A stirring, Saintsy 15-minute spell after half-time ensured Saints got back in the winners enclosure on Saturday afternoon (May 13). Salford have not won against Saints in St Helens in over 40 years and that run continued despite Paul Rowley’s side holding a 12-0 lead at one stage. Saints are still outside the playoff spots in seventh but can rise into the top five should they win their game in hand.
The Team News
Saints Head Coach Paul Wellens was able to call on the services of Curtis Sironen for this one. The Aussie back rower was a late withdrawal from the side that lost in Perpignan last week but started here in place of Sam Royle.
Konrad Hurrell was out with a neck problem so Ben Davies started at centre. It was the 23 year-old’s first appearance since the 20-12 win over Hull FC in mid-March. Intriguingly, back-up hooker Joey Lussick was left out altogether having initially been named as 18th man. That honour went to Royle who was not required.
If you were being generous you would say it was bold of Wellens to go with only one recognised hooker in his 17. He found room on the bench instead for utility back Jon Bennison along with forwards Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Jake Wingfield and George Delaney. Perhaps it was always Wellens’ intention to go with history maker James Roby for as long as possible but choosing to go without a specialist understudy qualifies as a risk in the modern game, particularly since Roby’s minutes are generally on a downward trend in what will surely be his final year.
Saints were still without suspension’s Morgan Knowles and the concussed Sione Mata’utia while Wellens resisted any calls he may have read from fans to split up the Jonny Lomax-Lewis Dodd axis at halfback.
Salford came in without Ken Sio who was replaced - with fairly telling consequences as it turned out by Rhys Williams - and centre Tim Lafai for whom Matty Costello deputised.
Game 532
On the subject of hookers and in particular Roby this game was always going to be most memorable for one thing. That being the skipper’s phenomenal achievement in breaking the all-time Saints appearance record. Kel Coslett’s mark of 531 had stood since 1976, a time when Eurovision had not been hijacked by the terminally flamboyant and when it was won by Brotherhood Of Man.
Coslett’s mark would have survived had Roby gone through with his initial plan to retire at the end of 2022. Once the decision was made to suit (and cape) up again for 2023 it was a matter of when and not if Roby would set a new milestone. It is one that may never be beaten in our lifetimes especially with the concussion protocols and more severe disciplinary penalties which are a feature of the game today. That is perhaps shown in the fact that it has taken Roby 20 seasons since his debut against Widnes in 2004 to set this new standard. Coslett set his record in only 14 years.
Thirty-seven year-old Roby is fully deserving of his place in history, and the guard of honour afforded to him by both teams as he entered the field. He has managed 116 tries for Saints in those 532 appearances, laid on countless more for others and is - in the eyes of many - the greatest number nine to have graced the British game. Regardless of position, he is one of the greatest players of any position in the Super League era. You can argue about the order - and I do - but he deserves his place up there with the likes of Andy Farrell, Paul Sculthorpe, Keiron Cunningham, Jamie Peacock, Kevin Sinfield and Sean Long as the very best we’ve seen in the summer era,
Win or lose this was always Roby’s day. He would doubtless have disputed that with his trademark modesty and humility had we lost, but thankfully we were able to get the win that made his big occasion all the more special.
A Poor Start
Having turned in a pretty disappointing performance in France last week the champions took their time to get out of their slumber. They found themselves 12-0 down after not much more than a quarter of an hour as first Brodie Croft and then Ryan Brierley managed to get over under the sticks at the West end of the ground. Croft was the beneficiary of a scoring pass from King Vuniyayawa. The former Leeds man took a perfectly timed pass from ex-Wigan hoodlum Oliver Partington on the halfway line and raced clear before finding Croft on his left shoulder. It was a routine conversion for a goal-kicker of the caliber of Marc Sneyd.
That was just four minutes in, and barely 10 minutes later the lead was doubled. The visitors had survived a scare when Tee Ritson went over on the left wing from Davies’ pass, only for replays to show that he had grounded the ball on the touch in-goal line as he tried to execute a spectacular diving finish. Taking full advantage of their reprieve the Red Devils exposed Saints’ currently slightly rickety left edge defence to put Brierley over for their second try.
The full back took a ball from Andy Ackers before exchanging passes with Kallum Watkins and streaking away. It was slick, but the ease with which it bamboozled Dodd, Sironen and Davies on that left side was fairly alarming. Another easy conversion for Sneyd gave Salford a lead of two converted scores at 12-0.
A Saintsy Response
James Bell’s try before half-time was arguably crucial. There were less than 10 minutes to go to half-time when - with Saints still trailing by those two converted tries to nothing - the ex-Leigh forward took Sironen’s outrageous offload and burrowed over close to the line. It was a bit of a blind gamble by Sironen but that’s exactly the sort of madness I was brought up on in my Saints watching youth. Derek McVey would have thought twice about offering it up for grabs with Saints in such good field position. But it worked, forcing fans of Going Through The Process to hold their tongues.
