Two straight defeats - and the manner in which they happened - make victory all the more vital for Saints when Hull FC come to town on Friday night (April 19, kick-off 8.00pm).
Challenge Cup hopes were ended in chastening fashion when Paul Wellens’ side slumped to a 31-8 defeat at home to Warrington in last weekend’s quarter-final. That followed on from an insipid attacking display which saw the red vee go down 14-8 to Catalans Dragons in Perpignan in their last Super League outing. A third consecutive defeat in all competitions is unthinkable for Saints who currently sit fifth in the table. However it’s tight at the top with the four teams immediately behind the table-topping Dragons separated only by points difference.
If you’re in a spot of bother form wise then you couldn’t really ask for a more favourable assignment than Hull FC at home. The black and whites’ 2024 campaign has been beyond shambolic through the first seven rounds. Their only win came against out of their depth London Broncos, and even then they were a minute from defeat before Morgan Smith’s try spared their blushes.
Hull have shipped over 50 points in each of their last two home games and are one of only three clubs to have scored less than 100 points and conceded more than 200 across the Super League season so far along with the Broncos and Castleford Tigers. FC average only a tick over 12 points per game in attack while opponents can expect to rack up an average of 36 over an 80-minute period.
The response from owner Adam Pearson has been to mutually consent Head Coach Tony Smith out of the door. Smith is a Grand Final and Challenge Cup winner over his many years in England and was even the catalyst for Hull KR’s recent rise to prominence before making the switch across the city. Yet things have arguably got worse rather than better under the former Leeds, Warrington and England boss. Recruitment has continued to be poor while Smith has seemingly had little impact on improving discipline and resilience. Based on his performance since joining the club in 2022 and not factoring in his past record as a winner his removal does not look like a harsh decision.
Smith’s exit is not the only major development at Hull over the last couple of weeks. Pearson has used the week off given to the club by an early Challenge Cup exit to make the left field appointment of Richie Myler as Director Of Rugby. Myler was busy winding down his playing career at York Knights in the Championship when the call came to take up a more powerful position within the game. Presumably it will be his responsibility to find and appoint a replacement for Smith.
Quite what qualifies him to hold that kind of power at one of the league’s few A licensed clubs is leaving many scratching their heads but wishing him luck. The club had already started to make moves to try and whip the squad back into shape. Nu Brown and Tex Hoy were both released in the days leading up to Myler’s arrival. Both were only on contract with the club until the end of the season. Brown’s most memorable contribution in a Hull shirt will be the red card he received for accidentally clashing heads with Ben Currie in defeat at Warrington in only his second game for the club. Aside from that the hooker has spent much of his time playing out of position at halfback.
Meanwhile Hoy was hardly utilised by Smith, leading to the player criticising his coach on social media and all but making his position untenable. Once a worthy NRL fullback or stand-off with Newcastle Knights his departure should at least free up some cap space to allow Pearson, Myler and co another opportunity to get their squad building right. It probably won’t be a quick fix but nobody can accuse Pearson of not being open to trying out new ideas.
Wellens also talked of new ideas in a downbeat post match presser following the Warrington defeat. Having hinted at changes he quickly qualified that, saying that it did not necessarily mean that there would be mass alterations to his lineup this week. He would not be making decisions based on emotion he assured us.
Some fans must have missed that bit because there was a good deal of online outrage when he announced only three changes to his 21-man squad. Two of those see returns for established first team regulars as Matty Lees and Mark Percival come back in. Lees is now free after a two-game suspension while Percival was in need of extra checks according to concussion protocols after suffering a head knock in the incident which saw Wigan grub Liam Byrne red carded in Saints’ last win on Good Friday. Sam Royle is also drafted in because…well…you can never have too many back rowers, can you?
Lees’ return is timely given that Alex Walmsley will be out for a few weeks with a hamstring issue. Noah Stephens’ chances of a debut might be slightly enhanced by Walmsley’s absence but Saints still have George Delaney, Sione Mata’utia and Morgan Knowles to call on with front row experience at this level. Stephens does at least retain his place in the 21 while Jake Burns and Tee Ritson miss out along with Walmsley.
As the debate rages about the ineptitude of the Saints back line there had been calls from many for Ritson to get a run. Yet that clamour feels like confirmation that you are never a better player than when you are out of the side. For some reason some players’ previously underwhelming endeavours are forgotten when they are inactive and expectations around them rise dramatically. Wasn’t it Jack Wilshere who once said that during one of his many long spells out of the Arsenal team with various injuries the national press had turned him into Lionel Messi?
Have Saints watchers turned Ritson into Martin Offiah just because it’s been a while since he showed us that he isn’t in that stratosphere? After all Ritson has not appeared in a first team game since August. I can’t argue against Wellens’ decision not to select Ritson for the match day squad. Yet given the state that the back division is in dropping him from the 21 if he is not injured might be interpreted as a statement from the coach about Ritson’s likely involvement going forward. Irrespective of how bad the attack gets.
