Leeds Rhinos 12 Saints 13 - Review

Undeniably, thrilling, breathless. But also a bit rubbish.

Saints pulled off a much needed win but one desperately lacking in quality as they edged Leeds Rhinos 13-12 in golden point extra time at Headingley on Friday night (May 26). 

It was a result which offered perfect symmetry to the one-point win achieved by Rohan Smith’s side when they visited St Helens in March. Blake Austin’s winner came earlier on that occasion, sparing us all another 10 minutes of playing for drop goals.  No such luck this time, although thankfully it was a Saint - Lewis Dodd - who put an end to the madness seconds before the end of the second extra period.

The Team News

Saints boss Paul Wellens made several changes to the team which had beaten Halifax Panthers in the Challenge Cup last week. He was able to welcome back James Roby to start ahead of Joey Lussick, though the former Salford Red Devil was included in the 17 having missed the win over his former club on May 13. That brought to an end Lussick’s run of 43 consecutive appearances for Saints since joining from Parramatta Eels. 

Also returning was Sione Mata’utia after missing the last four due to concussion protocols. He had to settle for a place on the bench as Curtis Sironen - back from a one game suspension - got the nod to partner Joe Batchelor in the second row. Morgan Knowles had started at prop at The Shay - and we all know how that ended - so his place went to Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook who like Roby had been rested for the visit to the Championship side. In the centres Konrad Hurrell got the all clear following a neck problem and was preferred to Ben Davies.  

There would be no late Austin heroics this time because there would be no Austin whatsoever. The ex-Warrington man was ruled out with a calf injury so Morgan Gannon partnered Aidan Sezer in the halves. Not that either would last the duration. Zane Tetevano was still suspended after his red card at Wigan so Sam Walters - the centre of all the controversy when these teams last met - got a start at prop alongside Tom Holroyd with Mikolaj Oledzki and Justin Sangare on the bench. James Bentley is another with concussion issues so ex-Wigan man James McDonnell started in the second row alongside Rhyse Martin. McDonnell didn’t last the pace either.

An Early Setback

The opening minutes of this one provided few clues to the abject error-fest that awaited us. If you think that term is hyperbole then consider that Leeds coughed up possession 15 times and Saints 13 - both way above their season averages coming in. But that was for later. Early on it took the Rhinos only four minutes to score a length of the field try. Jonny Lomax missed a one on one tackle on Martin allowing the Papua New Guinean to streak upfield before finding Ash Handley in support. The extras were simple for Martin - who has kicked 32 goals this year in his 13 appearances at a success rate of 71%.

It is not uncharacteristic for Lomax to miss tackles. Only five players in Super League have missed more than his tally of 44 so far in 2023. He missed three in this game. What is more uncharacteristic is the way that Saints’ defensive structure got nowhere near to compensating for his mistake. So often throughout the last few trophy laden years there has been someone else in a red vee to mop up if someone makes a mistake. It’s part of what coaches, players and now pundits annoyingly call turning up for each other. Nobody turned up this time. The right edge of Saints defence was strangely vacant.

Injury Number 1

The game hadn’t even restarted before Leeds ran into their first problem of the night. Sezer - who made only 25 appearances in two seasons at Huddersfield and just 14 for Leeds in the last campaign - was on his way off the field with what turned out to be a groin injury. It’s unfortunate for him and for the Rhinos though you would think his time at the Giants would have offered Leeds’ recruitment bods some clues as to his durability. At 31, he’s probably not getting any more reliable.

Marking Game 300 With A Try…

Saints were only behind for six minutes. An error from Holroyd opened the door which Tommy Makinson eventually crashed through. The Saints winger was playing his 300th game for the club, and he marked it with his 174th try, his fifth of the current season. Roby, Dodd, Lomax and Jack Welsby were also involved in a move truly crafted by the Saints youth system. Makinson finished it with a trademark dive to the corner past Martin. However he could not add the extras from out wide so Saints still trailed 6-4.

And Marking It With A Gift…

Leeds opened up the gap again though on 21 minutes. Saints can consider themselves unfortunate to have lost possession given the nature of Walters’ tackle which forced the ball from the grasp of McCarthy-Scarsbrook. He was already in the grasp of two Leeds defenders when Walters arrived late to the party with a solid hit. It looked suspiciously devoid of any attempt to wrap the arms in a tackling motion. Which used to be illegal, right? Last week, I mean.

It looked like it may lead to nothing until Ritchie Myler’s high ball caused chaos between Makinson and Welsby. The latter may have dealt with it had Makinson not stepped across the line of Walters and sent the Leeds prop barrelling into Welsby. The ball fell kindly for the chasing Cameron Smith who had a simple task to add four more to the Rhinos tally. It was reviewed at the request of referee Liam Moore but video referee Marcus Griffiths deemed Walters onside. Martin turned four into six and the home side led 12-4.

Saints went close five minutes later when Nene McDonald got a hand to Will Hopoate’s pass intended for Tee Ritson on the left wing. The ex-Leigh man tore down the field in the hope of adding to his side’s lead but it was clear that he had knocked it down and that his intervention had probably saved a try. 

Injury Number 2…And 3

Leeds survived that but more problems were on the way for Smith’s side. Harry Newman was the subject of much scrutiny after his costly decision not to pass to Myler in the Rhinos’ cup defeat to Wigan a week ago. He won’t have to make such decisions for a little while after falling awkwardly and being helped off the pitch half an hour in. Dodd and Sironen were involved in the tackle which ended Newman’s evening in a visibly emotional state, yet no blame can be attached to either. Newman has had lengthy injury layoffs in the last year or so and appears to just be one of those unfortunate, slightly fragile players. 

