Saints v Catalans Dragons - Preview

We might find out a bit more about the title credentials of table-topping Saints this week as they host Catalans Dragons on Friday night (May 31, kick-off 8.00pm).

Saints have shot to the top of the table with back-to-back wins in which they scored a combined total of 100 points in seeing off Castleford Tigers and Leeds Rhinos.  Wigan and Warrington are breathing down their necks but face each other this week in a pre-Challenge Cup final phoney war. That presents Saints with a chance to pull away from one of those two by making a statement and beating another genuine contender in Steve McNamara’s Dragons.

The French side sit fifth in the table coming into this one, though only points difference keeps them behind fourth-placed Hull KR.  Both are only two points behind the leading three teams in what is still a tight and congested top five.  Yet the 2023 Grand Finalists are in the midst of something of a blip having lost three of their last four league outings against Leigh, Wigan and Warrington.  The only win they managed during that run was a 26-0 success over the Rhinos.  And nobody writes home about beating the current Leeds outfit. 

Head Coach Paul Wellens already had injury worries going into the Leeds game and he was presented with two more by the end of it.  Jake Wingfield, Matt Whitley, Alex Walmsley and Morgan Knowles were all absent and will be for some time. They were joined on the injured list by Joe Batchelor and Jonny Lomax.  Batchelor sustained ankle ligament damage after he was the victim of a hip drop from Leeds youngster Luis Roberts while Lomax’s fractured hand looked more accidental.  But it is no less significant for that.

Wellens has already said that Jack Welsby will stand in for Lomax as skipper but it remains unlikely that he will cover for him at stand-off.  Wellens seems to like the way Moses Mbye has operated in the halves when called upon this year and so we should probably expect him to feature there alongside Lewis Dodd.  That would leave Welsby to continue at fullback.  The other option would be to bring Jon Bennison in and push Welsby up alongside Dodd. But Wellens appears to have lost faith in Bennison since dragging him off early in the win over Huddersfield Giants in mid-April.

The number of times we will see Tommy Makinson in the red vee (actually, we are playing in black this week despite being at home) is now limited.  Enjoy him while you can as he lines up on the right wing opposite Waqa Blake with Mark Percival and Konrad Hurrell at the centre positions.

In the absence of Walmsley the pack is led by Matty Lees.  He has had Sione Mata’utia for company in the front row until now but with both Whitley and Batchelor out of contention the former Newcastle Knight may be needed further towards the back of the pack.  Curtis Sironen’s form is a reason to be cheerful so expect the second row to be formed by him and one other, with Sam Royle also in contention should Wellens feel that Mata’utia is still needed at prop.  George Delaney and youngster Noah Stephens offer youthful impact in the front row also while Agnatius Paasi is again named in the 21 despite not quite making it into the match day 17 which faced Leeds last time out. With Mbye possibly pressed into service elsewhere Wellens may hope to get the full 80 minutes out of Daryl Clark at hooker. Jake Burns plays nine but this would be a heck of a fixture to throw him into for a competitive debut.

With Knowles out James Bell is the obvious choice at loose forward.  It’s almost certain that there will be some youth on the bench besides Stephens with Burns, loose forward Leon Cowen and Johnny Vaughan all in the initial selection. 

McNamara has problems of his own on the injury front. He has been forced into four changes to his 21. Arthur Romano, Mike McMeeken, Paul Seguier and Alrix Da Costa are all out. In come winger Fouad Yaha, loose forwards Loan Castano and Yacine Ben Abdeslem as well as centre Guillermo Aispuro - Bichet.

Matthieu Laguerre looks the likely replacement for Romano at centre where he should be partnered by former Sydney Rooster Matt Ikuvalu. Yaha will hope to challenge for a wing spot but although both are set to leave the club at the end of the season he will find it difficult to budge one of the two Toms - Davies or Johnstone. Since the retirement of Sam Tomkins Arthur Mourgue has established himself at fullback. 

