Shall we start with the good news?
Ok then. The indisputable facts are that Saints recorded a seventh win in nine Super League outings in 2024 as Jonny Lomax’s last minute drop goal sealed a 13-12 victory over Huddersfield Giants on Thursday night (April 25).
It’s a success which takes Paul Wellens’ side to the top of the table after Catalans Dragons, Wigan and Warrington all lost over the weekend. Which I’m sure has made us all feel a lot better about life. But at the time - as Lomax’s clinical, expertly executed 35 metre one-pointer sailed over the crossbar at the West end of the ground - it was hard as a Saints fan to feel anything other than relief.
Sometimes - like in the denouement of last year’s World Club Challenge win at Penrith Panthers - these sorts of endings bring wild joy. Yet it just didn’t move you that way after what had gone before as Wellens presided over another turgid attacking display. You had to be one of those fans lucky enough to have a true conviction that the method of victory is unimportant to get a real kick out of this one. For the pessimistic - realistic? - among us it was nothing more than a reprieve from what could have been a damaging defeat. And an 80 minutes which suggested that the problems we have aren’t going away quickly.
Over in Huddersfield - and by extension in the rugby league media - the narrative is quite different. Even in defeat the performance of Ian Watson’s side is being painted as the last word in gallantry and glorious failure. An indication that this is a Giants side which may yet be able to mix it with the very best in 2024.
But are Saints really that? Another way to spin it for Giants fans might be that they still managed to lose to a Saints side playing some of its worst rugby league since Lama Tasi, Jack Owens and Tommy Lee were struggling to get us to Keiron Cunningham’s promised land. And in so doing the Giants have had their five-game winning streak in league and cup snapped and find themselves outside the playoff spots following Salford’s win over the Wolves on Saturday (April 27). They will drop further if Leeds can beat Hull FC by 67 points. Anyone who saw the black and whites on their visit to St Helens last week will know that’s not impossible.
Wellens made just one change to the 17 which had walloped FC 58-0 last time out. Daryl Clark missed that one with a knee injury but was restored this week, albeit he had to settle for a place on the bench to begin with. His presence there meant that Ben Davies’ brief dalliance with the match day squad ended as he reverted to his now familiar role of 18th man, only eligible if his side should suffer two game ending concussions.
BREAKING - We interrupt this review to bring you news that the Australian media are reporting that Lewis Dodd has signed a deal to play for South Sydney Rabbitohs from next season.
Dodd told us that this was his intention soon after kicking the winning drop goal in last year’s World Club Challenge triumph over Penrith Panthers. Since then his performances in the red vee haven’t really made you believe it would happen. Why would an NRL club invest in an under-performing British halfback when there is a veritable conveyor belt of Australian talent in that position? How many British halves have cracked the NRL in recent years? George Williams had a good spell at Canberra Raiders but beyond him it’s tough to think of too many.
If Dodd has secured a move to Sydney it is based on what the scouts see in him potentially rather than what he has been doing on the field. Some argue that is down to coaching while others suggest it is more to do with the ruptured achilles that Dodd suffered on Good Friday two years ago. If he does make the move then I guess we’re going to find out the truth of that.
He remained out with a groin issue for this one so Jon Bennison started the evening at fullback with Jack Welsby and Lomax in the halves. Moses Mbye kept hold of the starting hooker role as Clark prowled the sideline awaiting his opportunity.
Watson was deprived of the services of centre Esan Marsters, so former Wigan beard wearer Jake Bibby lined up at left centre inside ex-Saints winger Adam Swift. Oliver Wilson started at prop as Matty English dropped to the bench while Harry Rushton slotted into the second row berth vacated by the injured Harvey Livett.
The Giants made a fast start. Less than five minutes had elapsed when they took the lead. When they did it was another player once of our parish who inflicted the damage. Tui Lolohea’s high crossfield bomb was controlled by Rushton who handed it to Kevin Naiqama to cross in front of the West Stand. It was the centre’s fifth try in nine Super League appearances this season and was improved by Jake Connor’s conversion to give the Giants an early 6-0 advantage.
Naiqama wasn’t the only Saints old boy causing problems for his old club. When Connor put Swift in space down the left flank the winger made 40m - crashing through an uncharacteristically weak attempt at a tackle from Tommy Makinson - before putting in a kick towards the try line for Lolohea to chase. Waqa Blake raced after it with him and it was the Fijian who got to the ball first. Unfortunately his attempt to bat it dead was not strong enough, sending the ball bobbling slowly towards the dead ball line where Swift got to it just in time and just before the diving Lomax. Connor’s second goal of the evening had Huddersfield in command at 12-0.