Having lost both Sezer and Newman - neither of whom would return - Leeds then lost a third player to injury. Dodd was again involved in the tackle - again blamelessly - which saw Gannon twist an ankle as bodies landed on him. He spent the rest of the evening in a medical boot and Smith spent it with a serious problem in the Human Resources department. He was left with only 14 fit players with which to try and manage his interchanges. And there were still 50 minutes to play. Saints would stroll this now, wouldn’t they? Well…

Leeds Go Close

Despite their adversity it was the Rhinos who came closest to scoring again before the break. Walters was fed by Jarrod O’Connor on the right but was dragged down just short by a combination of Dodd and Hopoate. Dodd may be struggling in attack and losing the battle for hearts and minds among the faithful with his tepid attacking displays and talk of exiting the club, but whenever a Leeds try was denied on this night he was invariably involved in the prevention of it. There’s nothing wrong with his effort. Moore again sent this one up for review where it was discovered that not only was the ball grounded short of the line by Walters but he had also lost it in the act of trying to reach out.

Dodd Joins In With The Attack

The Rhinos led by eight at half-time but that advantage was cut to two within five minutes of the restart. Try saving defensive lynchpin Dodd was involved offensively this time. He took a looping long ball from Lussick and provided a perfectly timed pass to put Sironen between defenders and over for the score. Dodd has only three assists this season which - given that Welsby and Lomax both have nine and that Saints have scored 40 tries this season so far - seems a pretty meagre return for a halfback with designs on the NRL. Yet there was nothing wrong with this one as he helped Sironen notch his fifth try in Saints colours and his second in consecutive league games having crossed in the win over Salford last time out. Makinson was on target with the conversion and suddenly they trailed only 12-10.

The Spectre Of Indiscipline

Following the Knowles shenanigans at Halifax there was a lot of talk about discipline from within the Saints camp this week. By and large Wellens’ men improved in that area. Yet a brief return to bad old ways almost cost them dearly. They conceded three penalties in quick succession to give up the territory from where Sangare claimed what could have been a decisive try. 

First Hurrell committed the sin of conceding a penalty while in possession, passing the ball after his ball carrying wrist had made contact with the Headingley turf. Then Mata’utia got in on the act, going high on Derrell Olpherts on the very next play. Finally, as Oledzki threatened the Saints line Batchelor was pinged for interference as the England prop got up to play the ball. That gave the hosts another fresh set from where O’Connor fed Sangare close to the line. The Frenchman couldn’t catch it cleanly but batted it up before regathering and falling over the line before Lomax could intervene. It was right under the posts and Leeds seemed set to open up an eight-point lead once more.

But…Moore was not convinced. His initial call was in Sangare’s favour but he called upon Griffiths for confirmation.  Decisively, there was one angle which showed that Agnatius Paasi had got a hand to the ball after it was batted by Sangare but before he could regather it, which constitutes a knock-on. The try was ruled out and the game had probably just seen its most crucial, pivotal moment. 

The Slapstick Returns

The errors piled up. Holroyd and Mata’utia exchanged possession on consecutive plays in a manner which would have been comical were it not for the tension. Welsby absolutely murdered a simple pass from Hurrell on play one from a scrum in a very presentable attacking position. Holroyd (again) and then Walmsley lost possession trying to play the ball. Both appealed for interference. Both were rebuffed. The cycle appeared to have been broken when Sangare burst past a slipping Walmsley and through the ordinary tackle of Batchelor to put Leeds in good shape. Yet he too failed to execute a simple play the ball and the chance went.

Sangare was having an eventful second half. No doubt he was doing far more minutes than he is used to due to the scarcity of troops in the Leeds ranks. His next contribution was to needlessly take out Jake Wingfield as the Saints forward looked to reel in an inside ball from Lomax just inside the Rhinos half. The penalty was central and just about within the Makinson range. He made no mistake, landing his 16th goal of the Super League season. More pressingly, it tied the scores at 12-12 with 13 minutes left.

Saints were next to get a chance. Dodd took to the skies with a lofty boot which was snaffled by Ritson on the left edge. He found Wingfield in support but his attempt to find McCarthy-Scarsbrook was picked off by the retreating Myler. The former Warrington and Catalans man then almost caught Saints out with an angled kick to the left touchline, early in the tackle count and from deep within his own territory. It found Martin who made it as far as the Saints 30m line before he was dragged down by Welsby and…yes…him again…Dodd. 

Look.  I’m not saying his defensive efforts compensate entirely for his current form with ball in hand. If you ask me what I want from a Saints halfback I’d put creativity above defensive solidity. But credit where it is due and all that…

Makinson and Lomax both had to intervene to save tries as first Holroyd and then Corey Johnson threatened. Walmsley managed to get in the way of Welsby when he might have scooped up a Smith grubber close to the Saints line. It was the stuff of Rik and Ade in Bottom at times but both sides were hanging on in there.

Rhinos Reject Drop-Goal-Athon

We were into the last five minutes with a level scoreline yet Leeds were still showing no interest in attempting a drop goal. Perhaps the absence of both Austin and Sezer was playing a part in their thinking. Walters took that philosophy to a new level when he took possession on play one, within spitting distance of the Saints line and threw a wild flick pass out towards McDonald. It missed the centre extravagantly and ended up in touch. Lomax - one of the more vocal advocates of an improvement in discipline and by now serving as captain with Roby off the field - enjoyed this outcome so much that he engaged in a spot of hair-ruffling and maybe some in-depth conversation with Walters about his mistake. Shithousing, in modern parlance. 

Who Punched JL?

This sparked a melee. Players ran in. As they do. There was pushing, shoving, grabbing, all of the usual ingredients. And a punch, apparently. The Sky cameras seemed not to have picked it up but as Moore brought Lomax and Leeds skipper Smith together for the customary ticking off and warnings he revealed that the touch judge had seen McDonnell throw a punch direct to the head. He would be sent off, Moore said as be duly called the back rower over and showed him red.

We might never know the truth about the McDonnell punch. If it mattered enough it might one day proven by one of those overly forensic documentaries that regularly claim to solve the riddle of who really shot JFK. The only evidence here was the blood on the face and shirt of Lomax. Other than that we just have to take the touch judge’s word for it. He’s not making it up. He has seen something. It might have been a case of mistaken identity, but I’m happy to accept that somebody threw a punch at someone - probably at Lomax judging by the bloodstains - if the touch judge said so.  

