had a 25 year-old Cunningham to throw on as things started to get out of hand in this stunning 44-12 defeat to the Red Devils on Sunday (July 31).
Present coaching incumbent (checks Twitter for updates…) Kristian Woolf was suitably unimpressed;
“We as a team pride ourselves on defence, hard work and effort and not getting beat in those areas – but unfortunately today we were.” He began in the wake of Saints’ heaviest defeat since he took over in 2020;
“It is very uncharacteristic and well below our usual standards that we set for ourselves and what we have shown so many times this year. It is certainly not something I have seen coming either – so again we have to have a good look at that and be really honest with ourselves and figure out how we are going to turn it around,”
Refreshing honesty from the boss, who welcomed back Morgan Knowles from suspension in the only change to the 17 which won narrowly at Wakefield last week. Jake Wingfield dropped to the bench with Dan Norman dropping out of the match day squad. Saints were still without Tommy Makinson and Mark Percival as well as long term casualty Lewis Dodd and suspension’s Sione Mata’utia. Curtis Sironen also suffered a knock during the carnage but scans have revealed that the injury is not as bad as first feared. At the time of writing the former Manly man is still in contention for Saints’ home clash with Castleford this Sunday (August 7).
The news on Regan Grace is somewhat more grave. The winger pulled up with no contact from anyone on the very last play of the game. His sudden fall was reminiscent of that of Josh Griffin during last year’s Challenge Cup semi-final between Saints and Hull FC at Leigh Sports Village. Sure enough scans have revealed that it is a similar injury to Griffin’s and indeed that of Dodd. A ruptured Achilles has ended Grace’s season and as such his Saints career. The Welshman moves on to French rugby union at the end of 2022. It’s a desperately sad way for him to end what has been a mostly stellar, trophy-laden five year stay in Super League since his debut at Wigan in 2017.
And yet none of this is to blame the outlandish anarchy of this chastening beatdown on injuries or absentees. Consider that 15 of this week’s 17 were in the side which put on a defensive masterclass in nilling Huddersfield despite playing with 12 men for over an hour and with only 11 for the last 10 minutes. That was just over a fortnight ago. Matt Dufty is planning to stick around at Warrington for longer than that! The difference between the level of defensive effort on that night and in this one is vast. Of course you can’t produce a defensive clinic every week but nor do you have to ship 44 points at Salford just because you’re not at your best.
Injuries are something of a red herring. Makinson, Percival and Dodd have been out for a long time yet it did not stop Saints winning nine Super League games in a row before defeat at Catalans on July 2 and building a six-point lead at the top of Super League table prior to kick-off at the AJ Bell Stadium. Besides, if he was worried about the depth of the squad Woolf could have dipped into the loan market. Instead he sent Josh Simm on loan to Hull FC and Sam Royle to Hull KR while allowing James Bell to turn out for Leigh on dual registration. That Royle has been recalled this week ahead of the visit of Castleford is perhaps recognition of that. That and the fact that Royle plays in the same position as Mata’utia and the newly wounded Sironen whose participation is not a certainty despite the more encouraging news.
The ex-Manly back rower’s injury had already been likened to the one picked up by and still present in Jonny Lomax. That also came against Salford in April when but for a miraculous Knowles tackle on Chris Atkin Saints would have lost that one too. Interestingly Lomax has not missed any action other than on the night he sustained the injury. He has continued to play through it until by now it is very much regarded as a non-issue by the player and the staff. Whether Sironen’s bicep injury will allow similar is a more difficult question. Lomax was hidden defensively at fullback for two or three games after sustaining his injury. That’s not an option with Sironen - though God knows we need someone - anyone - to provide stability at fullback so that Jack Welsby can go back into the halves. You can’t hide in the second row so if there is any doubt about Sironen expect to see him sidelined this week.
And so to the specifics of this aberration in an otherwise sparkling campaign for the champions. While we’re not blaming it on injuries, fatigue, referee Jack Smith or the M60 Ring Road, let’s take a moment to reflect on just how good Salford were. Paul Rowley’s side came in with a game plan of which dazzling entertainment was a by-product. The number one reason for playing with such width and imagination was to pull the Saints defence apart. Nobody does this to Saints. Mostly we come up against mugs who think that the way to beat us is to ‘get in the arm-wrestle’ with us. But when it comes to the arm-wrestle Woolf’s men are world beaters. They are Lincoln Hawk without the custody battles. Oh…look it up. I did.