The Giants were travelling along at a point per minute at that stage. Two minutes later they could have improved even that scoring rate with some better handling. Connor’s pass to Bibby was a perfectly serviceable one but in his haste to scoop it up and move it on to a very open looking Swift the ex-Wigan man could only knock the ball forward. A try at that juncture could have knocked the stuffing out of this Saints side. After all it is not exactly one built for comebacks. There was still close to an hour to play but overturning a 16 or 18-point deficit is very difficult when your attacking game plan relies on keeping hold of the ball close to the ruck until the opposition defence dissipates out of sheer boredom.
When the Giants next raided down that side of the field Saints came up with the perfect answer, and one which was a key factor in turning the game back in their favour. Had Lolohea’s pass found Bibby or Swift on the south touchline it might very well have ended with one of them scoring the visitors’ third try. The defenders on that edge were toiling anyway but on this occasion Makinson had left a huge gap as he gambled on shutting the attack down. It paid off in spades as he snaffled the intercept and went 60 metres untouched to the Giants try line.
Mark Percival’s first goal of the night brought the deficit back to 12-6 and suddenly things looked up. You wouldn’t say they looked rosy at that point but they were certainly looking a bit more manageable. Makinson is now just one try away from 200 for Saints and just four short of moving into seventh place above Ryan Atkins on the list of all time Super League try scorers. All time being since 1996, of course.
During that time, if Atkins had been awarded every try that he claimed then he’d no doubt be well clear of current record holder Danny McGuire’s total of 247. That mark will likely be passed by Ryan Hall either this year in his final season at Hull KR or next year when he returns to Leeds Rhinos for one last barely believable hurrah.
Makinson has been linked with a move to Catalans Dragons for next season and beyond and whether he stays or goes it will be interesting to see how far up the list he can climb. After Atkins the next mark in his sights will be the 196 managed by former Giants winger Jermaine McGillvary. Makinson’s Super League total currently stands at 182.
Having seen his team get back into the game Wellens made an immediate tactical change. Bennison was withdrawn for Clark meaning Mbye moved into the halves alongside Lomax and Welsby reverted to the fullback role. The glass half full view on this is that it was a strategic masterstroke from Wellens as it gave Saints more threat out of dummy half, a more creative player at fullback and a more reliable kicking game from Mbye.
If your glass is half empty - and let’s be honest mine often is - then you’re asking why the competition’s leading nine was left out of the starting 13 in the first place. Is there still a fitness issue with Clark which meant he could only give us 50 minutes? Or did Wellens just get it wrong? Either way it was the introduction of the former Warrington man rather than the positional switch for Mbye which led to the Saints dominance which characterised the second half. Mbye did a job but it’s a stretch to suggest that he did anything that we haven’t seen from Dodd under Wellens.
Also helping Saints was the frenzied performance of Bibby. Twice more before halftime he had opportunities to create problems for the Saints defence and twice more he fluffed his lines. First when Connor fed him on Saints’ 20 metre line with a pass which was arguably forward but which Bibby managed to butcher in any case, and then again just a few minutes from the break when having this time held on to Connor’s pass and made good ground he lost it in the tackle of Lomax and Konrad Hurrell.
All of which accentuated how much the Giants were missing Marsters. Had the former West Tiger, North Queensland Cowboy and Gold Coast Titan featured things might have turned out better for the Giants. After all, only Warrington’s Matt Dufty has made more metres than Marsters in Super League so far in 2024 and the ex-New Zealand international has four tries and five assists in his eight appearances.
Huddersfield give him a lot of ball too. Only four players in Super League have carried the ball more often this term, one of whom is now Swift. It’s normally a potent left edge and when you marry that with the one weakness in the Saints defence which is on that side it makes you feel even more like raising a glass - half empty or half full - to the shortcomings of Bibby and the absence of Marsters.
The final threat to the scoreboard in the opening half came from Adam Clune. With time running out he launched a drop goal attempt from 35 metres but the radar was off as it sailed wide and was caught by Welsby on the goal line.