The Goal-Dropping Really Starts

There were still a few minutes left for one of these punch drunk, practically comatose giants to snatch it. Saints had the first shot at it through Dodd, but his drop goal was smothered by Myler’s desperation. The Saints halfback was able to retake possession but missed with his second attempt also. There was just time for Leeds to get close enough for Myler to attempt what in this country is still a one-pointer but his effort from just outside of 40 metres looked more like a tactical kick to the corner. Like it or not there was going to be 10 more minutes.

This was the moment that Wellens chose to thrust Roby back into the action. Well…when the game is about to degenerate into a drop-goal contest who else do you want firing the ammunition to your kickers from dummy half? 

To that point that meant Dodd, but it was Makinson who had Saints’ first attempt in the extra period. He was a long way out and it showed from his effort. Guess what happened next? Leeds trundled down the other end, one-man-rugby-ing their way into range from where it was Handley’s turn to miss. This one was so short it was caught by Ritson who returned it to the Saints 40m line. 

Nothing came of that. Instead, having got through more than 80 minutes without a significant disciplinary issue - well, without a card - Saints offered Leeds a chance by evening up the numbers. Serial ban server Mata’utia will be nervous again on Monday after his stat-padding, third man in challenge on Oledzki earned him his umpteenth yellow card of the season. Ok, it’s only his second but it feels like more. Moore felt that the contact with Oledzki had been below the knee of a straight leg. A big no no in the modern game unless you are called Morgan Smithies in which case you continue with immunity. Mata’utia’s was borderline which may or may not sway the match review panel. But then there is his previous. Ah…who even knows? 

A Chance For Leeds

What we did know at that point is that it gave Martin a chance to win it with a penalty goal from 40 metres. He couldn’t do it, so into another five minutes of point-hunting we went. Dodd and Myler again exchanged missed drop-goals before the Leeds man made a crucial error in the tackle of the Saints half and Hopoate. That was compounded by McDonald who - seeing that Dodd had collected the loose ball and was about to set sail for the Rhinos line - made sure by any means necessary that Ritson would not be able to support. 

One touch finding penalty and a couple of drives later Saints were back in position. There was less than a minute remaining until the point at which even the draw-fearing rule makers have decreed that a point each is a fair result in the event of a level scoreline. With his fourth and last chance of the day Dodd nailed it. It was barely deserved, but it didn’t really matter. 

What Is Wrong With A Draw Anyway?

I’d have said that it was barely deserved had Leeds won also. Neither side did enough to win really. I don’t see the desperate need for a winner in a regular season fixture. Periods of golden point extra time are thrilling to some, but to my mind they are only exciting if your team is involved and you have a dog in the fight. And even then the excitement is only due to the tension. Otherwise they can be quite tedious if one out carries and endless drop-goal attempts aren’t your thing. 

It has been suggested that both teams involved in a golden point game should keep their point on the league table and that the extra period should be played for the right to earn a second point. That would eliminate the injustice of a team finishing level after 80 minutes but ending up with nothing after the extra period. But why should a team which has failed to win over that length of time get another 10 minutes to put it right? We only need golden point for settling cup ties and playoff games. The league table might look a lot more interesting with a few odd numbers in the points column.

The Stats Bit

As he so regularly is against Leeds, Walmsley was an immense ball carrier on this night. His final stint was particularly epic. Although he had an extra nine minutes of game length to do it his tally of 233 metres with ball in hand is still pretty exceptional. Next best for Saints was Makinson with 189 while Hurrell (148) and Ritson (140) also carried well. Paasi (118) and Mata’utia (101) were the other Saints men to top the century.

Leeds had no double centurion but their left edge of Martin and McDonald was devastating at times with 185 and 181 metres respectively. Oledzki had 128 off the bench while Olpherts returned kicks well enough to amass 121. Walters had a big game also with 114. It was a day on which plenty of ground was made by both sides but when cutting edge was in short supply.

Defensively Sironen was Saints’ busiest with 37 tackles just ahead of Batchelor with 35. The only other Saint to reach 30 was Dodd. Make of that what you will. He did miss five so it wasn’t flawless. But the effort was outstanding.

The Rhinos top tackler was O’Connor with 47 while Holroyd managed 40. Smith had 38 on a day when he also had plenty of playmaking duties. Walters contributed 37 and James Donaldson 36.

Next Up

Unbeaten in their last three matches in all competitions Saints head to Newcastle to take on Huddersfield at the Magic Weekend on Sunday (June 4). The Giants are another club who are not achieving anything like what they might have expected at the start of the year. Ian Watson took over the reins to much fanfare after a great spell at Salford during which he led them to a Grand Final and a Challenge Cup final in successive years. 

He took the Giants to last year’s cup final and to a third placed finish in Super League. Yet he currently presides over a team sitting ninth in the table with just five wins from 12 outings. One of that deflating dozen was a 14-12 home loss to Saints in March. Watson just hasn’t been able to find the right blend, leaving his squad looking like a rag tag band of halfbacks with whom the negative tactics he prefers are incompatible. What’s the point of signing Jake Connor if you are going to play conservatively? 

Saints will head north east with Knowles still out but they will welcome back Matty Lees from his two-game ban. Regardless of all the talk of what an unqualified disaster the season has been so far, the champions will be just four points behind the leaders Warrington if they win their game in hand. But the queue behind the Wolves is congested. Saints may only be six points behind the Wolves but they are not in a playoff place as things stand. 

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Handley, Newman, McDonald, Olpherts, Gannon, Sezer, Holroyd, O’Connor, Walters, McDonnell, Martin, Smith. Interchanges: Donaldson, Gannon, Johnson, Oledzki.

Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Hopoate, Hurrell, Ritson, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sironen, Batchelor, Bell. Interchanges: Wingfield, Paasi, Lussick, Mata’utia

Referee: Liam Moore

Leeds Rhinos v Saints - Preview

Time to get minds back to Super League matters as Saints visit Headingley to face Leeds Rhinos on Friday night (May 26, kick-off 8.00pm).

Paul Wellens’ side enjoyed a fairly comfortable passage to the last eight of the Challenge Cup last week when they saw off Halifax Panthers 26-6 at The Shay. The quarter-final draw has sent them to Hull FC for a tie which will be played just five days before the teams meet there in the league on June 22. Yet before worrying about all that the champions need to work on their currently underwhelming league position.