Jordan Abdull hasn’t yet proved himself to be the quality signing he was thought to be when he joined on loan from Hull KR. He’s nevertheless in line to start in the midfield ideas department. The explosive Jayden Nikorima might partner him if Theo Fages is asked to stand in for Da Costa at hooker. Fages split fan opinion during his five years at Saints but he did manage to win two Super League Grand Finals and a Challenge Cup after arriving from Salford. A short spell at Huddersfield followed before he headed back home to France. 

The veteran Julien Bousquet will be charged with taking it to the Saints pack. He could be joined by former Wigan man Romain Navarrete. Tariq Sims should feature in the back row while we could see a clash within the Sironen family if Curtis’ brother Bayley is also included. Ben Garcia is a highly influential figure who can play anywhere in the pack but is most likely to feature at loose forward. 

The sides have met once already this season. Saints went down 14-8 in Perpignan in April. Tries from Makinson and Welsby weren’t enough for Saints as three Mourgue goals proved the difference after tries from Ikuvalu and McMeeken. 

It was a fairly similar story in the meeting prior to that. No Saints fan will need reminding of Tomkins’ last-gasp moment of inspiration which allowed the Dragons to progress to Old Trafford in October at Saints’ expense. That followed two league clashes, both of which were won by the French side. They triumphed 24-12 in Perpignan in April of 2023 and then edged Saints 14-12 on their own patch in July of that year. Saints’ last victory over the Dragons came in April of 2022 when tries from Welsby, Percival, Dodd, Batchelor, Knowles and Dan Norman together with six Makinson goals sealed a 36-20 success at the Stade Brutus Gilbert. 

The Dragons are only 18 years old as a Super League entity which is perhaps not long enough to have faced Saints in too many really high stakes games. The 2021 Super League Grand Final stands out. Saints prevailed 12-10 on that occasion thanks largely to a couple of Kevin Naiqama scores. 

Probably the most important win in this fixture for the Dragons over those 18 years was their 35-16 Challenge Cup semi-final triumph at Bolton in August 2018. It’s a game remembered by most Saints fans as the one where Ben Barba stopped being Ben Barba and started to be…well…a different sort of Ben Barba. For Dragons fans it was a crucial step on the way to winning the cup as they beat Warrington 20-14 at Wembley. 

That success led to a League Leaders Shield in 2021 but the big prize of the Super League title itself has so far eluded them. As much as Saints will want to make a statement this is also an opportunity for McNamara’s men to demonstrate that they too will be in the shake-up come September and October. 

With so many key forwards missing it’s a golden opportunity for the Dragons to get the win. Saints are strong at home but not infallible as Salford Red Devils and Warrington have already shown in 2024. This is a tough one to call and there might not be more than a converted try in it. Saints by 6. 

Squads;

Saints;

1.Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Waqa Blake, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 7. Lewis Dodd, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 14. Moses Mbye, 15. James Bell, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 24. Jake Burns, 30. Jonny Vaughan, 31. Noah Stephens, 32. Leon Cowen.

Catalans Dragons;

1. Arthur Mourgue 2. Tom Davies 4. Matthieu Laguerre 5. Fouad Yaha 6. Jayden Nikorima 7. Théo Fages 10. Julian Bousquet 11. Tariq Sims 13. Benjamin Gracia 15. Bayley Sironen 16. Romain Navarrete 17. César Rouge 20. Chris Satae 21. Matt Ikuvalu 23. Jordan Dezaria 24. Tom Johnstone 25. Loan Castano 27. Jordan Abdull 28. Franck Maria 30. Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet 32. Yacine Ben Abdeslem

Referee: Aaron Moore

Video Referee: Jack Smith 

Saints 40 Leeds Rhinos 10 - Review

It was something of a slow burn but Saints again piled on the points as they returned to action with a 40-10 humbling of Leeds Rhinos on Friday night (May 24).

It’s a result which sees Paul Wellens’ side go back to the top of the Super League table, albeit only points difference separates them from both Warrington and Wigan, with the Warriors still having that game in hand from their World Club Challenge exploits at the start of the year. Even so, Saints’ performance so far in 2024 is not too shabby considering that they are a team in relative decline. It’s not that long since a Sunak-esque panic was setting in after that bad defeat to Hull KR.

