Saints were sent tumbling off Super League’s top spot after this chastening and at times harrowing defeat by Hull KR at Sewell Group Craven Park on Saturday (May 4).
It was a third defeat in 10 Super League outings so far in 2024 for Paul Wellens’ men. It leaves them third in the table behind both Wigan and Warrington although remarkably only points difference separates the top six sides at this stage. However proximity to the top of the table has never been and should not be the only consideration in evaluating the general state of things. Ergo the navel gazing has begun.
The mood will no doubt be quite different among the Rovers support. Their well deserved victory also leaves them in that group of six on 14 points, sitting one place behind Saints in fourth. Their points difference is only 14 points worse than that of Saints. I’m sure if you asked their fans they would admit that it’s a long time since they had it as good as this. Yes they are still below a Saints side looking as poor as it has since the Cunningham years. Perspective and expectations are strange beasts.
Wellens was able to welcome back Lewis Dodd into the side this week. The halfback missed the wins over Hull FC and Huddersfield Giants with a competence groin issue but resumed his partnership with Jonny Lomax in the creative department. Not that the alliance will last much longer after the subject of Dodd’s future underwent a decisive development over the weekend. More on which later. For now his return meant Jack Welsby reverted to fullback with no place in the 17 for Jon Bennison. Tommy Makinson was ruled out with chickenpox so Tee Ritson came in for his first Saints appearance since a 32-18 home win over the Giants last August.
Rovers coach Willie Peters had to deal with the late withdrawal of former pie muncher Oliver Gildart who suffered a knee injury in the warmup. The solution was not a recall for ex-Parramatta Eels man Tom Opacic but a debut at centre for Jack Broadbent. He joined the club on loan from Castleford Tigers in April with a view to a permanent switch from next season. If the former Leeds man is on trial for the rest of 2024 then he passed his first test with something to spare. The inclusion of Broadbent was the only change from the side which had whacked Wigan 26-10 last time out. It’s almost as if we could have seen this coming. As if Rovers are…well..genuinely good.
It took eight minutes for Saints’ afternoon to start heading in the wrong direction. Jai Whitbread earned his side good field position by charging down a Dodd kick and then regathering. More boot related activity got Saints in a twist when Mikey Lewis’ cross-field effort was hauled in under the posts by Tyrone May ahead of Dodd for a simple put down.
There was a suspiciously forward pass from Broadbent to Ryan Hall in the buildup and it might have been worth referee Chris Kendall asking video referee Ben Thaler to check whether May was onside from Lewis’ kick. He was, but these things usually attract more scrutiny. Kendall’s use of Thaler’s services was erratic throughout, though it didn’t lead to any Robert Hicks style howlers. Lewis landed his first goal of the afternoon and Rovers led 6-0.
Hall is among the most decorated rugby league players in history. Certainly in the Super League era. Yet for all his experience the 36 year-old former England winger showed he is not immune to the odd howler of his own. He allowed Dodd’s restart to evade him and go over the dead ball line giving Saints possession and territory from the resultant dropout. Those short ones you see in the NRL every five minutes haven’t quite caught on as much here. Apparently Marc Sneyd tried it once for Salford against Wigan and it didn’t go so well which seems to have put others off.
Short or long, Rovers couldn’t stop Saints scoring in the ensuing set. First Dodd put Welsby through a gap 40 metres out and the Saints number one made it as far as the home side’s 10 metre line before Niall Evalds dragged him down. It was a temporary reprieve as later in the set Welsby received it from Lomax 15 metres out and crashed through some average tackling from May and Sauaso Sue to score. It was his seventh try of the Super League season and his 61st in 129 Saints appearances. Mark Percival added the extras and the game was tied at 6-6.
Still, self sabotage wasn’t far away. No Saint does self sabotage quite like Morgan Knowles and it was he who earned himself a 10-minute rest soon after. The England international came steaming in to finish off a tackle on Whitbread but his contact was too high. Not exactly a head shot but certainly above the shoulders. The sort of thing that would likely have got him a red card in the early weeks of 2024. This time Thaler advised Kendall that there was mitigation in that Whitbread was falling to the ground so the sanction was a yellow card.
Peters’ side almost scored immediately but Evalds couldn’t take in Hall’s offload after the veteran winger had been denied a try by Ritson’s expert tackle. The Thai-born winger Saint hasn’t reached veteran status himself just yet but it was still odd to hear Sky Sports commentator Stuart Pyke refer to him at one point as ‘young’ Tee Ritson. He’s not particularly young. He turned 28 in January. Mind that only makes him the 10th oldest of the 17 on duty here. There is a definite issue with this squad’s age profile. Yet the tendency to view Ritson as a youngster probably comes from his inexperience at the top level. This was only his 17th appearance for Saints.