That gave Saints a foothold in the game at just 12-6 down at the break. Hopes of getting back into it with a good start to the second half were high. Yet few could have predicted that Wellens’ side would blow Salford away with a devastating 15-minute period of four-try Saintsiness when they came out after the break.
First to make his mark was Sironen. The opportunity was provided when former Saint Costello lost control of the ball while trying to play it. That gave Saints a chance to spend a full set of six near the Salford line where eventually the dam broke. Roby fed Lomax from dummy half and he came up with a beautifully delayed short ball to Sironen. The former Manly man was unstoppable from short range, notching only his fourth try for the club and his first since a 36-16 win over Toulouse back in September. Makinson couldn’t land the extras but Saints were breathing down Salford necks having cut their advantage to 12-10.
Three minutes later it got better for Wellens’ men. This time their route into a scoring position came from the boot of Dodd. The youngster has been heavily criticised by many in recent weeks and with some justification. In particular his kicking game has come under a lot of scrutiny. His detractors would not have been thrilled when he sent another hopeful punt skywards. The majority of Dodd’s bombs have been plucked out of the air by opposing fullbacks with very little alarm. Not this one. This one had Williams - who was about to take centre stage as Salford’s pantomime villain - summoning the spirit of the Bradford Bulls in the 1996 Challenge Cup final as he failed to make the ground before the ball bounced away from him deep in Salford territory.
Fortunately for Williams, Brierley was on hand to seemingly clean the situation up. Yet Williams wasn’t quite finished. Taking a short pass directly in front of his posts and within spitting distance of his own line, the Welshman took the baffling decision to throw a long, looping ball out towards Burgess on the left wing. Only it was much too high for the ex-Wigan man. All he could do was flap at it as it dropped to the floor behind him and sat up perfectly for Lomax. The Saints stand-off gathered it in stride and just had to fall over the line for his sixth try of the season. He remains Saints’ top try scorer in 2023. Converting this one was routine for Makinson and suddenly Saints were 16-12 in front. It was a lead they would not lose.
It was the England winger who was next to cross, claiming Saints’ third in just 10 second half minutes. Four minutes after Lomax’s try Walmsley found a very late offload to Will Hopoate. A split second before his ball carrying arm hit the turf the big prop was able to release the ball to the much maligned Tongan. He wasted no time in showing the class that often lies well hidden within using fast, soft hands to give Makinson just enough space to squeeze over in the right hand corner. It was the 31 year-old’s third try of the season and his 172nd in 298 Saints appearances. He capped it with a stunning touchline conversion too as the world champions opened up a 10-point lead at 22-12.
Salford heads were still spinning when Saints completed an incredible quartet of tries in just 13 wild minutes. Again it was Lomax at the centre of things. He came up with a very similar delayed pass to the one which had put Sironen in just after half-time, only this time it was on the right hand edge where Joe Batchelor was on hand to cross. Makinson was off target with the conversion this time but at 26-12 the game was all but beyond the reach of a beleaguered Red Devils outfit. Some of their problems had been self inflicted but Rowley’s side had largely been blown away by a vintage purple patch from Saints.
After the hot streak the home side cooled down considerably thereafter. Fortunately, Salford couldn’t impose themselves either in what was an error strewn final 25 minutes. The closest the Red Devils came to a revival came with around 20 minutes left when Brierley carved out an opportunity for Burgess only for Makinson to produce a textbook try saver 10 metres out. By the time Deon Cross broke away down the Salford right the jig looked up. It certainly was when the centre somehow managed to allow his pass to a wide open Williams to drift forward.
The Inevitable Bans
We seem to be talking about discipline and refereeing decisions every week in this column. If you think it’s tiresome I can’t disagree. But it remains relevant. Sironen has been handed a one-match ban for a late hit on Croft half an hour in, while Matty Lees was sent to a tribunal for a high shot on Shane Wright which unfortunately resulted in the Salford forward being helped from the field with an ankle injury. The outcome of that hearing was a two-game ban, meaning that as well as the Challenge Cup tie at Halifax this weekend the Saints prop will also miss the trip to Leeds the following week.
Taking Sironen’s offence first it may seem that he has been a little unfortunate to find himself sat down again by the Match Review Panel (MRP). The challenge was only a step late. It is arguable that he was already committed before the reigning Man Of Steel released the pass. Yet in the current climate a step late is too late. You may not like the rule but that is a different argument from the one which suggests the MRP got it wrong. The interpretation of what is late and what is not is there to try and prevent players - in particular halfbacks - from taking too many hits. Unnecessary hits.
Besides, this is not Sironen’s first rodeo. He has sat out several matches through suspension during his relatively short time in Super League. He knows the rules are strict. It is failure to learn on his part and symptomatic of the wider disciplinary funk that Saints have been in throughout 2023 so far. At some point the penny may drop. Until then we should probably get used to planning for the odd game without Sironen.
