The Challenge Cup final returns to Wembley this year and Saints are 80 minutes away from being there when it does. On Saturday afternoon (July 22, kick-off 2.30pm) they face a Leigh Leopards side newly branded for 2023 and enjoying a Super League campaign like no other.
Saints were victorious when the final was last played at the national stadium in 2021. Their 26-12 win over Castleford Tigers ended a 13-year wait to lift the trophy and with a pleasing symmetry brought about their 13th cup success. Leigh last appeared in the final all the way back in 1971. On that occasion a St Helens-born halfback partnership of Tony Barrow and Alex Murphy helped them to a 24-7 win in a final which saw Leeds captain Sid Hynes sent off. It was only their second cup win having grabbed the first in 1921.
Given the fact that Super League sides now only enter the competition at the last 16 stage it has not been a long road for either to get to this point. Saints were presented with a trip to Halifax for their first assignment. They came through that one 26-6 in a game most notable for Morgan Knowles’ red card in the final moments.
Another red card proved more helpful for Saints in the quarter-final as Hull FC’s Josh Griffin - now of Wakefield - was dismissed after the half-time hooter for giving a bit too much lip to referee Chris Kendall. Saints were locked in a battle at 12-12 at half-time but ran out convincing 32-18 winners against the 12 men. Griffin has yet to make his debut for Trinity as he is only four games in to the seven-game ban he was subsequently handed.
Wakefield was the scene for Leigh’s maiden voyage in this year’s competition. Adrian Lam’s side were comfortable 40-12 winners back in May, a time when Trinity considered getting on the scoreboard to be an achievement let alone actually winning a match. The draw was kind to the Leopards in the last eight too. Lam’s men were paired with York Knights - at that stage the only non-Super League outfit remaining. The artists formerly known as the Centurions prevailed 34-14 after trailing 14-8 at half-time. Kai O’Donnell was red carded after just six minutes in that one but on this occasion the short handed team fought their way through,
More recently Saints endured a rough night last time out. Not only did they lose 14-12 at home to Catalans Dragons but Paul Wellens’ side also suffered two key injuries. Head knocks meant that both James Roby and Mark Percival were ruled out of this one well before the 21-man squads were announced on Thursday (July 20). The pair account for two of the three changes made by Wellens to his selection this week. The third member of last week’s initial party to miss out ahead of this one is Curtis Sironen who has had a setback with his hamstring problem.
There is some brighter news. Tommy Makinson is massively important to Saints and the way they go about their business. He has not featured since picking up an injury in that quarter-final win over Hull FC but is back in contention here. Joe Batchelor has slowly but surely become Saints’ best back rower over the last two seasons and he also makes the squad having not played since a 34-6 league defeat at Hull which came just five days after the sides met in the cup. The third and final returnee is winger Tee Ritson. The Hull loss was also the last time he was seen in a Saints line-up.
Whether he will be selected when it really matters for this clash is another matter. Jon Bennison has already been unfortunate to be ousted by Ritson earlier this year and could consider himself similarly hard done by if it happens again. Yet if there is one thing Saints have been lacking in their quest for a fifth successive Super League title it is genuine pace. Cynics may say that the former Batley man doesn’t have huge amounts of it anyway, but it is clear that the Thai-born player is in Wellens’ thoughts once more.
If fit the restoration of Makinson and Batchelor to the side is a no-brainer. Furthermore, Saints are pretty desperate for Makinson in particular to come back in for Percival. That might allow Will Hopoate to move inside to centre from wing where he has been chewing up metres without really winning over the fan base. Wellens could also call on Ben Davies to partner Konrad Hurrell but that would represent a huge gamble given that Davies hasn’t featured since that trip to Halifax in mid-May. The remainder of the back division will be made up of fullback Jack Welsby, halfback pairing Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd and whoever gets the nod between Bennison and Ritson.
The glaring hole in the pack is at hooker where Roby misses out having featured in the last eight since being rested at Halifax. Roby has a record 540 Saints appearances to his name and a place among the greats of the sport. The 37 year-old is not the force of old but is still a huge part of what Saints do in terms of his distribution, his tireless defensive work and his weekly clinic on the topic of leadership by example.