Saints sit seventh in the Super League table going into this one. A 26-12 win over Salford Red Devils in their last league outing was only Saints’ sixth success in 11 league encounters so far in 2022. Victory over Paul Rowley’s men came at home where the only loss so far this term was to Rohan Smith’s Rhinos in early March. It has been away from home where things have got a little sticky for Saints. Aside from last week’s cup win over Fax their only successes on the road have come at a hapless Castleford and at Huddersfield. Trips to Leigh, Hull KR, Wigan and Catalans have all added nothing to the win column. That’s not good enough for a side with designs on capturing a fifth Super League title in a row.

Leeds are the only side who have had comparable success to that of Saints in the summer era, yet the 2023 version are similarly inconsistent. They have six wins also, but they have tasted defeat six times having played a game more than Saints. They sit one place behind Saints in the table in eighth. A win would see them leapfrog their guests albeit having played that extra game. Defeat coupled with a win for Hull FC at Salford on Sunday would still leave Leeds eighth but only by virtue of a massively superior points difference to that of former coach Tony Smith’s latest project. 

Saints’ disciplinary issues have been a constant problem so far this year. They became an even hotter topic in light of the events of the last 30 seconds of the win at Halifax. Morgan Knowles has paid for his latest mad moment with a two-game ban and is the only enforced change from Wellens’ 21-man selection. Fortunately Saints can welcome back James Roby who was rested for the visit to Halifax following his record breaking exploits against Salford a week previously. 

Also returning are Curtis Sironen and Konrad Hurrell. Sironen - whose discipline has not been much better than that of Knowles - is back from a one-game ban while Hurrell returns after missing the last two while a neck injury was thoroughly investigated. Following Knowles out of the squad this week are prop Dan Norman and centre Wesley Bruines.

Matty Lees is another who is still suspended so look for Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook to make what will be just his 161st start from a total of 357 appearance. Like his fellow 37 year-old Roby, the Londoner was given the night off at Halifax. Roby should wrestle the starting nine job back from Joey Lussick with Alex Walmsley completing the front row. Knowles’ absence should give James Bell another opportunity to start at loose forward which would mean that one of Sironen, Sione Mata’utia or Joe Batchelor would have to start from the bench. Three into two doesn’t go. On form and - frankly - reliability, Batchelor should get the nod leaving the other two to fight it out to start alongside him. If Mata’utia came through his first game since Easter without any further worries about his recent head injuries then the smart money would be on him.

Hurrell should come straight back into the centres with Ben Davies’ place looking most vulnerable. That would see Saints form an all-Tongan centre partnership of Hurrell and Will Hopoate once again. Tee Ritson seems to be winning the battle to hold down the left wing spot ahead of Jon Bennison. When fit, Tommy Makinson picks himself on the other flank. There seems little evidence to suggest that Wellens will do anything other than stick by Lewis Dodd at halfback alongside the still magnificent Jonny Lomax. That would leave Jack Welsby to continue at fullback.

Agnatius Paasi and Jake Wingfield look certainties for the bench where Bennison may also feature as a versatile option. Lussick was left out altogether for the Salford game so it will be interesting to see if his two-try effort at Halifax has been enough to convince Wellens to bring him back into the 17. It would seem the sensible option for now given Roby’s advancing years. He’s no longer a regular 80-minute man. The question of whether Lussick is the man to take over from Roby next season - or even to hang around as a back-up for anyone who might yet come in - looks a question for another time.

Smith has made two changes to the 21 he called up for duty ahead of last week’s cup loss to Wigan. Blake Austin was a late withdrawal for that one and has not recovered from a calf injury in time to feature this week. That could be massively important. After all this is a Rhinos team which whacked Wigan 40-18 with only 12 men when Austin played in the league encounter a fortnight ago, but lost 18-14 when it was 13 on 13 in the cup without Austin. 

The other change for the Rhinos is the omission of prop Sam Lisone. He has made 11 appearances since joining from Gold Coast Titans at the start of 2023. The only game he has missed was that win at Saints in March. Was it something we said, Sam? Smith doesn’t have the same level of experience to call on to replace Austin and Lisone. Their places in the squad go to fullback Luke Hooley - whose only appearance for the first team came against Hull KR at the end of March and second row Leon Ruan who has yet to make his debut.

James Bentley will not face his former club due to concussion protocols which are also the reason we won’t see Jack Sinfield. Zane Tetevano serves the second of a two-game suspension for the red card which sparked the hilarious annihilation of Wigan two weeks ago.  

On the face of it those losses would appear to make Leeds weaker. Yet there is still plenty of quality in Smith’s ranks. Former New Zealand Warriors winger David Fusitu’a is a long term absentee but the dependable Ash Handley should play after pulling out of the Wigan game through illness. A lot of attention will be on Harry Newman after his decision not to pass to the supporting Ritchie Myler cost Leeds a late chance to score and probably edge through to the cup quarter-finals at Wigan’s expense. Many blamed it on Myler for over-running Newman but it’s not hard to believe that the latter wouldn’t have released the pass anyway.

Nevertheless Newman remains a key threat alongside his centre partner, former Leigh man Nene McDonald. As well as impressing with the then Centurions and earning a move to Headingley McDonald has made almost 100 appearances in the NRL for five different clubs. The other side of that coin is that he’s had seven clubs at age 29. Why doesn’t he ever keep still?

Replacing Austin is tricky, and places a greater creative burden on Aidan Sezer. He has been disappointing overall since his move to Leeds from Huddersfield but he still has the class in there somewhere to cause problems. Smith went with Morgan Gannon to partner Sezer in place of Austin last week but has the option of moving Myler into that role and switching Handley to fullback. 

In the pack Tom Holroyd is ever improving alongside England international Mikolaj Oledzki but Kruise Leeming’s recent departure to Gold Coast has not helped strengthen Smith’s hand. His seeming reluctance to do too much to hold on to Leeming suggested problems between the pair which have yet to be elaborated on.  Jarrod O’Connor will likely fill in while Bentley’s second row berth could be occupied by James McDonnell. On the other side of the second row Rhyse Martin is one of Leeds’ best, who also happens to be a deadly goal-kicker. At loose forward Cameron Smith is about as close as you’ll see to an old school exponent of the role now that we are entrenched in the era of middles and edges. 