When Lees was charged with a grade D offence there were fears that he could be sidelined for a sizeable period. Maybe one of Knowles proportions. Yet in only picking up those two games he has perhaps received a punishment that is just about fair.
His hit on Wright was not the worst you will ever see. The well worn argument has again been made that the Salford man was falling and that as a consequence Lees was always going to find it difficult to avoid making direct contact with the head. The fact that Wright then damaged his ankle as he fell is logically irrelevant. The MRP has moved bafflingly towards a policy of allowing the extent of injury to influence the severity of the punishment. That is a nonsense to my mind. Players often pick up bad injuries where little or no foul play has occurred, just as they sometimes escape serious injury despite being on the end of challenges that would be treated as assault were they to take place on the street.
But. Again we have to look to the current rules and the drive to future proof the game. It no longer matters about intent, players falling or any of that kind of mitigation which would previously have counted in an offender’s favour. It is Lees’ responsibility to avoid hitting Wright in the head, which means not going in recklessly with an arm swinging. And what was he doing honing in on Wright anyway? He had dropped the ball. It was on the ground. Why wasn’t Lees attempting to dive on it rather than trying to banjo a player who no longer had possession? Again - as with Sironen - it is failure to learn and adapt to new interpretations. It has to be just about Wellens’ biggest concern with his side right now. It must be cleaned up otherwise we will continue to suffer through it.
The Stats Bit
Since we’re talking discipline let’s start there. Saints conceded eight penalties in defeat to Catalans Dragons last week so it is to their credit that they managed to cut that figure in half this week. Although that doesn’t take into account set restarts dished out as a result of the somehow still operational ‘six again rule’. I can tell you that Saints were pinged only twice more for ruck interference by referee Chris Kendall. Perhaps that evidence of a slightly more disciplined performance says something about why Saints were on the right end of the scoreline even if it remains obvious that we have to improve discipline.
Salford conceded seven penalties and a further four repeat sets. Ok, so they had no cards issued but they can count themselves extremely fortunate for that. Partington should have been sat down for taking a wild swing at Bell early in the game. He wasn’t even penalised.
On to more positive statistical contributions and a standout effort by Walmsley. The ex-Batley man just keeps on keeping on, churning out 209 metres on 25 carries. Nobody on either side got near that figure but Sironen (112), Hopoate (106) and Ritson (100) all made useful contributions to the go-forward effort. Salford’s best were Brierley and Costello, both of whom racked up 106 metres.
The last 25 minutes felt like an error-fest and it is no surprise to find both sides in double figures in the balls-ups department. Wellens will want to see his side improve on the 10 errors that they came up with but Rowley should be even more concerned with the 15 from his side. Many of those either led directly to Saints tries or else set up position from where the hosts piled on the pressure especially during that manic first 15 minutes of the second half.
You can’t keep Roby out of the stats conversation on his big day. With Lussick out the captain played 75 minutes before leaving the field to a fitting ovation. That was long enough to come up with 27 tackles, a tally matched only by Bell among our number. Salford’s inability to hang on to the ball led to them having to do rather more defensive work. Kallum Watkins was called upon to halt Saints’ progress on 42 occasions while Partington had 36 tackles thanks to Kendall’s leniency. Or his inability to spot a blatant if inaccurate punch.
That wasn’t the end of the story in terms of Salford’s workload. Tyler Dupree made 34 tackles, Alex Gerrard 32, Vuniyayawa 31 and Sam Stone 30. Andy Ackers probably would have topped 30 also had he not departed early with a knock, having instead to settle for 29.
Next Up
Super League takes a break this week as the top flight teams enter the Challenge Cup at the ludicrously late stage of the last 16. Saints face a trip to Halifax Panthers who currently sit fourth in the Championship. But if you thought - as I did - that Wellens might take the opportunity to rest most of his stars ahead of the next league assignment at Leeds on May 26 then think again. The coach has picked a very strong looking squad. Details will be in my preview probably out tomorrow but what I can tell you is that it is 99% certain to include references to my first ever Wembley Challenge Cup final visit when plain old Halifax edged us by a single point 19-18. Roy Haggerty, Mark Elia, Wilf George and all that.
The headlines are that only Roby is rested while we are of course without the suspended pair of Lees and Sironen. Knowles looks set to return as he will need game time having missed the last five through suspension. Mata’utia is also included having not played since Good Friday due to concussion.
A comfortable win will be expected. But we haven’t really done well with expectation so far in 2023.
Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Hopoate, Davies, Ritson, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Bell. Interchanges: Wingfield, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Bennison, Delaney
Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Williams, Cross, Costello, Burgess, Croft, Sneyd, Dupree, Ackers, Vuniyayawa, Watkins, Stone, Partington. Interchanges: Atkin, Gerrard, Longstaff, Wright
Referee: Chris Kendall
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