The point is that Rowley recognised that few teams go through Saints so he elected to try and go around them instead. The keys to this plan were left edge players Tim Lafai and Joe Burgess. Two years ago Lafai was discarded by NRL running joke Canterbury Bulldogs. His name might be new to you if you don’t follow the Australian competition but he is actually 31 years old and has 170 NRL appearances under his belt before the Bulldogs dispensed with his services. Here, on his way to 193 metres - more than any other player on either side - he rather made Konrad Hurrell look like the late Leeds-era version of himself.
Similarly Burgess knows rejection. He starred for Wigan for a while and even managed to get a couple of NRL gigs of his own with Sydney Roosters and South Sydney Rabbitohs before pitching up at Salford via another stop off at Wigan. His injury problems have probably prevented him from sticking around longer at one of the heavier hitters. He has been in and out of the Red Devils side since joining them in 2021 but has speed to burn - an all too rare commodity among Super League’s battering ram wide men. He showed it here, ripping off 163 metres and notching his 12th and 13th tries of this Super League season. Seven Super League players have more in 2022 but then…you know…he plays for Salford and he gets injured a lot.
The Lafai And Burgess Show unfolded later as the game wore on. Saints’ troubles started when they somehow allowed Warrington reject Sitaleki Akauola to take Alex Gerrard’s short pass and crash through to dive over to the left of the posts for his first try as a Red Devil. The conversion was from just left of centre and Marc Sneyd is automatic with such trifling tasks. Salford led 6-0 and the tone - though we may not have known it at the time - was set.
Joey Lussick is an ex-Salford man. He was in their 2019 Grand Final team which lost to Saints in Justin Holbrook’s final game before the Woolf era began. Like many of his current colleagues Lussick wasn’t going to have his best day. He gave his old team-mates a helping hand by clubbing the restart after Sneyd’s conversion out on the full. From that penalty Saints then made more work for themselves as they conceded another set of six. The ball was shifted left by Brodie Croft to Lafai who produced an exquisite flick pass to put Burgess in at the left corner for his first try of the afternoon. The angle of the conversion was more of a challenge for Sneyd and Salford settled for a 10-0 advantage.
The third Salford try wasn’t long in coming. Akauola produced an offload in a central position around 30 metres from his own posts. From there the ball found Lafai who broke down the left and found Burgess in support. The ex-Wigan man linked up with another former Warrior in Dan Sarginson who breezed over. He was even able to run around to the posts to make the extra two a given and Salford led 16-0.
You wouldn’t normally write Saints off from a 16-point deficit. One of the fond memories discussed by Cunningham at his Q & A was a certain night at Warrington in March 2005 when he scored the final try of three in less than eight minutes as Saints turned a 16-4 deficit into an 18-16 win. Cunningham didn’t have very many positive things to say about Ian Millward but he did recognise his qualities as a coach and that team’s inability to accept defeat. Unfortunately the present Saints side never really regained consciousness after those early Salford blows. Also, it turns out that this Red Devils side isn’t half as flaky as Graham Appo-era Warrington. Or any era Warrington, come to think of it.
I put that 2005 reference in to give you and me a nice memory to reflect on so that this is not all bad news. I feel like we all need a bit of a pick-me-up, especially given the news about Grace. Unfortunately we now have to go back to the sorry tale of our shellacking at Salford. Which means we are obliged to acknowledge that the hosts went further in front when Kallum Watkins got the first of his double on the afternoon. This time the damage was done on the opposite flank as Croft found Ken Sio. The winger thundered down the right touchline for around 30 metres before finding Watkins on his inside for the score. Sneyd was off target with the attempt at goal this time but Rowley’s troops were now looking almost untouchable at 20-0.
Saints took more punishment before half-time. A rare attacking opportunity was scuppered when Bell couldn’t hang on to Roby’s pass deep in Red Devil territory. That was all the invitation Salford needed as Lafai again found ridiculous amounts of space on the left edge before putting Burgess away to race 40 metres for his second of the afternoon. It was all completely bewildering by now. Sneyd’s third goal of the half stretched the lead out to 26-0. Until this point the 30 points registered by Castleford against Saints’ youngsters in April was the most Woolf’s side had conceded in 2022. If we are talking about the first team regulars, the 22 shipped at Toulouse in March was the high. Or low, depending on which way you look at it. Now here we were having surpassed that - with as strong a side as could have been fielded - before half-time.