Three minutes later the Robins’ numerical advantage paid a dividend. Sue may not have fared all that well trying to stop Welsby earlier but he went some way to making up for it as he broke through Dodd’s tackle and put Elliot Minchella clear on halfway. The Rovers loose forward drew the remainder of the Saints defence and found Lewis in support with a clear run to the line. He sailed a little too close to the dead ball line for the comfort of Rovers fans but the try was awarded on review. Though there was only one look taken from one angle. Not exactly thorough. Lewis converted his own try to open up a six-point lead at 12-6.
Hall’s restart traumas were not behind him. In the first set following the kick-off he got the ball stuck to his hand as he tried to play it before eventually losing control of it. That error was exacerbated by Minchella holding on to the tackled Sione Mata’utia for too long and offering Saints another set. They didn’t waste it as Welsby found Lomax who hit Waqa Blake in space to cross for Saints’ second try of the game.
The try was sent for review again, this time to check that Blake had not put a foot in touch before he crossed. There was little doubt that he had stayed in the field of play. Yet the fact that Kendall chose to send it for review at all showed a desire to avoid any possibility of a mistake which didn’t seem to apply to the question of whether or not May was offside before scoring his try earlier.
The replay also suggested that Blake was caught high by Peta Hiku as the Rovers man clumsily tried to stop the Fijian from scoring but it was not flagged. Had it been called it could have been an example of that great rugby league misnomer the eight-point try. Oh how the Saints attack could use that kind of help. In the act of scoring or not, it shouldn’t be something to which a blind eye is turned if we’re serious about reducing head contact and keeping the lawsuits and potential financial meltdown at bay.
Percival could not land the conversion to Blake’s try but the visitors were well in touch, down by just two points at 12-10. Yet unlike in previous weeks it wasn’t necessarily their defence that was keeping them in the contest. The right side edge of the Saints rearguard has bent a lot this year but rarely broken. Without Makinson there was cause for deeper concern. Another warning shot was fired when Broadbent skipped around George Delaney and sent Kelepi Tanganoa on a tear down that left wing. The back rower had Lewis in support but his attempted pass inside was botched badly and traveled forward.
As Knowles returned Saints began to gain more of a foothold and were even able to take the lead. Tanginoa gave them a helping hand when he was too slow to get off Matty Lees following a tackle to gift Saints another set. They didn’t waste it, although Percival tried his best to do so by ignoring a wide open Blake and cutting inside when it seemed that the former Parramatta man could have jogged in. But perhaps Percival had done just as he is programmed to do in the Saints coaching manual.
No matter, as on the next play the ball was moved right where Batchelor might have scored but for a timely ankle tap by Lewis. From there Welsby fed Hurrell who Hurrelled his way through Broadbent and Hiku to score. The ever fastidious Kendall went up the metaphorical staircase for further reassurance about the grounding before awarding the try. Again the sideline conversion attempt was beyond Percival but Saints had nevertheless nudged in front at 14-12.
Tanginoa seemed to be appearing everywhere but penalties for high shots - other than the one for which Knowles was sat down early in proceedings - were far less ubiquitous. The former Wakefield man hit Ritson unreasonably high without sanction just as Hiku had done on Blake when the ex-Eel scored his try. For a sport which repeatedly states that it will not change its rules halfway through a season (see John ‘the grub’ Asiata) the game seems suspiciously unrecognisable from the one we were watching in February and March. As I write a second consecutive week has passed without any players - including Knowles - picking up a suspension. And the Match Review Panel (MRP) is busy patting itself on the back for it. But isn’t this just going from one extreme to the other? Not every instance of foul play is a ban but then not every instance of foul play is worthy only of a fine.
Back to the crazy world of Saints’ right edge defence then, and a debut try for Broadbent. This time it was Lewis who unlocked the door between Hurrell and Lomax for Tanginoa to go on the rampage. Actually it was less of a door and more of a small swinging gate that’s been neglectfully left open by a drunk farmer. Tanginoa could care less how he got there, this time keeping his composure to find Broadbent for an easy stroll in to get his try scoring up and running for the Robins. Lewis couldn’t find the mark with the extras this time but once again the game had swung back his side’s way as they took a 16-14 lead.
Does anyone know the knock on rule? I’m asking for a friend as unfunny people on the internet say. The reason I ask is that I’m still a bit confused as to how Saints were denied a final opportunity to score before half-time after Evalds had spilled Saints’ plan A, B, C and D, the Dodd bomb. As various players from both sides scrambled to tidy up the mess left by the Rovers fullback the ball was knocked on again by Lomax. And it was that second knock on rather than the one committed by Evalds which was observed by Kendall. Answers on a strongly worded email to Robert Hicks.