Saints’ defeat to Leeds earlier in the season beggared belief. They never really looked in any bother but failure to be ruthless in attack ended in their undoing. It was a similar story at Leigh the following week. It is not enough to dominate territory and possession. You have to score points. In Saints’ defence a quite baffling decision by referee Chris Kendall to ignore a Sam Walters head shot and instead penalise Saints led to Hurrell losing his marbles and seeing red, and to Austin popping over the one-pointer which was the difference between the sides.

There’s always plenty of talk about how difficult it is to go to Headingley and beat Leeds. The perception is that the partisan South Stand turns visiting players to mush and influences referees. That hasn’t been the case for Saints recently. They haven’t lost there since suffering two league reverses there in 2017, just after Justin Holbrook took over the coaching reins from Keiron Cunningham. Saints haven’t even conceded a point on their last two visits. They won 26-0 on April Fool’s Day last year, a sequel to an even more dominant 48-0 win in August of the covid-ravaged 2020 season. 

Saints haven’t fared so well against Leeds when the territory is neutral in the big knockout games. They did see off the Rhinos in last year’s Grand Final but few Saints fans over the age of 25 will have forgotten about the four Grand Finals in five years in which Leeds overcame Saints between 2007-09 and in 2011. Older fans still get pangs of regret about the 1978 Challenge Cup final and Derek Noonan’s infamous drop. Six years earlier tries from Graham Rees and Les Jones helped Saints to victory over Leeds under the Twin Towers in game 371 of Kel Coslett’s record setting Saints career. 

Based on league position you’d maybe expect it to close this time round. Yet the unpredictable nature of both sides so far this term means that it wouldn’t be a massive surprise should one side or the other run away with it. Although the jeopardy in league games is greatly reduced by the playoff system both teams’ need is approaching the signpost marked urgent. My confidence in Saints is not what it was but the absence of Austin is swaying me towards the world champions. I’ll back Saints to edge it by 6.

Squads;

Leeds Rhinos:

1 Richie Myler 3 Harry Newman 4 Nene MacDonald 5 Ash Handley 7 Aidan Sezer 8 Mikolaj Oledzki 12 Rhyse Martin 13 Cameron Smith 14 Jarrod O’Connor 16 Derrell Olpherts 17 Justin Sangare 18 Tom Holroyd 19 James McDonnell 20 Morgan Gannon 21 Luke Hooley 22 Sam Walters 23 Liam Tindall 24 Luis Roberts 25 James Donaldson 26 Corey Johnson 31 Leon Ruan sponsored by Moortown

Saints;

1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jake Wingfield, 19. James Bell, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 25. Tee Ritson, 30. George Delaney.

Referee: Liam Moore

Halifax Panthers 6 Saints 26 - Review

There remains much to think about for Saints Head Coach Paul Wellens after a hardly dazzling 26-6 win over Halifax Panthers at The Shay on Friday night (May 19).

Safe passage to the last eight of the Challenge Cup never looked in any serious doubt, but there will be much for the champions to mull over in the debrief. 

The Team News 

Wellens surprised this observer when he named a pretty strong 21-man squad 48 hours before the game. He was without the suspended pair of Matty Lees and Curtis Sironen and chose also to do without 532-game record breaker James Roby. Yet it was otherwise about as strong a selection as it could have been. 

With a couple of vacancies created in the front row the Saints boss took the opportunity to welcome back Agnatius Paasi after an ankle injury and Joey Lussick who was only selected as 18th man for last week’s home win over Salford. Morgan Knowles came back in after a five-game suspension and was initially named at prop. He would make most of the headlines. For now his positional move meant that Saints other 37 year-old - Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook - got the week off.

Also back was Sione Mata’utia after a series of concussion issues. He slotted into Sironen’s second row berth alongside Joe Batchelor. There were no changes in the backs which meant that Wesley Bruines again missed out on that elusive debut. With no Konrad Hurrell Will Hopoate continued to partner Ben Davies in the centres with Tee Ritson preferred on the wing to Jon Bennison. The latter had to again settle for a spot on the bench. To the disappointment of some Wellens continues to show no sign that he will take Lewis Dodd out of the line-up and move Jack Welsby alongside Jonny Lomax in the halves. Welsby was able to move to 6 late in the game when Lomax went for a Head Injury Assessment (HIA). That was not what those disappointed fans had in mind.

The Game Story 

Saints almost made a fast start. Just five minutes had elapsed when James Bell - retained at loose forward from the outset despite the presence of Knowles - burrowed over following Alex Walmsley’s offload. As offloads go it was a scruffy looking thing from the ex-Batley man. But it wasn’t that which scuppered Bell’s claims to a four-pointer. Instead the video referee ruled that he had been held up. Yet the manner of the attempt set the tone for Saints’ attack on the night. Short yardage, one man efforts took precedence over the kind Fancy Dan stuff that seems to appal modern coaches.

In any event there was only a two minute wait for a try which counted. When it arrived it was Lussick, barging over from dummy half for his eighth try in Saints colours in 44 appearances. It would be followed later by his ninth. Tommy Makinson couldn’t add the two points but with Saints ahead early hopes may have been high that the floodgates would open. The champions went close to bagging a second short yardage try inside the first 15 minutes but Mata’utia lost possession of the ball trying to reach out and ground it under pressure from centre Ben Tibbs and hooker Brandon Moore.

Jake Wingfield doesn’t score many tries. In fact the one which added to Saints’ modest lead on 25 minutes was his first in 37 appearances since his debut against Salford in October 2020. From that point of view he could care less about points for artistic merit. It’s hard to be too critical of him for that. When you haven’t yet established yourself as a regular in the 17 and when you are repeatedly referred to by coaches and now fans as a middle rather than having a specific position then I guess you’ll take anything that comes your way. You just want to help, right? He did so by taking Lussick’s pass close to the line and barging over in the kind of no nonsense style that would have played well in a John Smith’s advert since some time ago. This time Makinson found his range and the lead was a double figure one at 10-0.