Meanwhile Rohan Smith’s Rhinos continue to struggle like Nigel Farage at the ballot box. This was their sixth league loss out of 12 and leaves them outside the top six playoff places, two points behind Salford Red Devils who occupy the final playoff berth.


Wellens is in the midst of arguably his toughest period since taking over the Head Coach role in 2023. While results are generally good the manner of defeats to Warrington at home in the cup and Rovers in the league recently have cranked up the pressure on the former fullback. Coming into this one he had to deal with a clutch of injuries - a situation which worsened as the game wore on - with several key pack men unavailable. 


Jake Wingfield was recently ruled out for four months while Matt Whitley - acquired from Catalans Dragons at the start of the year - will likely miss three months. Both have had shoulder surgery. Morgan Knowles is expected to miss around six weeks with a groin problem while despite making his comeback for the reserves last weekend Agnatius Paasi wasn’t considered ready to step back up to Super League level for this one. 


All of which added up to another run out at prop for Sione Mata’utia with Curtis Sironen and Joe Batchelor forming the second row. James Bell stood in for Knowles at loose forward. Accompanying backup hooker Moses Mbye on the bench were young prop duo George Delaney and Noah Stephens as well as Ben Davies. The centre made the 17 for only the third time this season after what has seemed an interminable period as 18th man. Stephens was making only his second Saints appearance having debuted in the 60-4 rout of Castleford a fortnight ago.


Smith gave a Leeds debut to Matty Russell - signed on loan from Warrington recently. He replaced Alfie Edgell on the wing while Brodie Croft returned to renew his halfback partnership with Matt Frawley at the expense of Rhinos fans’ preferred candidate Jack Sinfield. Harry Newman was available again at centre allowing Rhyse Martin to revert to the second row alongside James McDonnell. Twenty-one year-old prop Tom Nicholson-Watton made the bench for a Rhinos side still missing David Fusitu’a, Paul Momirovski, Tom Holroyd and former Saint and 2020 Grand Final winner James Bentley. 


Newman has already been first to go close having just failed to ground Croft’s dab to the in-goal when Saints ran into more injury problems. Just over five minutes had been played when Batchelor fell victim to what Wellens later described as an ankle ligament injury. He has since suggested that the back rower is looking at two months on the sidelines. The former York man faces more time out after Luis Roberts - deputising at centre for Momorovski - landed his full body weight on Batchelor in what looked suspiciously like a classic example of a hip drop. 


The Match Review Panel (MRP) acknowledged that something was amiss with Roberts’ effort, handing him a £250 fine for what they decided was dangerous contact. They also explained that the Leeds youngster applied pressure to the limb or limbs of the Saints player in a way that presented an unacceptable risk of injury to him. And yet they declined to suspend Roberts. All of which is fairly baffling in the context of what we have witnessed this season and in terms of the prevailing mood in the game since the threat of lawsuits from ex-players emerged. 


Batchelor is likely to be unavailable for a couple of months which presents Wellens with a bit of a headache in a position in which Saints had looked almost too deep before now. Mata’utia could make the transition back to the back row from prop fairly smoothly as he did here, but with Alex Walmsley still out that would probably mean big minutes consistently for Delaney and maybe even Stephens at least until Paasi is reintroduced to the first team’s match day 17. 


A couple of minutes on from Batchelor’s exit the Rhinos went in front. Saints had turned the ball over in what we are consistently told is the best place possible - right on the opponents try line and close to the sideline. Forced into this undesirable corner Leeds improvised. Croft placed a measured kick over the Saints defensive line and out to the left wing where it was taken in stride by Ash Handley. 


The Leeds winger surged all the way down to the Saints 20 before he was hauled down by Tommy Makinson. Not one to rest on his feathered cap Handley stayed alert and finished the job on the next play. The ball was moved out to him through Mikolaj Oledzki, Croft and Martin with just enough space to squeeze in at the left corner. The play was sent up for review by referee Liam Moore whose initial hunch that a try had been scored was confirmed by video referee Tom Grant. Martin’s 35th goal of the campaign had the visitors 6-0 up.


