Faltering Saints face another big test when they host Salford Red Devils in front of the Channel 4 cameras on Saturday afternoon (May 13, kick-off 1.00pm).
There’s a good deal of angst among the fans following a pretty tame 24-12 defeat at Catalans Dragons last week. It was a loss that left the champions outside the playoff spots in seventh, albeit with a game in hand on those above them. It was a fifth loss in 10 Super League games under new Head Coach Paul Wellens.
Despite the fact that he has only been in the job for as long as Liz Truss was Prime Minister Wellens has not avoided criticism from some quarters. But then he is just one of a whole range of factors which have been speculated on. Everything from injuries and suspensions to some wretched discipline to the age profile of the squad and Lewis Dodd’s desire to play in the NRL sooner rather than later has been blamed for Saints’ rocky run. It may well be down to a combination of all these things.
But let’s be positive for now. A win would take the world champions above Salford, who currently sit fifth having won seven and lost four of their first eleven outings. Paul Rowley’s side are on a four game winning streak having beaten Leeds Rhinos 22-12 at Headingley in their last outing.
Prior to that they had edged Catalans 16-14 at home, did just enough to hold off Castleford Tigers 14-6 at the AJ Bell. The run started with another narrow win by a score of 22-20 at Leigh. They are winning the tight games where previous Red Devils incarnations would invariably let those slip. Their last defeat was all the way back on April 2 when they went down 26-16 at home to Huddersfield Giants.
Those injuries and suspensions that the Saints fans are currently lamenting are not getting any easier to deal with this week. Wellens’ 21-man squad is again shorn of Sione Mata’utia and Agnatius Paasi while Morgan Knowles serves the last of his five-match suspension for a hip drop on Mike Cooper in the Easter defeat at Wigan. The recent England international against France counts as one of those five so Knowles will be eligible when Saints go to Halifax in the Challenge Cup next week.
Curtis Sironen is named and should feature. He was a late withdrawal in Perpignan having made the initial 21 selected by Wellens 48 hours before the game. If fit he should slot in at second row alongside Joe Batchelor with James Bell deputising for Knowles behind them at 13. Sam Royle and Jake Wingfield offer further options in that department.
The front row should have a familiar feel to it now that Alex Walmsley is back. The England prop was a ray of light in the metaphorical gloom in France, making an effective return having missed the previous three and most of a fourth when he came off very early in the Wakefield game on March 31 with a hamstring problem. He will be joined up front by tackling enthusiast Matty Lees and a potential record breaker in James Roby at hooker.
There’ll be a change in the centres with Konrad Hurrell not featuring. It is not totally clear at the time of writing whether the Tongan has an injury or has just not been selected. He escaped a ban for swearing at referee Liam Moore during the Dragons game but was issued with a fine by the disciplinary panel. Could this be Wellens making a statement about his side’s miserable standard of discipline so far in 2023?
Hurrell was sent off in a home loss to Leeds earlier in the season and sin binned for his potty mouthing at Moore. No Super League side has collected more yellow cards than Saints in 2023 so something has to be done to improve discipline. But that something is probably not dropping one of your best offensive weapons. There has also been a suggestion that he might have picked up a head knock and failed an HIA at some point during the week.
There is still no Mark Percival either so the centre spots may be up for grabs. Will Hopoate looks set to claim one despite the ire of the fans on the matter. The other may go to the returning Ben Davies who made two appearances there in March before suffering an ankle injury in the second of those - a 20-12 win over Hull FC. Wesley Bruines is a centre by trade but is still to make a first team appearance. Will Wellens be brave enough to throw the 22 year-old in for the first time here against a side who are notoriously powerful on the edges? Unlikely. But he could move Tommy Makinson inside from the wing and restore Jon Bennison to the side on the wing.
Bennison was highly unfortunate to miss out against Steve McNamara’s side after a fine performance in the win over Warrington two weeks earlier. Many have called for him to return at fullback to allow Jack Welsby to move into the halves alongside Jonny Lomax. That would mean dropping Dodd. It is almost unanimously agreed that he is falling short of the standard he had set for himself before his injury a year ago. The only thing opinions differ on is the reason for that. Some say it is the injury, others blame Wellens’ conservatism. And then there are those who are convinced that Dodd’s mind is elsewhere after he boldly announced his intention to move to an NRL club when his Saints deal runs out in 2024. Whatever the reason for his dip in form I would be amazed if Wellens sits him in the stand for this one
Rowley has problems of his own to deal with in his back division. Winger Ken Sio scored 26 tries last season, second only in the Super League try-scoring charts to Wigan’s Bevan French. Yet he won’t be scoring against Saints this week having been ruled out due to some kind of pothole-related tomfoolery at training. Welsh international and poor man’s Mo Salah Rhys Williams will step in opposite former Wigan speedster Joe Burgess.
