Same venue, same opposition, different competition. Saints go back to the scene of their latest triumph when they visit Hull FC on Thursday night (June 22, kick-off 8.00pm). A 32-18 win over Tony Smith’s side at the weekend took Saints into the last four of the Challenge Cup. This time two Super League competition points are at stake in a low budget sequel being played just five days later.
Saints can leap into the top three with a second win on Humberside in quick succession if other results go their way. They would need both Salford and Leigh to lose but that is hardly beyond the realms of possibility with the Red Devils hosting Wigan and the Leopards visiting table-topping Catalans Dragons.
Points difference dictates that FC aren’t likely to improve their ninth position in the table even if they get the victory and Leeds lose at home to Huddersfield. But a win would just about keep the black and whites in touch with those above them in the undignified scramble for playoff places. There are still 12 games to play for most clubs (13 for Saints) but you get the feeling that Smith’s men can’t afford too many more defeats if they are going to mount a challenge in the second half of the season.
Saints Head Coach Paul Wellens must have thought he had entered a parallel universe when he was able to name an unchanged 17 for the cup tie. It was the first time he’d had that luxury since he took over the reins from Kristian Woolf after the former coach’s third consecutive Grand Final success. That sort of good fortune with injuries was never going to last. And it hasn’t, with Wellens forced into two changes to his 21-man squad for this one.
Mark Percival lasted only 10 minutes of Saturday’s clash before he felt the full weight of both Brad Fash and Scott Taylor landing on his head. Just in case there was any chance he might have been able to shrug that off Fash made sure of Percival’s early exit by turning his shoulder into the centre’s head as he lay on the ground. A penalty was awarded and although the incident was put on report by referee Chris Kendall the Match Review Panel saw nothing wrong with Fash’s actions. Meanwhile concussion protocols dictate that Percival must sit out the action for at least 11 days. The return trip east comes too soon for him to be involved.
Compounding that loss is the injury suffered by Tommy Makinson. No blame can be apportioned to any Hull players for this one. The Saints winger damaged a hamstring while trying to accelerate past Liam Sutcliffe on a typical surge inside his own half. The prognosis is that he will be out for around five weeks. Which is awkward for Wellens when you consider that the England man was enjoying a spell of form which had seen him cross for six tries in his last two outings prior to arriving in Hull. And because he is still probably the best all round winger in the competition.
Those two will be hard to replace but Wellens has options. He has added Ben Davies and Wesley Bruines to the squad, both of whom can fill in across the threequarter line. Yet the Saints boss can also call on Will Hopoate and Jon Bennison to occupy the Makinson/Percival roles. Bennison scored two tries when Saints beat Hull at home in March but has not featured since the cup win at Halifax a month ago. Hopoate isn’t universally appreciated by the fans but the nine games in a row which he started before Percival’s last return from injury would seem to indicate that Wellens has a somewhat higher opinion of the Tongan.
Jack Welsby turned in another stellar performance last time out and will operate at fullback behind a possible threequarter line of Bennison, Hopoate, Konrad Hurrell and Tee Ritson. Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd have been an ever present halfback partnership in 2023. As a consequence their understanding and effectiveness is improving weekly. Some of the early season criticism of Dodd has quietened as Saints’ form and results have got steadily better of late.
There shouldn’t be too much shuffling necessary in the pack. There are no fresh injuries and none of Saints’ biggest bodies ran into any disciplinary difficulties this week. Which makes a refreshing change. Having spent most of the previous game covering in the centres Joe Batchelor and Sione Mata’utia will be relieved to be able to revert to the back row. That said, the latter will probably start on the bench owing to the form of both Batchelor and Curtis Sironen. Morgan Knowles is likely to continue to keep James Bell out of the starting line-up at loose forward.
With players back in their preferred positions in the back row Joey Lussick will probably revert to his role as a back-up to James Roby at hooker. Alex Walmsley remains a big key at prop alongside Matty Lees with Agnatius Paasi chipping in off the bench.