The most attractive Saints try of the night came within a minute of Wingfield’s effort. And it was Makinson on the end of the scoring pass, this time from Welsby. Walmsley had put a dint in the Fax defence with a typically insistent charge upfield, setting up the position from where Lussick, Lomax and Welsby combined to put Makinson in space on his familiar right edge. Help was arriving so the England winger simply stepped inside the sliding defenders and dived over. It was his 173rd try for Saints in 299 appearances. He then got up off the floor to land his second conversion in quick succession. 

It was a brief salvo from Saints. Not quite the 15-minute, four-try blitz that had done for Salford six days previously. But at 16-0 and - with all due and all that - playing against a team from a lower league the argument was basically over. The odds of a Halifax comeback at this point would have persuaded Sheffield Wednesday to pack up and go home. From now it was only really about the margin of victory and the quality of performance. 

Yet Halifax weren’t just looking on passively amid these occasional Saints scores. They enjoyed a very good spell in Saints territory immediately after Makinson’s try when he couldn’t gather the Panthers’ attempt at a short kick-off. Initially they forced a goal-line dropout when Welsby won a race with Tibbs and kicked the ball dead. Then Simon Grix’s side came even closer when fullback James Woodburn-Hall claimed to be first to the ball after Tibbs had kicked ahead into the Saints in-goal area. Referee Liam Moore again asked the video referee to confirm but the evidence showed that Woodburn-Hall had been offside from the kick.

Saints came out keen after half-time and scored within two minutes of the restart. Halifax prop Adam Tangata was deemed to have lost it in the tackle of Wingfield, Batchelor and Hopoate. From there Scotland international Lachlan Walmsley - one of the fastest men in the Championship and a man routinely tipped to play at a higher level - knocked down Welsby’s attempted pass to Makinson. Walmsley’s intervention saved a try but it was really only a delay. 

In the ensuing set Welsby ran across the face of the Halifax defensive line looking like he had no more idea of what he was going to do than they did. He dummied to Batchelor. He dummied to Hopoate. And finally he dummied to Makinson. At which point he had confused the defenders enough to be able to just straighten up his run and glide over untouched. Makinson damaged his kicking percentages with a second miss of the night but was hardly flustered as his side led 20-0.

Fax briefly threatened again but Tibbs failed to take Woodburn-Hall’s inside pass 10 metres from the Saints line. The chance had been carved out by Louis Jouffret, who was taking on much of the creative burden for the home side having lost his halfback partner Joe Keyes to injury in the first half. Jouffret was making a good fist of it but he and his entire set of team-mates could not seem to shake off the air of a team which knew it was outclassed and whose main goal was to avoid being obliterated. They were successful enough in that regard.

Jouffret had nothing to do with his side’s next, very presentable opportunity. Eribe Dobo crafted it all by himself. He charged down a Lomax clearance inside Saints’ half and set off in pursuit of the loose ball as it sped toward the visitors’ line. Dodd was one of a clutch of Saints defenders in pursuit which seemed enough to spook the Panthers man. Instead of cutting his losses and falling on the ball in what would have been very useful field position he decided instead to hack the ball on further towards the try line. That was all the help Dodd needed to easily win the race to the ball and avert the danger.

Further chances came and went. Zack McComb could only find touch with a pass meant for Lachlan Walmsley at the end of a zany movement which involved at least one hopeful kick and two desperate offloads. Then Makinson was called on to put his opposite winger Lachlan Walmsley into touch with a textbook tackle. 

Eventually the giant awoke from its slumber long enough to enjoy a sustained period of pressure of their own. First Alex Walmsley found Lussick’s pass too hot to handle inside the Panthers 10 metre line before a high shot by Moore on Bell set up another chance for the red vee. Fax winger James Saltonstall delayed things as Lachlan Walmsley had before with a knock down of Welsby’s attempted pass to Ritson. Yet Saints were able to keep the pressure on and when Bell was held up over the line Lussick went over from dummy half on the very next play. It was ugly, but it worked. Makinson’s conversion worked too and Saints led 26-0.

Just seven minutes from time Halifax got off the duck egg on the scoreboard. They were gifted possession when Ritson stepped past two defenders but forgot to keep the ball with him as he hared off towards the Championship side’s try line. In the next set Jouffret put back rower Matty Gee through a hole and he handed it inside to Jacob Fairbank on his left shoulder to cross under the posts. It was arguably deserved for their endeavour and was improved from in front by Jouffret to give us our final score of 26-6.  

But that wasn’t the end of the story. In fact the previous 1600 words of this piece were very much a subplot to the main thread. That being the dismissal of Knowles 30 seconds from the end for a reckless high shot on Tom Inman. He had come on to fill in at halfback following the injury to Irish international Keyes. More on this debacle to come.

A Stale, Subdued Attack

First a few thoughts on the performance. It wasn’t terrible. In fact it wasn’t remarkable in any way except for the surprisingly - arguably alarmingly - modest amount of good ball and territory enjoyed by Saints especially in the second half. Either they were content to let Halifax into the game with full confidence in their defence or Saints struggled to pose enough questions of their opponents to consistently keep them defending or coming out of their own 20 in possession. 

There’s an over reliance on Walmsley for go-forward so far in 2023 and it was evident here. As were the continued struggles of Dodd and - with the exception of Ritson - the lack of out and out pace in the side. Even against lower league opposition we rely on power up front, short passes and the imagination of Welsby and Lomax to break down defences. What I can’t decide is whether this was an intentional approach to tune up for stiffer tests ahead or whether it is just where we are now. Still grinding it out even against a side that we are clearly a level or two above.

Plus Points

Yet even if Wellens wasn’t instructing his side to practice deliberate conservatism there were still aspects of the night that will have encouraged him. The return of Paasi and another promising performance from Delaney may have persuaded Wellens that he at last has some depth in the front row. Even Knowles works as a front rower. Indeed it may be his best position should he manage to clean up his disciplinary act.

Lussick - who many not be everyone’s favourite brew - responded to last week’s personal disappointment pretty well. Two tries and an assist will have provided a much needed confidence boost. Whether he will be the man to take over from Roby when he finally retires is not yet certain. But this performance was a step in the right direction.