When Lafai wasn’t ripping the Saints defence apart he was finding ways to stop us getting any sort of foothold in the game. Saints were looking threatening when Lomax’s attempt to find Welsby on the right edge was rudely interrupted by Lafai. It goes down on the stats sheet as an error but it was probably one which saved a try. This was very definitely Lafai’s day.
Before the half-time hooter Sneyd had an opportunity to push Salford’s advantage out to 28-0 when he elected to kick for goal from a penalty around 40 metres from goal. He came up with his third miss of the first 40. It would be his last and would prove to be a mere footnote.
Saints had to score first in the second half to have even the merest whiff of an opportunity to get back in the game. The closest they came was when Welsby tried to force a tip-on out to Jon Bennison on the right wing only to see the ball land harmlessly in touch. Such frugality was punished on Salford’s next foray into Saints territory. Croft - at the centre of everything and looking every inch the best stand-off in the competition - was again instrumental as he found Atkin. The former Hull KR man found Greg Burke who rumbled over untouched. It was Salford’s sixth try of the match, improved by Sneyd for a 32-0 lead. By now even Saints’ healthy points difference was taking a battering.
If all that weren’t bad enough there was a troubling moment soon after when Lomax went down with a head knock. The Saints playmaker has a long history of head injury problems and you can’t help but hold your breath a little whenever he takes time to get up. On this occasion it was serious enough for him to have to leave the field for a head injury assessment. Fortunately it was one which he passed and he returned to the action before the end. Not sure why you would risk him given the scoreline. Perhaps it was for our benefit - to show us that he had passed the HIA and would not be joining the list of first team players sat in the stands next week. At this point we were grasping on to any positive news we could find.
Scoring a try falls into that category and eventually Saints did so. When it came it was a display of typical brilliance from Welsby. The kind of miracle he has been performing on a regular basis since breaking into the team - although rather less meaningful. The fullback picked up possession from Hurrell’s pass and went 65 metres untroubled by any Salford defenders until he got to the line. Most of them - particularly Burgess - had been taken out of the play by the outrageous fake to his right that Welsby had offered before he stepped back to his left.
He just about made it to the line. Referee Smith ruled that Welsby’s momentum had not stopped before he plonked the ball down, though in a closer game covered by live television this would have been one to spark days of debate. As it was most people seemed to realise that it didn’t matter all that much. With new goal-kicking sensation Lomax temporarily indisposed it was Lussick who tagged on the two points from in front to bring the arrears back to 32-6.
The ex-Salford man then produced a moment that pretty much summed up his day and that of all of us, especially those who had made the trip. Attempting to find Roby from dummy half Lussick could only conjure up an unsightly, wobbly roller of a pass which trickled along the ground to nobody in particular. What the Australian broadcasters might call a ‘bludger’. It didn’t affect the outcome of the game nor was it especially influential but it typified everything about this Saints performance. Lacklustre, careless. Flat.
Discipline was flying out of the nearest window too. Three consecutive penalties put Salford in range once more and they didn’t turn down the chance. After Burgess found his avenues cut off on the left the ball was worked back over to Atkin and Croft via the ubiquitous Lafai. It finally ended up in the hands of Watkins who strolled over for his second try of the game and his fifth of the season. The 139th of his career since his previous incarnation as a treble-winning international centre with Leeds Rhinos. Another Sneyd goal took the score on to 38-6.
You couldn’t accuse Lussick of hiding despite having the sort of day Daniel Powter once sang about. His next involvement was to snaffle a Salford pass deep in their half. Thinking rather too quickly for his bodily functions to keep up Lussick immediately tried to find Bell. The back rower didn’t appear ready for it and as the ball hit the deck another chance to edge closer to at least a bit more respectability disappeared.
All of which was a prelude to the highlight of the game as Salford saved their absolute best for last. Welsby put a searching kick in behind the Salford defence which was picked up by Sio just a few metres from his own line. The winger moved the ball on to Sarginson who began jinking past Saints defenders like it was the most routine thing in the world. Inevitably Lafai got in on the action, taking over with a slicing run through what was left of a flailing Saints rearguard. At half way Lafai found Croft in support and the former Brisbane and Melbourne man did the rest despite the attentions of Bennison. If it hadn’t been against your team you would have almost appreciated it. A clinic on the topic of running rugby, support play and ruthless finishing. Albeit against a team which had long since discarded any notions of winning.