The possession and territory completely flipped in Saints’ favour after the break and the first sign that it may pay dividends came seven minutes in. Mbye’s high ball was lost on his own 10 metre line by Giants winger Elliot Wallis and landed at the feet of Matt Whitley. He reacted well to dribble the ball over the line and fall on it for a potential try, but referee Liam Moore was not convinced.
After sorting out a little spat which broke out with several players needlessly running in Moore sent the try up for review to Ben Thaler in the negative. He was right to do so as replays showed that Percival - who had helped dislodge the ball from Wallis’ possession with a shuddering hit aided by Blake - got there a fraction too early. The Giants man was still off the ground. It was a fine margin but nevertheless a clear tackle in the air from the Saints centre.
A largely unnoticed incident sent Giants prop Matty English off for a head injury assessment (HIA). He’d had the misfortune to run into James Bell who - while not really known for his big hitting in defence - put plenty into the shot. It wasn’t penalised by Moore but given that it lead to an HIA - which was later passed by English - it’s the sort of incident which was heavily scrutinised by the Match Review Panel (MRP) in those crazy early season days when players were being dismissed for accidental head clashes. It’s not totally clear at full speed where the contact was from Bell but it’s always worth keeping an eye on the findings of the MRP when they are released on Monday afternoon.
Mbye’s kicking game created another opportunity 15 minutes into the second half. His crossfield bomb was flapped at by a number of players on both sides before falling kindly for Clark to touch down. Again Moore had his suspicions that something wasn’t quite right about it and again he was correct. George Delaney had got a fingertip to the ball and knocked it forward towards the Giants line before Clark grounded it. It was another near miss for Saints who - without playing any flowing rugby to rip open the Giants defence - were still having chances to score as their dominance grew.
That dominance bore fruit just after the hour mark. Saints had gained good field position when Luke Yates was penalised for interference on Blake at the play-the-ball. Morgan Knowles was tackled 10 metres out from where Clark scooted out from dummy half to score Saints’ second try of the night. It was a good piece of opportunism by Clark but it was greatly helped by the indiscipline of Connor at marker.
Having somehow avoided being penalised for grabbing hold of Knowles’ shirt as the Saints man prepared to play the ball, Connor abandoned his defensive responsibilities to instead go to Moore to complain that Knowles had punched him. That left a huge gap at marker through which a player of Clark’s experience and quality needs no second invitation to travel.
Connor’s story wasn’t entirely true in any case. Knowles certainly had a swipe at Connor in response to the shirt grab. But it was more of a slap than a punch. Knowles shouldn’t be doing it and is perhaps fortunate that Moore didn’t take a more serious view of it. It’s exactly the sort of needless grubbery that often gets the Saints loose forward into trouble. He’s as prone to shithousing as anyone plying their trade over the hill. Well, maybe not Willie Isa. But if you’re in Connor’s position you have to defend the play. Make the tackle first and ask questions later. That Connor chose another course of action probably says something about why he’s not quite having the kind of career that his talent should allow.
Connor’s indiscipline and Clark’s opportunism left Percival with a routine task to level the scores at 12-12. At which point the excitement at the prospect of going on to win the game was tempered only by the thought that we might have to sit through another 10 minutes - and 10 minutes of one out drives and drop goal attempts at that - to achieve it.
There was still time to avoid that and both sides had chances in the final quarter. Saints had a big opportunity 15 minutes from time when Wallis lost possession deep in his own territory. Clark was on hand to scoop up possession and hit Percival out wide. He handed on to Blake who attempted an elaborate flying finish in the corner. His immediate shake of the head wasn’t a great indication that it would count but if you were inside the ground and had not seen that gesture the hope may well have risen. Moore sent it up for review as no try which Thaler soon confirmed.
It’s not a try, but what I will say is that the pictures appeared just as out of focus as those which persuaded the officials to award Bevan French a try on Good Friday. Those images don’t clearly show separation even if you strongly suspect that it’s there. Awarding this one because of the French one would have been two wrongs failing to produce a right. I’m certainly not arguing for that. I’m arguing that if two similar images produce such different outcomes then perhaps we ought to be relying less on technology. Instead, the clamour continues for yet more video review shenanigans in the form of NRL brainchild Captain’s Challenge. It’s a no from me.