The task of filling the captain’s boots at nine falls on Joey Lussick. If you believe what you read the former Salford and Parramatta man is angling for an immediate return to the NRL with the Eels. That would have caused serious problems for Wellens before the injury to Roby. It would be catastrophic now. For as long as Roby is out it is imperative that Lussick stays exactly where he is. His ability to go 80 minutes might be crucial if we are to avoid turning Knowles into a metaphorical fish up a tree in a relieving dummy half role.
Things are more settled at prop where Alex Walmsley partners Matty Lees. Take a look at the stats from any Saints game during their trophy-swiping run of the last four years and you will most often find that Walmsley features in Saints’ top two or three metre makers and Lees is among the top two or three tacklers. They are quite the double act, although I would like to see Lees offer more with the ball in his hands. In that respect Saints are still missing pay cut dodging, NRL treatment room dweller Luke Thompson.
If Batchelor starts then it will be between Sione Mata’utia and James Bell to partner him in the second row ahead of Knowles at the back of the scrum. Agnatius Paasi, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and the exciting youth of George Delaney should feature among the interchange options.
Lam has only named 20 players in his party but if you judge these things on squad numbers it’s a very strong selection. Of the men in possession of squad numbers 1-17 only centre or back rower Joe Wardle misses out. That means that Lam can call on experienced Super League stars like Zak Hardaker, Josh Charnley and Ricky Leutele in the three-quarter line while Lam’s son Lachlan is attracting plenty of attention from NRL clubs for his performances at halfback.
Edwin Ipape is a different kind of nine to either Roby or Lussick but his powerful running is a major assestt to the Leopards. John Asiata is another player constantly linked with a move back to the NRL despite the insistent denials of Leigh big spender and leopard print enthusiast Derek Beaumont. Asiata plays a crucial role in a pack which also features former Warrington trio Jack Hughes, Matt Davis and Oliver Holmes. One-time Saints starlet Aaron Smith is also in the initial selection but ironically may have had a better chance of getting on to the field had he remained among Wellens’ options this week.
This being Leigh’s first season back in the top flight after their most recent yo-yo act there has been only one meeting between the two since August 2021. In March of this year it was the Leopards who prevailed 20-12. It was a game which saw Saints dominate territorially but fail to break down the Leigh defence often enough before the strike among Lam’s back division clicked into gear and bit the champions on the proverbial.
The teams have met in a Challenge Cup semi-final before. All the way back in 1987 - a time when Rick Astley was popular for longer than a sunny weekend in June - the red vee edged it 14-8 at Central Park, former gaff of a pre-Warriors Wigan. Tries from Chris Arkwright, Kevin McCormack and Andy Platt along with a solitary Paul Loughlin goal set up a Wembley date with the Best Supporting Actors of this column Halifax. It was my 11-year old self’s first trip to Wembley and the trauma of it prevents me from recounting the events here. Fortunately it is not especially relevant at this particular juncture.
Will I be visiting the modernised version of Wembley again this August? It really is a flip of a coin. Saints’ injuries are a serious blow but they still look stronger in the pack. If Makinson and Batchelor take the field and are not being included to facilitate some kind of mind game between Wellens and Lam then the balance probably tips towards the world champions.
Probably. Possibly. Who even knows? If you are of a nervous disposition it could be a difficult 80 minutes spent finding out.
Squads;
Saints:
1. Jack Welsby ,2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 19. James Bell, 20. Dan Norman, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 25. Tee Ritson, 30. George Delaney.
Leigh Leopards
1. Zak Hardaker 2. Tom Briscoe 3. Ed Chamberlain 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Josh Charnley 6. Joe Mellor 7. Lachlan Lam 8. Tom Amone 9. Edwin Ipape 10. Robbie Mulhern 12. Jack Hughes 13. John Asiata 14. Ben Nakubwai 15. Ben Reynolds 16. Oliver Holmes 17. Gareth O’Brien 18. Matt Davis 19. Aaron Smith 25. Nathan Wilde 27. Ava Seumanufagai
Referee: Chris Kendall
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