Since it’s not going to be Ritson’s day the only predictable change to the back line will see Percival come back in at centre. That will leave Wellens with a choice between Konrad Hurrell or Waqa Blake for the other centre berth. He could squeeze both into his starting lineup by shunting Blake on to the wing and jettisoning Jon Bennison.
That would be a curious decision given how much faith Wellens has shown in Bennison and the fact that the makeshift winger has just been given the goal-kicking duties. Among all of his other problems, Wellens has gone through no fewer than five goal-kickers in nine league and cup games so far in 2024. Bennison has looked among the most likely to be consistently successful in the role.
Fullback Jack Welsby and right winger Tommy Makinson seem nailed on to start barring any injury mishaps between now and kick-off time. There seems little indication of change in the halves either with skipper Jonny Lomax continuing to partner Lewis Dodd. Yet the former is creaking while the latter’s kicking game is stultifyingly predictable. Some have called for Moses Mbye to get another opportunity at halfback where it was generally perceived that he added more variety with the boot when he fulfilled the role at Leeds in the cup in Dodd’s absence.
If he’s not doing that then expect Mbye to again be the alternative to Daryl Clark at nine. Lees and Delaney are the likely starters at prop with Knowles and Mata’utia also set for stints there. The back row remains an embarrassment of riches with Mata’utia, Knowles, Joe Batchelor, Curtis Sironen, Matt Whitley and James Bell all making it very unlikely we’ll see Royle.
FC’s interim boss Simon Grix has made four changes to the 21 who were on duty for the 56-22 shellacking by Huddersfield Giants a fortnight ago. Hoy and Brown are two of those while Ligi Sao and Jack Brown are both suspended. Teenage halfback Macca Harman is included along with hooker Jaylen Hodgson, nephew of ex-Canberra Raiders and England nine Josh Hodgson. Veteran dummy half Danny Houghton returns from a rib injury while the inclusion of Denive Balmforth starts to make it feel like Grix’s plan for beating Saints is to play an entire team of pivots. If they’re really fast it might just work.
In fairness to Grix he is still without a plethora of experience with men like Carlos Tuimavave, Jake Trueman, Brad Fash, Jack Ashworth and Jack Walker all still out injured. The onus now is on the likes of Houghton, Darnell McIntosh, Liam Sutcliffe and overseas recruits Franklin Pele, Jaydn Okunbor and Herman Ese’ese to perform and inspire the youth to do likewise.
These two sides met four times over the course of 2023 in league and cup. Saints won three of those including a 32-18 Challenge Cup quarter-final success aided and abetted by Josh Griffin’s red card for memorably chirping at referee Chris Kendall on his way off the field at halftime. These are the kinds of things that happen at Hull in recent years and that Myler will want to stamp out through the next coaching appointment.
A week after that cup win Saints lost 34-6 at Hull in a game which saw the now retired Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook make one of only five starts in his final year and Knowles operating at hooker. In the two home meetings with the black and whites Saints won 20-12 in March and 30-12 in the final regular season game of 2023.
Those results actually allowed Hull to win the Steve Prescott Cup, played for annually between the clubs in memory of the Super League and Challenge Cup winner who became a prolific fund raiser after being diagnosed with cancer. The trophy is presented to the team with the highest aggregate score over the course of the league meetings between the two so that 34-6 win was enough to keep FC in front on aggregate despite Saints’ two victories at home. This weekend’s game will be the first leg of the 2024 version with the return scheduled for August 3 at the MKM Stadium.
Despite the noise around Saints at the moment - much of it coming from their own fans with those of the various opposition largely of the belief that Wellens’ side will eventually come good - it is still hard to imagine a loss in this one. FC don’t possess the kind of pace boasted by Warrington or the Salford side who took advantage of a Percival red card to win at Saints in March. That being the case - and if Grix’s side try to get into a dull grind for field position - a game of fewest errors wins - they are likely to be handled with something to spare by a Saints pack which has not stopped being among the league’s best because of one poor result or even the loss of Walmsley.
We can expect a win, but probably not by the 50+ scores that the Giants and Leigh Leopards racked up against Hull recently. Nor should we hold our breath until Saints match the 28 points that Hull KR put up in the first half against their neighbours on Good Friday. It should be comfortable enough for Saints but it’s unlikely to be pretty. Saints by 20, at which point the debates will no doubt rage anew.
Squads;
Saints;
1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Waqa Blake, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 14. Moses Mbye, 15. James Bell, 16. Curtis Sironen, 19. Matt Whitley, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 31. Noah Stephens.
Hull FC;
2. Liam Tindall 4. Liam Sutcliffe 5. Darnell McIntosh 8. Herman Ese’ese 9. Danny Houghton 10. Franklin Pele 11. Jayden Okunbor 14. Joe Cator 15. Jordan Lane 17. Cam Scott 19. Morgan Smith 21. Will Gardiner 23. Davy Litten 26. Lewis Martin 27. Zach Jebson 28. Denive Balmforth 30. Matty Laidlaw 33. Macca Harman 35. Jeylan Hodgson. 37. Logan Moy 40. Jack Charles
Referee: Tom Grant
Video Referee: Liam Moore
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