It was quite clear as we moved inside the last 10 minutes that a one-pointer either way would win it. Yet you try telling that to Connor. Already culpable for allowing Saints back into the game he then wasted the Giants last realistic chance. Receiving the ball from Lolohea with not much happening around him, he chose not to hold on to the ball and help set up for the drop goal but to instead try a miraculous tip-on pass to Swift. It was never on and it surprised nobody when it floated into touch. It looked forward in any case. Just another of many brain farts noisily squeezed out by the Giants fullback on a day that was quickly turning against him.
Sebastine Ikahihifo had a decent impact for the Giants off the bench. Unfortunately for him perhaps his most telling contribution came late when his high tackle on Whitley gave Saints the territory they needed to spare us all that looming period of golden point extra time. First to try his luck was Mbye but his effort cannoned into the onrushing Connor and flew straight to Percival. There has been a lot made of Moore’s failure to wipe the tackle count at this point. While it is difficult to interpret Connor’s block as anything other than a deliberate attempt to play the ball I’m not sure it’s such a big deal. There were around 50 seconds left at this point. At worst Saints were denied a few plays with which to move closer to the Giants’ posts for their next attempt to win the day.
But that didn’t matter as it turned out. Clark - who was a clear man of the match for this observer - found Lomax on the next play and his execution of the drop goal skill was exemplary. It was only the fourth one-pointer of his 337 Saints appearances and his first since the 19-12 Super League semi-final win over Salford in 2022. It’s this kind of clutch temperament which could yet take Saints back to the top of the mountain even if the methods are boring us all rigid.
Makinson’s theft of Lolohea’s pass went a long way to making him Saints’ top metre maker on the day with 182. Welsby added 136 while both Blake and Matty Lees contributed 101. Whitley and Joe Batchelor were the home side’s busiest defenders with 38 tackles each while Mbye had 36 and Knowles 35. Lomax was not limited to heroic last minute drop goals, putting in a big defensive stint of his own with 33 stops. Lees was the other Saint to pass the 30 mark with 31.
Watson’s side only had one man with over 100 metres to his name with ball in hand. Unsurprisingly that was Swift who took advantage of that unconvincing right edge of Saints defence to rack up 164 metres. Yates pulled off a ludicrous 61 tackles in the Giants’ defensive effort with Rushton adding 44. Ash Golding (35), Leroy Cudjoe (34) and Wilson (31) all made significant defensive contributions also.
That’s a lot of work between those five men but the feeling remains that defending against this Saints attack should be an awful lot more taxing than it is. There appears to be a reluctance to keep any passing movements going across the width of the field and instead an eagerness to turn back inside and accept the tackle to start again.
What are we afraid of? Is this a coached, extremely low risk policy implemented by Wellens or is it our creative players in the middle showing us their lack of trust in the players in wider positions? If we can see that this team has a chronic lack of pace then it’s a fair certainty that Lomax and Welsby recognise it too. The skipper’s reference to winning ugly in an eerie atmosphere in his post match interview perhaps shone a light on how he is feeling about the way Saints are travelling. If there is a reluctance to move the ball around because of the limitations of the three-quarters then whatever Wellens is devising offensively may be superfluous. Tactics may actually be an irrelevance at this point. At least until we can get some pace in the side. The potential loss of Dodd won’t help in that regard.
Thankfully the defence continues to prove how monstrous it is. Despite the issues on the right edge exploited by Swift Saints produced yet another complete 40-minute period without conceding any points. That’s now nine in 22 completed halves in league and cup in 2024. You don’t need me to tell you how utterly preposterous that is and why it would be foolish to lose faith in Saints’ title chances whatever the problems in attack. Especially if our main rivals are going to continue to make a mess of their own in games they ought to win.
Next week Saints travel to Hull KR on the back of the Robins’ 26-10 dismissal of Wigan which has brought Willie Peters’ team to within two points of Saints and the Dragons in the top two spots. Despite their league positions the manner of the respective performances of the two sides this year could conceivably make Saints a slight underdog coming in. That may help take a bit of pressure off as Saints bid to stay top of the pile after Round 10.
Saints: Bennison, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Blake, Welsby , Lomax , Lees, Mbye, Mata’utia, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Bell, Sironen, Delaney, Clark
Huddersfield Giants: Connor, Wallis, Naiqama, Bibby, Swift, Lolohea, Clune, Wilson, Milner, Greenwood, Rushton, Cudjoe, Yates. Interchanges: Golding, English, Halsall, Ikahihifo
Referee: Liam Moore
Video Referee: Ben Thaler