Saints continued their winning start to Super League in 2024 with a dominant, shutout win over Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday (February 24).
Both sides came into this one with a league win under their belts from the opening round. The Giants had hinted at their improvement with an eyebrow-raising win at Leigh Leopards while Saints had strolled to a 40-4 victory at home to London Broncos. Someone’s winning start had to end and - despite the promise offered by the Giants’ result at the Leigh Sports Village - the question of which side would suffer their first defeat was never really in much doubt.
Saints Head Coach Paul Wellens made two changes to his 17. He was able to welcome back Morgan Knowles after injury. That sent the unfortunate James Bell to the bench and relegated Ben Davies to the role of emergency 18th man. Meanwhile Konrad Hurrell was conspicuous by his absence in the 21-man squad named 48 hours before kick-off. Jon Bennison replaced him, fitting in on the wing as new man Waqa Blake moved inside to the centre position that NRL fans had beefed used to seeing him fill before his move to the northern hemisphere.
Giants boss Ian Watson made only one change to the 17 that had beaten the Leopards 16-8 last time out. Jake Connor was out due to concussion protocols but he had a pretty serviceable replacement at fullback in Tongan international Tui Lolohea. There were three new faces for 2024 in winger Elliot Wallis, halfback Adam Clune and back rower Jack Murchie.
It was a tight opening notable only for a couple of big defensive efforts from Curtis Sironen. Both Murchie and Oliver Russell coughed up possession after getting acquainted with the Aussie back rower. He then turned his focus to attack, chasing a Lewis Dodd grubber to the Giants in-goal where it was dealt with by Lolohea.
The reprieve was short. When the first score of the game arrived it was the opposite second rower - Matt Whitley - who grabbed it. This time it was Jonny Lomax placing the perfectly weighted kick across the Huddersfield try line where Whitley found himself in plenty of space to complete the grounding. It was Whitley’s third try in just two league appearances for after his debut double against the Broncos. That tally makes him an early front runner in the try-scoring charts alongside Leeds Rhinos’ Ash Handley. Mark Percival tagged on the extras and Saints led 6-0.
Saints’ next threatening raid was ended by an uncharacteristic mistake from Jack Welsby. He failed to hang on to possession in a one on one tackle by Adam Milner. The Giants hooker simply ripped the ball away from the Saints fullback who seemed to be caught a little bit unawares. Knowles then compounded that error by placing a hand on the back of Milner while he was still on the ground. That’s deemed a flop in this brave new world of strict liability and vigilant ruck cleaning, though in actuality there was absolutely no flopping involved. Not so much as a jerk, a tumble or a wiggle in fact.
This is a strange period for the game and one we’re all still getting used to. Saints’ decision to go for two five minutes later - when Huddersfield were caught offside 40 metres from their own line - was itself slightly odd. Almost un-Saintly even. Perhaps it would be more logical if we had an automatic, metronome of a goal kicker. But goal-kicking was a problem last week against the Broncos and continues to be. In the opening two rounds of 2024 nobody has missed more shots at goal than the six fluffed by Saints. And this was one of them, Percival’s effort waved away by the touch judges behind the posts to keep the lead at six points.
Two minutes later that lead was almost extended. Lomax turned a lovely looking inside ball to Dodd to set the halfback free on the halfway line. However, referee Aaron Moore ruled that the pass was forward. It was a close one, but it was always a risky option given the way that Lomax had to turn his body back to face away from the touchline to find Dodd. The timing had to be exquisite and perhaps it wasn’t quite there. But that’s ok by me. I want my team to take risks wherever there is a reasonable opportunity.
Percival was next to take a risk but it was of a kind that we’d probably rather not see. As he halted the drive of Sam Hewitt he was perilously close to placing the Giants man in a dangerous position. He released Hewitt in plenty of time and with enough care for him to land safely, but in the current climate of red cards for total accidents you couldn’t be sure that the Saints centre wouldn’t be sanctioned. Thankfully Moore produced no card and our friends at the Match Review Panel were not concerned by it either. Yet it will hardly be astonishing if some other poor sap endures a different outcome for a similar transgression at some point during the season. As I say, these feel like strange times.
Three minutes from half-time Saints struck a crucial blow. Lolohea arrived late to diffuse a Dodd bomb and found himself having to try to trap it with his foot. It got away from him in a way that would have made Dan Burn blush and was seized upon by Saints’ young prop Delaney. Hewitt was guilty of a flop on Percival in the ensuing set which gave Saints another six deep in Giants territory. It was all the encouragement they needed as Bell fed Sione Mata’utia who slid over on the right.
Moore reviewed it to determine whether Mata’utia had made a double movement - because those Moore brothers really know a double movement when they see one - but it was clear that the Saints forward’s momentum had taken him over. Percival notched his second goal of the evening to give Saints a 12-0 half-time lead.
There was a nasty surprise as the teams came out for the second half when it was revealed that Saints prop Matty Lees was unlikely to return to the field after picking up a chest injury. It has since transpired that the 26 year-old had been sent to the hospital after coughing up blood. This may be linked to a bout of illness that has been hanging around the Saints camp this week - and might also explain the absence of Hurrell. Thankfully, Lees was released later on Saturday night and is thought to be recovering well. Whether that recovery will be complete in time for this week’s visit of Leigh Leopards is another matter.