By this time it had been far too long since Waqa Blake had done anything to bring attention to himself. The winger won his side a penalty when he ran directly at McDonnell who was then a little slow to let Blake get back to his feet. On receipt of the decision in his favour the former Parramatta man clapped sarcastically in the face of McDonnell, whose general expression is that of a man who takes some amusing. Predictably Blake’s actions didn’t paint a smile on McDonnell’s face. It was taunting, which other sports take a rather more dim view of. It’s probably one of a couple of things in the Blake character that Wellens could do without.


Yet in winning the penalty Blake had set his side up for what could have easily been their first score of the night. In the ensuing set Dodd’s short ball hit Sironen at pace just yards from the Rhinos line. The former Manly man crashed over but Grant was called upon again and ruled that Sironen had grounded the ball short initially before losing control. 


Anyone who saw any of Frawley’s spell at Huddersfield Giants won’t have been massively surprised at his involvement in getting Saints on the scoreboard and back in the game. Just as the clash entered its second quarter Frawley went from the sublime to the ridiculous as Leeds’ slim advantage disappeared. 


First of all he plucked a Jack Welsby kick out of the air close to his own line and began tearing up the field towards Saints territory. However, soon realising that he wouldn’t quite make it that far he started to look for support. Sheer panic appeared to take over at that point as his wayward offload missed all of his teammates and was instead secured by Makinson 25 metres out.  From that position it was left to Konrad Hurrell to power out from dummy half and find Mata’utia on the right edge. He didn’t need any further instruction, crashing through the attempted tackles of Martin and Roberts to bring Saints level at 6-6 once Percival had slotted his first conversion of the night.


Saints could have been forced to turn to one of their many other part-time goal-kickers soon after as Percival was involved in the incident which brought Russell’s debut to a premature end. As the winger received the ball he was met with a shuddering hit from the Saints centre. It was not high but with the natural delay while Russell received treatment before he was eventually helped off the field it was hard not to think that Grant might be taking a close look at the Percival technique. 


Safe to say the Percival challenge did not feature much in the way of arm wrapping. It was mostly body to body with a soupcon of shoulder thrown in. A style not that dissimilar to that which saw Percival depart early from the home defeat by Salford in March. The fact that it was not high is probably what saved Percival from at least a spell on the 10-minute naughty step given the current climate. Yet this was one occasion this season when a lengthy delay didn’t lead to disciplinary action. Moore didn’t even award a penalty. 


With both sides having lost a player to injury Saints soon went ahead in that unwanted statistic. This time it was the skipper and chief playmaker Jonny Lomax leaving the action. The four-time Grand Final winner came out of a tackle clutching a hand. After receiving treatment on the field but later being helped off he was not seen again for the rest of the night. 


The prognosis from Wellens is that his captain has fractured his hand. The boss gave has since suggested that Lomax will miss around four weeks of action. He will be replaced as captain by Welsby, who lets not forget has worn the armband at international level when George Williams was unavailable for England. Yet for both his leadership skills and his ball playing abilities the thought of going into this week’s meeting with Catalans Dragons without Lomax is a distinctly unappetising one. 


He was replaced by Mbye who would automatically come into Wellens’ thoughts as he tries to find a new halfback partner for Dodd for a month or so. Another option might be to move Welsby alongside the South Sydney Rabbitohs-bound Dodd and restore Jon Bennison to the side at fullback. Welsby and Dodd would - on paper at least - be a halfback partnership to envy but their union is made less likely by what we have seen previously from Wellens in regards to Bennison. The youngster has fallen out of favour since being yanked from the action in the 13-12 home win over Huddersfield at the end of April. It doesn’t look like Wellens has much trust in him at the moment. 


That makes Mbye favourite. His kicking game is arguably better than what we already have in Dodd. If the former NRL man can take that responsibility on then it may free Dodd up to be more creative as a runner with ball in hand during his last few months with the club. It’s a nice thought and Heaven knows we need one if we are to be forced to contemplate Lomax’s absence for the foreseeable. It just doesn’t seem all that likely, both because of Wellens’ small ‘c’ conservatism and Dodd’s desire to stay healthy ahead of his big career move.