The Morgan Knowles Situation

And so…reader…we get to it. The bit you’ve all been waiting for. The That Saints Blog equivalent of the confrontation between Tommy Lee Royce and Raquel from Corrie in the last series of Happy Valley.

What goes through the mind of Knowles? There were 30 seconds left of a game we were winning by 20 points. He was about to complete his first assignment after a five-match suspension incident free. So what does he do? He flies at Inman as if he’s trying to stop a last second game winning drop goal. Not only that but he does it recklessly, swinging his arm as he dives and clocking Inman around his bonce like Basil Fawlty taking his marriage problems out on Manuel. A pointless melee ensues and Moore - following advice from the video booth - does the only thing he can do and produces a red card for the England international.. 

You won’t be surprised to learn that there were those who defended Knowles’ actions. The default position of some fans is to back their own player in any circumstances. It’s a question of loyalty. Of maintaining the ‘everyone is against us’ siege mentality. And if you take this incident solely on its own merits then it is not the worst offence you have ever seen. From some angles you can even make a case that the initial contact was off the shoulder. If the officials had agreed then Knowles may have got yellow and we’d all be waiting to see what the Match Review Panel made of it on Monday. 

The are a couple of problems remaining, however. The first is the sheer scale of the stupidity. It was never necessary. There was everything to lose and absolutely nothing to gain. Except maybe nods of approval from fans who are here for the violence only and believe that if you stop Knowles ‘playing on the edge’ he won’t be the same player. Well good. It’s about time he wasn’t.

The second and biggest problem occurs when you add this episode to what has been a series of brain explosions in recent times. He’s had four separate bans since last September and miraculously avoided a fifth for that playground bully, arm-twisting nonsense on Chris Atkin in last season’s Super League semi-final. That fifth suspension now seems an inevitability. 

Whatever he was before - and I’ve never bought into the hype around Knowles’ ability - he is now a grub on a Morgan Smithies scale. Anything else is living in the past. Like telling me that Phillip Schofield was great in the broom cupboard with Gordon The Gopher. Yeah he was, but I was 10 and look at him now. Schofield, that is. Gordon probably looks much the same depending on where they have been keeping him.

I’m totally over Morgan Knowles as an indispensable asset. If he were to make good on all the fan and pundit chat about a future in the NRL I wouldn’t blink. James Bell might not be quite as good at the unseen things at which Knowles excelled before his marbles departed the scene, but he’s a more creative ball handler and hardly ever tries to decapitate anyone. It could be time for a new deal for him and a saving on the wages of Knowles.

Next Up (Cup)

Following the latest instalment of The Last Of Us - A Castleford Tigers Tragi-Comedy, the draw for the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup was made. Saints were given a testing trip to Hull FC - today’s episode’s supervillain in The Last Of Us - A Castleford Tigers Tragi-Comedy. A month ago we may have been rubbing our hands at the prospect. But today’s win was FC’s fourth in a row in all competitions. Head Coach Tony Smith is doing what Head Coach Tony Smith does. Improving players and teams. 

The tie takes place on the weekend of June 16-18, a week after the home fixture with Wigan and a week before we travel to Hull in the league.  That could be a season defining period.

Next Up (League)

Before all that we return to league action on Friday (May 26) with a visit to Headingley to face Leeds Rhinos. Sironen should return after his ban but I wouldn’t expect to see Knowles. Roby should come back into the side so it will be interesting to see if Lussick has done enough at The Shay to convince Wellens to restore him to the 17 for Super League duty. Matty Lees will serve the second of his two-match ban.

It is hard to know what to expect from Leeds. They have just played back-to-back league and cup matches with Wigan. One with Blake Austin and one without. With Austin they overcame the first half dismissal of Zane Tetevano to wallop the Warriors 40-18. Without Austin they arguably still should have won, but were edged out of the cup 18-14 either because of Harry Newman’s greed or because of Ritchie Myler’s over eager support play. Take your pick. 

That league win over Wigan followed defeats to Leigh and Salford, which followed wins over Huddersfield and Hull. Nobody, least of all Leeds fans, knows what to expect. Which is something which you could also say about Saints this term. 

Predicting with confidence looks a tad tricky.

Halifax Panthers;

Woodburn-Hall, Walmsley, Tibbs, McComb, Saltonstall, Jouffret, Keyes, Walcott, Moore, Murray, Lannon, Gee, Fairbank. Interchanges: Inman, Doro, Tangata, Larroyer

Saints; 

Welsby, Makinson, Hopoate, Davies, Ritson, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Lussick, Knowles, Mata’utia, Batchelor, Bell: interchanges: Wingfield, Paasi, Delaney, Bennison

Referee: Liam Moore

 

Halifax Panthers v Saints - Preview

Let’s forget about our shaky Super League form for a week eh? It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day and Saints enter the Challenge Cup feeling semi-good as they visit Halifax Panthers for a sixth round tie on Friday night (May 19, kick-off 7.45pm). That’s the last 16, if you were wondering.

It’s fair to say it has been a mixed start to life under first year Head Coach Paul Wellens. Last week’s 26-12 victory over Salford was only his sixth win in 11 Super League games in charge. But that followed the glory of winning the world title against another set of Panthers - those of Penrith - in their own back yard in February. Perhaps Wellens is a knockout football specialist. 

He certainly can’t be accused of taking Championship Halifax lightly judging by the make-up of his 21-man squad. Captain and record breaker James Roby will have to wait another week for game 533 but other than that Wellens has selected a squad that is just about as strong as it could be. 

Other than Roby the major absentees in the pack are the suspended pair of Curtis Sironen and Matty Lees. Sironen has picked up a one game ban for a late hit on Brodie Croft in the Salford win while a midweek tribunal decided that Lees’ high shot on Shane Wright was worthy of a two-game rest. They’ll be missed but it could be worse. They could be Ivan Toney.

Besides there are some useful operators coming back to pick up the slack. Morgan Knowles is back in contention after a five-game ban for a derby day hip drop on Mike Cooper, while Agnatius Paasi and Sione Mata’utia are also included after spells on the sideline through injuries picked up in the Easter fixture. Paasi has had an ankle operation while Mata’utia has been handled very carefully after picking up a couple of concussions in a short space of time.