Sneyd notched another goal to take Salford to the 44 points they managed against Cunningham’s Saints back in February 2016. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook played centre that day. Super Jack Owens was fullback. Knowles played at hooker. It was much easier to explain that loss than this one.
Almost as an act of futile defiance Saints had the last word. Elijah Taylor had been sent to the sin bin as Salford conceded a clutch of penalties and repeat sets. Alex Walmsley - who has benefitted from Cunningham’s appearance at the club as the big prop celebrates his testimonial year - was the one who eventually got over, snaking an arm out from a gang tackle to score an improbable try. It was his 46th try for Saints in 244 appearances since his 2013 arrival and his fifth of the current season. Though ultimately not one he’ll care to remember. Bennison took over the kicking duties and was on target to complete the scoring at 44-12.
Woolf’s grumpy reaction is encouraging. He’s clearly a man who doesn’t like losing unless he has sent his academy side to do it. He has spoken again since the end of the game about how different things need to be this week and about how his own failure at Salford was the biggest of all. It’s good that he can accept that responsibility and take a bit of heat off his players who can now maybe just have a much needed reset for the run-in and the playoffs to come. In any case, as poor as this display was it is important not to go off the deep end about it. This is still a side that has won the last three Grand Finals and still one that despite its current personnel issues is the favourite to win a fourth. Whatever they tell you in Wigan.
For all the bad news on the injury front Woolf did reveal that Makinson is in line to return this week. That is not the answer to everything but it is a major boost. Makinson is so important to Saints. Not only because he is still the club’s top try scorer this year despite missing the last four games, but also because of his ability to get Saints up the field early in the set. Makinson regularly tops Saints’ list of metre makers. He should also help shore up that right edge defence that was left in tatters by Lafai and Burgess in this one.
On the subject of metre making just three men topped 100 metres for Saints. Welsby led the way with 129, Walmsley added 116 and in what turned out to be his final game for the club Grace offered 100. These figures are dwarfed by the 193 of Lafai and the 163 of Burgess, while Croft made 145 and Deon Cross 125.
Defensively Salford did not require anyone to make 30 tackles which is about as damning a statistic about Saints’ attack as you will see. For Saints Lussick made 35 while Batchelor made 32. Perhaps more significant are the seven tackles missed by Lomax and the five missed by Matty Lees. These were the biggest contributors to a total of 36 missed tackles by Saints collectively. By contrast, Salford had 25.
Yet it was offensively where the greater discrepancies arguably lay. Rowley’s men had 14 offloads to Saints’ 7 and 10 clean breaks to just three by the league leaders. Strangely there was little to choose between the teams in terms of errors with Saints committing 10 to Salford’s 9. That figure is not particularly eye-catching. Saints made 11 errors at Wakefield last week and still came away with a win. As a team which enjoys the majority of possession regularly Saints often feature highly in the list of error makers.
Taking into account the injury updates we turn our attentions to what Woolf might do to fix things up on Sunday. There have been plenty of calls for Roby to be restored to the number nine role but that would require a fullback to be fashioned from somewhere. It is not going to be Makinson in the context of the Grace situation while Bennison will probably still be required out wide for the same reason. Swapping Roby and Lussick around is perhaps an option but you’d still have a specialist hooker trying to impersonate a halfback in that scenario. There are no easy solutions with none of Percival, Will Hopoate or Mata’utia due back yet.
What is certain is that Saints need a win. Another loss before the late August meeting with Wigan could turn that clash into a potential League Leaders Shield decider. This is where Woolf will really earn his money, in perhaps the greatest adversity of his three seasons in charge so far. It is a measure of his success that we can talk of adversity with a four-point lead at the top of the table and with our status as title favourites still intact in most minds.
Cunningham - the coach that is - would have given up a lot for that kind of adversity.
Salford Red Devils: Cross, Sio, Sarginson, Lafai, Burgess, Croft, Sneyd, Akauola, Ackers, Ormondroyd, Taylor, Watkins, Gerrard. Interchanges: Atkin, Burke, Luckley, Lannon
Saints: Welsby, Bennison, Hurrell, Davies, Grace, Lomax, Roby, Walmsley, Lussick, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Paasi, Wingfield, Bell
Referee: Jack Smith
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