Another string to the Mbye bow - it turns out - is scoring tries. Just minutes from half-time he gave Saints the lead. Roberts made very hard work of a Dodd bomb, flapping at it unconvincingly before it bounced kindly for Blake. From that position Saints went right where Matty Lees produced a strange but effective looped offload to Mbye who got there despite the attentions of two Rhinos defenders. A second Percival conversion of the night sent Saints into the break with a 12-6 lead.


Leeds began to cause their own problems early in the second half. Sam Lisone was adjudged to have played the ball incorrectly and when the Rhinos then gave away a repeat set Saints were in prime position. They put daylight between themselves and Smith’s beleaguered troops when Daryl Clark went over from short range after a smart offload by the outstanding Sironen. That left Percival with another easy two and Saints led 18-6. 


Saints sides of old were masters at scoring quick fire tries. Scoring tries in clusters of two, three or even four was not uncommon. This side were able to do that almost at will at Castleford and they managed it again here. No sooner had Percival popped over the conversion of Clark’s try than he was lining up another one as Welsby got over. 


There didn’t seem to be a huge amount of danger when Dodd launched another air raid of a kick towards the Rhinos line. Most fullbacks at this level would probably have dealt with it and then set about the task of getting their side off their own line. Yet Lachie Miller had no more success under the high ball than Roberts had experienced earlier. 


Instead of securing it and starting off the hard yards for Leeds he was beaten to it by Welsby. The new skipper soared above Miller and in one fluid movement turned away from him to touch down. It was his 10th try of the campaign and his 11th followed later in proceedings to put him level with former Saint Adam Swift and just one behind league leader Liam Marshall. Another Percival goal pushed Saints out to a 24-6 lead. A once close contest was all but done.


Roberts had been having a fairly desperate evening but it was he who gave the Rhinos a flicker of hope 10 minutes later. The ball was worked right by Frawley, Croft and Miller to Roberts who just managed to get in at the corner despite the efforts of Blake. The former Eel was not inclined to clap that effort but when Martin missed the extras from out wide it still left Leeds three scores behind and in a 14-point hole at 24-10. 


Blake was having much more fun soon after. He cut through the dawdling Rhinos rearguard from inside his own 30m area and just kept going and going until he found Percival in support. Yet the centre had cut inside towards the Rhinos slowly arriving cover and was brought down by Miller. If Percival had stayed outside Blake he may well have earned himself a walk in. As it was Saints needed one more play the ball for Clark to find Sironen who was not about to miss out as he had done earlier. 


It was only his ninth try in his 54 appearances for Saints. His last had been in the 58-0 rout of Hull in April and before that you have to go back to an 18-6 win at Warrington on the penultimate day of the 2023 regular season. This one capped what might just be his best performance for Saints since arriving from the Sea Eagles at the end of the 2021 season. The lead ballooned to 20 at 30-10 after Percival added two more with the boot.


Of course the week began with the announcement that 2024 will be Makinson’s last campaign for the red vee party. While there is an appreciation from many that the wear and tear on his body has slightly reduced his effectiveness there is still a sadness at the prospect of losing a player who has done so much over the last 14 years. But anyone who begrudges him a couple of years in the south of France at the end of his career hasn’t been paying attention to what he has given to us during that period of almost a decade and a half. 


He hit another milestone in this one, crossing for his 200th Saints try. He is only the eighth man to achieve this feat and joins an exclusive club which features the likes of Tom Van Vollenhoven, Alf Ellaby, Roy Mathias, Anthony Sullivan and Wellens. In many ways the legendary names not on that list highlight what an achievement it is. Makinson joined the club when Clark and Dodd combined to find Welsby whose sublime cut out pass allowed Makinson to dive over untouched. He celebrated with a little nod of the head to the TV camera before Percival was off target for the only time all night to keep the lead at 34-10. 


Percival then had a big part to play as the new leader had the last word in terms of scoring. Put clear on the left edge by a perfectly timed Clark pass the Widnesian tore down the field before finding Welsby on his inside to finish the job. Percival’s sixth goal of the night put him on 34 for the season, behind only Martin, Arthur Mourgue and Marc Sneyd in all of Super League. 