The absence of Josh Griffin for this one has been the number one topic of conversation among rugby league fans over the last 24 hours. The second rower was handed a seven-match ban for whatever it was that he said to Chris Kendall as the half-time hooter sounded on Saturday (June 17). He was charged with - and pleaded guilty to - questioning the integrity of an official. From that perspective he can’t have any complaints. Respect for referees is paramount and often what separates rugby league from other sports. Failure to show that respect sets a poor example. That can filter all the way down to the grass roots where it is not that uncommon to see referees become the victims of assaults. It cannot be tolerated.
Jordan Lane is in line to replace Griffin as part of a back row which also features ex-Saint Andre Savelio and loose forward Joe Cator. We won’t be seeing Taylor this week. He left the action early in the cup meeting having sustained a dislocated shoulder. Tex Hoy was another who departed before the final hooter. He was having a fantastic game in the halves but could not complete it due to a hamstring injury which will keep him out of this one. Sutcliffe is another who won’t make it as Smith is forced to make four changes to his 21.
One of those is a change he may welcome. Halfback Jake Clifford missed the game four days ago due to concussion protocols but returns here. He has been starring for Hull this year. He will fit neatly alongside Jake Trueman so with Hoy out Davy Litten may continue at fullback. Jamie Shaul has been drafted in and offers a more experienced option in that role should Smith choose to go that way. Will Gardiner is a 22 year-old prop with only eight Super League appearances to his name. He comes in to Taylor’s squad berth though it is perhaps more likely that either Ligi Sao or Chris Satae will start in the front row alongside the unpunished Fash and veteran hooker Danny Houghton.
Harvey Barron has been called up in place of Sutcliffe but Cameron Scott will hope to get the nod to start at centre. Carlos Tuimavave plays on the other edge while Adam Swift and Darnell McIntosh operate on the wings.
This will be the third meeting between the teams this season. Saints edged Hull 20-12 at home in March before the two banged heads in the cup. Returning to the MKM Stadium now - so soon after the last visit - may make some visiting fans feel like Katniss Everdeen being unjustly thrust back into the arena in the Hunger Games sequels. Yet it should provide no fears for a Saints side which has really started getting it together of late. The champions haven’t tasted defeat since May 5 in Perpignan. With a strong squad selected by Wellens there should be no reason why that resurgence shouldn’t continue. The return of the excellent Clifford and home advantage offer FC their best reasons to be optimistic.
Remarkably, Hull have not beaten Saints in the league since August 2017. On that occasion a Regan Grace try goaled by Percival provided Saints with their only points of the night in an 8-6 reverse. It was one of two league defeats to FC that season. In March that year a Saints side a month away from parting company with Keiron Cunningham went down 24-14 at what was still known as the KC Stadium.
Saints’ last league visit to the home of FC was the kind of match-up to have tabloid journalists dusting off the word ‘romp’. In August last year Saints ran in 11 tries in a 60-6 whacking of an FC side then coached by Brett Hodgson and on its way to a disappointing ninth placed finish.
If they want to avoid similar disappointment this season the black and whites need to start winning and soon. Yet a Saints side on a roll and still with a genuine chance of a high league placing by the end of the season will be tough to stop. I don’t envisage another ‘romp’, but Wellens’ men should be too strong for their hosts if they can maintain something close to their recent level of performance. Saints by 14.
Squads;
Hull FC;
2. Adam Swift 3. Carlos Tuimavave 5. Darnell McIntosh 6. Jake Trueman 7. Jake Clifford 8. Ligi Sao 9. Danny Houghton 10. Chris Satae 11. Andre Savelio 12. Jordan Lane 13. Brad Fash 14. Joe Lovodua 15. Joe Cator 17. Cam Scott 19. Ben McNamara 20. Jack Brown 25. Davy Litten 26. Harvey Barron 27. Will Gardiner 29. Jamie Shaul 33. Brad Dwyer
Saints;
1. Jack Welsby, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 19. James Bell, 21. Ben Davies, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 25. Tee Ritson, 30. George Delaney, 34. Wes Bruines.
Referee: Jack Smith
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