Wellens didn’t seem convinced about Mata’utia’s fitness when he spoke earlier in the week. It seems a wait and see approach is being taken with the ex-Newcastle Knight this week. If he cannot start - or take any part - then James Bell would be the sensible choice to partner Joe Batchelor in the second row now that the former Leigh man looks set to vacate the loose forward spot he has been covering for Knowles. Sam Royle would disagree and may yet get the nod after being left out last week.

Paasi’s return is timely given Lees’ absence. It gives Wellens options in the front row with Alex Walmsley, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and George Delaney also included. Dan Norman may get an opportunity to break up that quartet while Jake Wingfield can also operate in the middle. With no Roby it looks like Joey Lussick will earn a recall after being surprisingly omitted from the 17 to face the Red Devils. He wasn’t great the previous week in France but that could apply to the other 16 on duty that night too. There is no other specialist hooker in the 21 so Lussick’s inclusion looks a no brainer.

Konrad Hurrell and Mark Percival continue to be the main losses in the back division. Hurrell missed out on the Salford game with a neck injury. It appears he will continue to sit it out until consultations with the specialist can provide more clarity on the problem. It’s not an area of the anatomy to be taking chances with. Percival is still nursing the hamstring injury that has prevented him from playing since the defeat at Hull KR in mid-April. All of which could provide another opportunity for Ben Davies to partner Will Hopoate in the centres although Wesley Bruines is another with a realistic shot of making the line-up for what would be his debut.

Tommy Makinson is included but must be a candidate for a rest. He has a chequered fitness record, is not getting any younger and yet is one of the most crucial pieces of the Saints puzzle. It could be imperative that he is at his best late in the season - assuming Saints make the top six - so this one could offer a chance for him to take a breather. If he does Saints will still have Tee Ritson and Jon Bennison to fill the wing spots. Bennison is also a candidate for the fullback role should Wellens decide to give Jack Welsby a break.

Or…Welsby could move into the halves. There are arguments for going without either of Jonny Lomax or Lewis Dodd this week. Lomax was fantastic last time out against Paul Rowley’s men but has all the same issues as Makinson - and the same level of importance - which could tempt Wellens into a change. Meanwhile Dodd’s form is underwhelming. Yet Wellens has so far shown no appetite to sit the youngster down for a bit of thinking time. 

The hosts currently sit fourth in the second tier with a record of seven wins and four losses from their 11 league outings so far. They warmed up for their crack at the world champions with an 11-try 60-0 demolition of Whitehaven at The Shay. Winger Lachlan Walmsley helped himself to four tries while both James Woodburn-Hall and Eribe Doro grabbed two each. 

There is a smattering of Super League experience within Head Coach Simon Grix’s squad. Adam Tangata spent two years on loan at Wakefield, joined them permanently in 2021 before realising the error of his ways and beating a hasty retreat back to Halifax where he had started his professional career in 2015. Ben Kavanagh has also spent time at Wakefield but more impressively made 54 appearances for Hull KR in 2017 and 2018. Matty Gee started out with Salford before making 70 appearances for London Broncos. 

Among those you may be more familiar with are former Wakefield (again) and Huddersfield hooker Kyle Wood, ex-Salford back rower Ryan Lannon and 14-cap French international Kevin Larroyer who has turned out for both Toulouse Olympique and Catalans Dragons as well as Hull KR and Castleford. Halfback Louis Jouffret is another French international and he will likely be partnered in the creative department by Ireland’s former London Bronco Joe Keyes.

Halifax come in to this one on a run of four consecutive wins in the league. Their last defeat was a 26-22 reverse at home to Bradford Bulls in a televised Monday night encounter more than a month ago. Whatever team Wellens puts on the field are likely to represent too much of a step up in class for Fax but it will be a great opportunity for them to test themselves against a Saints side which - though in some rather patchy form at present - are world champions after all. 

These two met in the Challenge Cup just four years ago when Halifax went on an incredible run to the semi-finals. They’d seen off Hunslet, Dewsbury Rams and London Broncos as well as the Bulls before going down 26-2 to Saints at Bolton. Tangata and Kavanagh both featured in that one while Jacob Fairbank and Brandon Moore are among those in with a chance of facing the champions again. Just four Saints who were in the 17 that day are in line to feature this week. Alex Walmsley, Makinson, Lomax and McCarthy-Scarsbrook were involved as were the currently absent Roby, Percival and Lees.

Perhaps the most famous cup clash between the sides came in the final in 1987. I told you I’d mention it. My 11 year-old self looked on miserably as two disallowed Mark Elia tries made Andy Platt cry all the way to Wigan within a year and made a hero out of Fax fullback Graham Eadie as player-coach Chris Anderson - who would go on to take charge of the Australian Kangaroos - led his side to a 19-18 win. It was their fifth and - to date - last Challenge Cup win. During which time Saints have lifted the trophy on eight occasions to take their tally to 13 overall. But none of them have quite made up for Platt’s forward pass and his subsequent tears and treachery. Well…maybe 96…

On the face of it there isn’t much chance of Grix’s men emulating the class of ‘87. I’m not going out on too much of a limb by forecasting a Saints win by upwards of 24 points.

Squads;

Halifax Panthers;

1. James Woodburn-Hall 2. Lachlan Walmsley  3. Zack McComb  4. Ben Tibbs 5. James Saltonstall 6. Louis Jouffret 7. Joe Keyes 8. Adam Tangata 9. Brandon Moore 10. Dan Murray 11. Ben Kavanagh 12. Matty Gee 13. Jacob Fairbank 14. Kyle Wood 16. Will Calcott 18. Brandon Pickersgill 19. Ryan Lannon 20. Tom Inman 21. Eribe Doro 22. Jake Maizen 31.Kevin Larroyer

Saints;

1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 18. Jake Wingfield, 19. James Bell, 20. Dan Norman, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 25. Tee Ritson, 30. George Delaney, 34. Wesley Bruines.

Referee: Aaron Moore