This 40-point haul means that Saints have now scored a century of points in their last two outings. Even against sides of the caliber of this current Leeds side and Castleford that takes some doing when you lack pace and guile. Clearly the veterans in this Saints team still know a few tricks in attack. 


Yet it is noticeable that 80 of those 100 points came in the second halves of those games. Are Saints becoming a classic second half team? The 52 they racked up at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle after the break is a number virtually unheard of in a single half of Super League rugby league. And for all their faults, 28 in the second 40 isn’t a bad return against the Rhinos either. It’s looking like Saints extroardinary levels of fitness which played such a part in their success under Kristian Woolf and Justin Holbrook is still allowing them to cut loose offensively as the games wear on. 


They’re going to need that more than ever in these next few months. The pack is all but decimated so the support cast needs to contribute consistently. Happily Delaney showed in this one that he can fill the void, leading his team with 135 metres on 16 carries. That bettered even Sironen, who managed 123 to go with his try. Delaney also found time to make 31 tackles and statistically was probably the game’s leading player.


Other Saints to carry the egg for over a century of metres were Percival with 147, Blake with 133 and Hurrell on 120. Oledzki gained exactly 100 for Leeds while Handley bettered that with 126. There was little support in blue outside those two. 


As well as Delaney’s effort Lees was Saints’ busiest defender with 38 stops while Clark made 35. Cameron Smith wasn’t the threat that he should be given his talents but he did lead Leeds defensively with 35 tackles. McDonnell managed 34 while Jarrod O’Connor put in another worthy shift with 31. It’s more the missed tackle count that should concern Rohan Smith as Leeds fell off 45 times. Roberts alone was guilty of nine of those.


Leeds made a suicidal 15 errors with ball in hand while Saints were around the league average with eight. 


Both these sides will have a week off in a fortnight as we all get set to become Warrington fans on Challenge Cup final day. Before that Saints have another home test. Catalans Dragons are likely to provide much higher quality opposition than what we saw from the current incarnation of the Rhinos. Without Lomax and a clutch of forwards the task ahead of Wellens and his men is even harder. A win against Steve McNamara’s side would be huge in the circumstances.


Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Blake, Lomax, Dodd, Lees, Clark, Mata’utia, Sironen, Batchelor, Bell. Interchanges: Mbye, Delaney, Davies, Stephens.


Leeds: Miller, Russell, Newman, Roberts, Handley, Croft, Frawley, Oledzki, O’Connor, Sangare, McDonnell, Martin, Smith. Interchanges: Ackers, Lisone, Goudemand, Nicholson-Watton.


Referee: Liam Moore


Video Referee: Tom Grant




Saints v Leeds Rhinos - Preview

Boring tactics and a tendency to be blown away by teams playing expansively and at pace notwithstanding, two weeks without a Saints game has felt like an awfully long time.

Paul Wellens’ side were inactive last week as the Challenge Cup semi-finals took centre stage. Now they return, hosting Leeds Rhinos on Friday night (May 24) as Super League gets back under way. 


When the pause button was pressed Saints sat second in the Super League standings, one of four sides with eight wins and 16 points. Wigan lead the way on points difference but also have a game in hand due to their involvement in the World Club Challenge at the start of the year. Warrington and Catalans Dragons make up the quartet but one of them will lose ground on the other this week as they meet in Perpignan on Saturday (May 25). 


A win over the Rhinos will guarantee that Saints stay in the top three and very likely keep them in the top two such is their points difference advantage over both the Wolves and the Dragons. They may even reclaim top spot with Wigan’s points difference currently only five better than that of the 2023 World champions. Wigan go to Salford on Sunday (May 26) and let’s not forget that Paul Rowley’s side would have beaten the league leaders earlier in the season had it not been for Marc Sneyd’s short dropout brain explosion.


Meanwhile - and despite an unconvincing league campaign so far which has yielded six wins and five losses - the visiting Riders Of Rohan are only four points off that leading group. That leaves them just outside the playoff places in seventh but a win here coupled with defeat for Salford against the Warriors could see the Rhinos back in the mix. Mathematically they could also leapfrog Hull KR into fifth but that would need the Robins to suffer a gargantuan defeat at London Broncos on Sunday. It’s not something I’d recommend you rush out and put your money on.