Tim Lafai was outstanding in the centres for Salford last term, form he took with him into the World Cup. Yet a hamstring injury keeps him out and perhaps offers another opportunity to former Saint Matty Costello. The 25 year-old made just 26 appearances for Saints between 2018-20 but has made seven out of a possible 11 for Salford in 2023, picking up a couple of tries on the way. He missed out during the 22-12 win at Leeds last week, replaced by former Warrington man Ellis Longstaff. If Costello is restored to the line-up he may partner another Saints product in the shape of Deon Cross.
The reigning Steve Prescott Man Of Steel is one of those looking to create scoring opportunities for the three-quarters. Brodie Croft enjoyed ripping up Super League so much last year that he signed a probably unprecedented long-term contract which - in theory at least - keeps him at the AJ Bell until 2030. With Croft, the kicking skills of ex-Castleford and Hull man Marc Sneyd and the pace and skill of Ryan Brierley Salford have a variety of creative options meaning that on their day they can cause a fair degree of havoc. We saw evidence of that at the end of July last year when Rowley’s side took Saints to the proverbial cleaners in a 44-12 rout.
In the pack Andy Ackers is now an international hooker while prop Tyler Dupree has also had a taste of life within Shaun Wane’s England squad. King Vuniyayawa and Jack Broadbent are also key pieces in the front row while former Wigan grub Oliver Partington is nominally a loose forward for Rowley but is basically an extra prop. In the second row Kallum Watkins excelled last year as Salford ran all the way to the semi-final where they were beaten by Saints. He is joined among the back row options by former Gold Coast Titan Sam Stone with one time North Queensland Cowboy Shane offering support from the bench.
Whatever the result of this one the day will mostly belong to Roby. If selected - and why wouldn’t he be? - the Saints skipper will set the all time appearance record for Saints. He will have featured in a jaw-dropping 532 games for his home town club since his debut in a 38-20 win over Widnes in March 2004. His current Head Coach was in that side, a relatively fresh-faced 24 year-old himself at the time. Roby’s Saints career has now spanned 20 seasons during which he has collected six Super League titles, four Challenge Cup winners medals and a couple of world club titles.
It seems unlikely that his new mark will be surpassed, at least not in our lifetimes. There are fewer games now in a smaller top flight than has been the case in years gone by and with concussion protocols and changes to the rules around contact it is far easier these days to find yourself entering a spell on the sidelines. Nevertheless, a tip of the hat too to the previous record holder Kel Coslett, whose mark of 531 appearances was set during a 14-year spell and has stood since his departure to Rochdale in 1976. That’s 47 years ago.
Staying in the past, the last meeting between these two was a fiery and contentious Super League semi-final in September of last year. Saints edged it 19-12 at home and would go on to win that fourth consecutive Grand Final with victory over Leeds. Yet the Red Devils felt hard done by when an obstruction on Lafai by Makinson did not result in a penalty try. Of course, Saints fans argued that their side too were denied one too when Sneyd pulled the arm of Batchelor who might otherwise have touched down.
The teams also met in the 2019 Grand Final which began Saints’ current run of four in a row. That was a much more comfortable night for Justin Holbrook’s side. Tries from Percival, Knowles and Zeb Taia helped Saints to a 23-6 win over a Red Devils side then coached by current Huddersfield Giants boss Ian Watson and which featured Joey Lussick, who is likely to be on the Saints bench for this one. Roby is one of only five Saints on duty that night who have an opportunity to feature in this one. Makinson, Lomax, Walmsley and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook are the others. With Sio out Salford have no survivors from that squad although Krisnan Inu - who played on the opposite wing to Sio - is now an assistant coach to Rowley.
It is well documented that Salford haven’t won at St Helens since The Two Ronnies’ heyday. They came close last year. A last gasp tackle by Knowles on Chris Atkin following a lung-busting and frankly unlikely chase by the Saints man preserved a 14-10 at the end of April. It could be that close again. I’m not totally confident but like last week - when I was wrong - I’m applying Lawrenson’s law and going for Saints by four.
Squads;
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, 10. Matty Lees, 12. Joe Batchelor, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 16. Curtis Sironen, 18. Jake Wingfield, 19. James Bell, 20. Dan Norman, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 25. Tee Ritson, 30. George Delaney, 34. Wesley Bruines
Salford Red Devils;
1. Ryan Brierley 3. Kallum Watkins 5. Joe Burgess 6. Brodie Croft 7. Marc Sneyd 8. Jack Ormondroyd 9. Andy Ackers 10. King. Uniyayawa 11. Dixon 12. Stone 13. Oliver Partington 14. Chris Atkin 15. Danny Addy 16. Tyler Dupree 17. Shane Wright 18. Alex Gerrard 20. Ellis Longstaff 22. Rhys Williams 24. Matty Costello 25. Ben Hellewell 28. Deon Cross
Referee: Chris Kendall
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