Back to this one, after Makinson conceded a goal-line dropout in dealing with a Lolohea kick and Whitley ran back a similar effort from Clune with interest, Saints scored the try which effectively settled the issue. Ten minutes had slipped by in the second half when Welsby got his name on the scoresheet. Again it came from the kicking game and again Whitley was involved. Bennison had gone close on the left edge before ex-Widnes man Whitley switched play to the other flank. Eventually the ball found its way to Daryl Clarke whose weighting of the kick gave Lomax’s effort a run for its money. Welsby was first to it and - like Whitley - has now scored in consecutive games to open the season. Percival added a third conversion and Saints were all but out of sight at 18-0.
After that positive contribution Clark soon found himself on the other side of the ledger. Dodd was called for a ball steal after a fine run down the right by the increasingly prominent Hewitt, from where the ball went left for Russell to place a kick towards the Saints’ in-goal. Moore again called for a review, though there seemed less prospect of a penalty try than of a new Sky entertainment show which features neither Rob nor Romesh.
Seemingly it was the contact on Russell by Clark that was provoking interest from the officials. Inevitably, the former Wire man’s blocking of Russell’s run was deemed a professional foul and Clark was promptly dispatched to the sin-bin for 10 minutes. It was pretty needless from Clark at 18 points to the good inside the final quarter of the game but it spoke to his competitive spirit. Keeping the try-line intact has long been a big deal to this Saints group and so Clark will fit in well if he also has that same desire. Just don’t be doing that sort of thing when the scores are closer. Ryan Morgan learned the hard way.
Moore could have chosen to make it 12 v 12 a few minutes later. Chris Hill extended one of his clumsy paws into the face of Knowles but not - according to the Wigan whistler - with enough force to warrant a little rest. That issue of sufficient force is highly subjective. Expect plenty of fan angst as the campaign wears on.
The game ended with a Saintly flourish but before we get to that I have something to moan about. Or at least something to question. This Is That Saints Blog after all. We’re all about the questioning and - if it suits - the moaning. Deep inside the last 10 minutes and with little sign of a Giants revival Saints had a Wattoball moment. They ran the ball on the last tackle through Lomax in a manner which had a distinct whiff of the Giants coach’s deliberate turnover strategy. You know the one? The one he used at Wembley right before his side deservedly lost the Challenge Cup final to Liam Marshall’s late try for Wigan in 2022.
I mean, it might be that the Saints skipper saw nothing else on and made a genuine attempt to find a way to the line. But if we’re entering into the realms of handing the ball over deliberately to bang average sides with a three-score lead then excuse me but I need to puke.
To the final flourish, then. Six minutes remained when Jake Wingfield poked through the defensive line and got an arm free to release Welsby on halfway. He found Makinson supporting on his inside and the winger moved it on to Dodd who put Bennison in at the left corner. Makinson reclaimed the goal-kicking duties but couldn’t land the extra two.
Yet that wasn’t the end of the scoring. Makinson was again involved in Saints’ final try of the night, weaving back inside after a good burst from Blake. Makinson stumbled to the ground but as he was untouched he was still able to pass it off the ground to Welsby. The fullback found himself in space with the defence scattered and raced 30 metres before offering Knowles the clear run to the line. He scampered under the posts for a try on his first appearance of the season, which allowed Makinson an easy opportunity to add two more points and cap a 28-0 win.
That result is some statement against a side which had earned a good win at Leigh in their opener. If the jury is still out on the Saints attack there are few weaknesses in their defence. To concede only four points and one try in 180 minutes of Super League rugby league - whoever the opponent is - shows a monumental level of commitment. At that rate Saints will be right in the mix for all the major honours. If you only have to score a relatively low number of points to win games you give yourself every chance. Just don’t expect this column not to moan about it if on the next occasion there isn’t the final assault we had here. That sent the fans home happy with champagne moments fresh in the mind. There had been some pretty plain attacking play before it. But oh…that defence.
The stats show that Sironen was Saints’ top metre-maker with 132. Blake showed his promise with 113 from centre while Makinson (106), Knowles (104) and Clark (100) reached the century mark. Giants centre Esan Marsters led all players in this category with 177 but aside from him only wingers Wallis (105) and former Saint Adam Swift (103) hit the milestone.
Lomax put in a remarkable defensive shift with 31 tackles, a tally bettered only where Saints were concerned by the 38 offered by Clark and the 32 executed by the excellent Sironen. Veteran Leroy Cudjoe bettered even Clark with 39 while Sebastine Ikahihifo and Hewitt had 32 and Hill 31.
Saints had a very high completion rate, making only seven errors all night. That might be as pleasing to Wellens as the defensive effort. If you don’t concede points and you don’t drop the ball you are going to be very difficult to beat. Of the teams who have played twice so far in 2024 nobody has come up with fewer than the 16 errors made by Saints. Only Catalans Dragons can match it.
Next up is that visit from the Leopards on Friday (March 1). Their last visit in September and the Challenge Cup semi-final between the two at Warrington in July are clashes which will live long in the memory. Leigh will come into this one on the back of a week off thanks to Wigan’s World Club Challenge exertions but that might not help them against a Saints side currently doing a passable impersonation of a rugby league juggernaut.
Huddersfield Giants: Lolohea, Swift, Marsters, Naiqama, Wallis, Clune, Russell, Hill, Milner, Ikahihifo, Murchie, Hewitt, Cudjoe. Interchanges: Golding, English, Salabio, Wilson
Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Blake, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Whitley, Sironen, Knowles. Interchanges: Delaney, Bell, Wingfield, Mata’utia
Referee: Aaron Moore
As usual a excellent column. I was particularly pleased with the sharpness of our attack so early on in the season, I thought our half backs totally controlled the game, our cover defence was superb.
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