Wellens has had a triple injury blow to deal with in the buildup to this one. Jake Wingfield only returned to action in the 60-6 pummelling of Castleford Tigers in Saints’ last match a fortnight ago, but suffered a recurrence and now needs surgery. The prognosis is that he will miss the next four months which pretty much rules him out for the remainder of the regular season. Yet if the surgery and rehab goes well he could be a handy addition to the resources come playoff time.


Matt Whitley missed the Castleford game with a shoulder problem of his own which also requires surgery. He is set to be out for around 12 weeks. That puts him in contention to return ahead of the Magic Weekend clash with Wigan at Elland Road on August 17. Were the former Widnes and Catalans Dragons man able to make that he would still miss the next 10 league games. It’s a sad interruption to what has been a fine start to his time with his boyhood club.


The third man facing a lengthy layoff is Morgan Knowles. The loose forward and occasional prop also missed the trip to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle with a groin issue which is now expected to keep him out for around six weeks. That is a significant loss but it should lead to a decent run in the starting side for James Bell. 


When the ex-Leigh man needs a spell Wellens is going to have to get a little more creative. Back rowers Sione Mata’utia, Curtis Sironen or Joe Batchelor could operate there if we’re just looking for an extra ‘middle’ or no frills forward. Or…slightly left field but there are those who would tell you that Jack Welsby could bring a more creative, traditional vibe to the position.


Yet if he did who on Earth would play fullback? Jon Bennison is a candidate but has fallen out of favour recently. The 21 year-old’s last two appearances have been at fullback but he has not featured since he was very pointedly hooked from the action during the 13-12 win over Huddersfield Giants in Saints’ last home game on April 24. 


Tommy Makinson has served his ludicrous one-match ban for the red card that never was at Castleford thanks to a convenient reserve team fixture and is available. It will be his first game since announcing that he will leave the club at the end of the season after 14 years in the first team. 


His next destination is thought to be Catalans Dragons but that information was not part of his announcement. Perhaps he is waiting until Les T ont ete croises et les Is ont ete pointilles on that deal. 


For now he’s a certainty on the right wing ahead of Welsby at fullback and alongside centre pairing Mark Percival and Konrad Hurrell with suddenly free scoring Waqa Blake on the opposite wing. The presence in the 21 for the first time of centre Johnny Vaughan makes me anxious that one of those regular three-quarters might be a slight doubt. Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd - another departing at year’s end - are the halfback pairing of choice.


The front row is still missing the totemic presence of Alex Walmsley but is boosted by the potential return of Agnatius Paasi. The former New Zealand Warrior has not played for the first team since last July when he was on the wrong end of John Asiata’s scandalously unpunished assault to the knee in the Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Leigh Leopards. Paasi played in a reserve game last weekend and makes the 21 for this one. If he is fit enough to feature then he could fill a potential void left by a possible need to switch Mata’utia back to the back row in the absence of Whitley and Knowles. Saints also have Matty Lees and George Delaney while Noah Stephens is included again after making an eye-catching debut at Castleford. 


The second row will most likely feature two of Mata’utia, Sironen and Batchelor from the start while Sam Royle again waits for an opportunity in a position in which Saints are stacked despite the loss of Whitley. Daryl Clarke and Moses Mbye are the hooking duo with the former the probable starter.


And so to our guests whose chances of causing what would be an upset must be somewhat improved by the return of two of their genuine stars. Harry Newman hasn’t played since the Rhinos imploded to lose 30-24 to Huddersfield in mid-April but returns here. Newman doesn’t always emit the vibe of a man who enjoys his rugby league but he is undoubtedly one of the better centres in the competition. 


Perhaps of even greater value to Coach Smith is the availability of Brodie Croft. The 2023 Steve Prescott Man Of Steel hasn’t been the roaring success expected by those of us who brazenly suggested at the start of the season that Leeds could finish top of the pile. Yet he is a highly influential and highly skilled halfback. He missed Leeds’ last outing - a 26-0 towelling at Catalans Dragons - but is in contention here. Jack Sinfield deputised in France so the decision for Smith is whether to stick with the teenager or allow Matt Frawley to renew his partnership with Croft. 


Frawley has been linked with Saints in some circles this week as they look for a long term replacement for Dodd. If Smith could palm the ex-Giant off onto Saints it would be his greatest contribution to the Rhinos since taking over as Head Coach. And the greatest of any member of the Smith family since Uncle Tony won two Grand Finals and a World Club Challenge with the Rhinos in the 2000s.


Rohan Smith moved this week to bring in former Wigan winger Matty Russell on loan from Warrington Wolves. He looks set for a debut with David Fusitu’a still out amid suggestions that his inadequate spell at Headingley will soon be put out of its misery. Russell will occupy one wing with perhaps Ash Handley on the other in front of tic rugby and yawnion sevens merchant Lachie Miller at fullback. Rhyse Martin is the likely centre partner for Newman with Paul Momirowski still out.


Like Frawley Jarrod O’Connor has been linked with a bonkers transfer this week after he appeared on the radar of Hull FC. Yet there are few players not on the radar of FC Director Of Rugby and ex-Rhino Richie Myler at present. For now Connor’s form is such that he beat England international Andy Ackers to the starting nine role in France and could do so again against his dad’s old rivals. Mikolaj Oledzki should take one starting prop berth with Justin Sangare probably getting the other to allow Sam Lisone to make impact from the bench.


Disappointingly for us Saints fans our former charge and pantomime villain James Bentley is on the injured list. With Martin possibly operating at centre the back row will feature the dependable James McDonnell and Whitley’s former Dragons second row buddy Mikael Goudemand. Behind them the world’s third most famous Cameron Smith is a proper loose forward who does loose forward things. His battle with Bell should be a refreshing change from the regular Super League ‘spectacle’ which sees two auxiliary props running into each other.


Leeds are one of the few teams - though the list is growing - to have tasted success recently at St Helens. They went down there 22-18 in late July of last year but edged Saints 25-24 on their previous visit in early March. In a strange performance Saints looked to have the matter in hand before Leeds staged a fightback capped by Blake Austin’s late one-pointer. There was also only a solitary point between the sides at Headingley in May when it was Dodd whose drop goal made the difference. 


While this may not currently be a top of the table blockbuster owing to Leeds’ mediocrity under Rohan Smith there have been plenty of huge clashes down the years. Both sides won a Challenge Cup final against the other in the 1970s while more recently the Rhinos’ Golden Generation of Kevin Sinfield, Rob Burrow, Danny McGuire, Jamie Peacock et al beat Saints in three consecutive Grand Finals between 2007-09 and a fourth in 2011. In 2022 it was Saints who took the honours at Old Trafford 24-12, completing an unprecedented four Grand Final wins in a row. The Rhinos presence in that year’s showpiece remains a stain on the whole concept of playoffs and a Grand Final.


I’d expect Saints to just about get the win. While the 60 points they rattled past the Tigers was impressive it’s unlikely to spark what was previously a spluttering attack into any consistent demonstration of that type of form. Yet under Wellens the defence has gone to another level statistically than even three-time Grand Final winner Kristian Woolf could manage in his time. And this is not a Rhinos side with the potency in attack of a Warrington or even a Hull KR even if Croft and Handley are as good as anyone in those two sides. 


Hopefully it won’t come down to a late drop-goal again between these two and as it did against the Giants four weeks ago. Saints by 12.


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, 14. Moses Mbye, 15. James Bell, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 30. Jonny Vaughan, 31. Noah Stephens.


Leeds Rhinos: 1 Lachie Miller 3 Harry Newman 5 Ash Handley 6 Brodie Croft 7 Matt Frawley 8 Mikolaj Oledzki 9 Andy Ackers 12 Rhyse Martin 13 Cameron Smith 14 Jarrod O'Connor 15 Sam Lisone 16 James McDonnell 17 Justin Sangare 18 Mickael Goudemand 21 Jack Sinfield 23 Leon Ruan 24 Luis Roberts 26 Corey Johnson 30 Tom Nicholson-Watton 32 Ben Littlewood 35 Matty Russell 


Referee: Liam Moore


Video Referee: Tom Grant 

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