There was little that Kendall could do to stop Saints having the the first opportunity of the second half. Unfortunately it was spurned by Welsby whose pass intended for Blake went forward and into touch. It was just one moment but it said much about the general state of Saints’ attack this year so far. Risk averse but when that risk is taken the execution has often been lacking. Almost as if the plan is now so rigid that when something off the cuff is required the skills aren’t quite sharp enough.
If there is a defining, game-breaking moment in a match that finishes with the sides 20 points apart then this one’s was probably KR’s next try through Hiku. Rovers had been a tad fortunate to gain possession from a Percival error. It looked like the ball had been helped from his grasp by the wandering hands of Dean Hadley. Luck had little to do with the eventual outcome however, as slick passing from Jez Litten, Minchella and May found Evalds. He flicked an offload back inside to Hiku running a good line made to look even better by the fact that Dodd had over run the play defensively and left a yawning gap. It’s hard to believe that a Saints player failed to spot an inside drop off but that’s where we were as Lewis’ conversion meant that crucially there were now two scores in it at 22-14.
That gap got arguably insurmountably wider four minutes later when Rovers added their fifth try of proceedings. There was an element of chaos about it as Lewis’ bomb was tapped back by Hall to Hiku who scruffily found Broadbent. The debutant exchanged passes with Tanginoa before finding Litten in the left hand corner. The ball had been batted, juggled and had spent a fair bit of time rolling along the turf before Broadbent took control of the situation but none of that messiness compelled Kendall to send it up for another look. He was quite certain that all was ok and he was absolutely right. It’s just odd that he couldn’t also see that Blake was three yards in from touch ahead of his try. Well, he certainly wasn’t reviewing the head contact on that play. Another Lewis conversion made things ominous for Saints as they now trailed 28-14.
Brains were becoming scrambled among Wellens’ troops. Quite what they hoped to gain on their next raid in Rovers territory is beyond my understanding. On the final play James Bell shifted the ball back inside to Batchelor who was surrounded by home defenders and duly tackled. The pass was ruled forward in any case. There were still more than 20 minutes left but at this point - if you weren’t either at Sewell Group Craven Park or compelled to write That Saints Blog - then you could have been forgiven for switching over to Catchphrase or Pointless or whatever else lurked in the TV schedules that my dad used to refer to as Saturday night dross.
Saints needed help from elsewhere. And they got it when Litten made a rare mistake, booting his territory finder out of play on the full to give Saints good field position. Daryl Clark started the movement, combining with Dodd, Lomax and Welsby to give Hurrell all the room he needed to run through to score his second of the game despite Hiku’s efforts. Hurrell now has five tries in 2024 in league and cup and 24 in his 58 Saints appearances for the club. Not to mention a shed full of medals. But at 32, and with his contract up at the end of the season he must be among those most likely to move on next year from a side that has rarely been more desperate for an injection of pace. Percival came up with the goods following Hurrell’s latest effort and Saints had a sniff at 28-20.
Which lasted all of seven minutes. Just to prove that the current malaise is affecting everyone it was Welsby who again made the error which set up the try that finally killed off Saints’ hopes. He was bringing the ball out from within his own quarter when he was hit by both Lewis and Broadbent causing the Saints man to spill the goods. In the ensuing set Matt Parcell dropped an inside ball to Lewis. He beat Lees with some ease before handing on to Hadley to cross under the posts. The conversion was a formality for Lewis to reestablish a 14-point lead at 34-20.
And Hadley wasn’t finished inflicting damage on Saints. Again Welsby was involved as his pass was plucked out of the air by the 31 year-old former Hull FC man who galloped 30 metres before being hauled down by Dodd just short of halfway. He was involved in the last word too, combining with May, Evalds and Lewis who found Hall to finish off the job.
The ex and soon to be again Leeds Rhino dismissed Ritson before plonking the ball down for his 246th Super League try. That puts him only one behind the record of 247 held by another of Leeds’ last great team Danny McGuire. It seems likely that Hall will be the new holder of the mark before he makes the move back to Headingley in 2025. Another sideline conversion by Lewis rounded off a 40-20 win. Which if nothing else is a scoreline which has a very rugby league ring to it.
The absence of Alex Walmsley is being keenly felt statistically. No Saints forward managed to reach 100 metres with ball in hand in this one. The closest was Mata’utia with 98 while Lees managed 84. The big metres were made by the backs with Hurrell (132), Welsby (110) and Ritson (105) all prominent. That said it’s not as if they were ripped apart by the KR pack, for whom Hadley was the biggest gainer with 95 metres. Tanginoa seemed to cause a lot of damage but his raids were as infrequent as they were eye-catching and totalled only 79.
Broadbent ripped off 111 which alongside his try and his assist for Litten is not a bad return for someone who wasn’t due to be playing until Gildart’s late injury. It’s put in the shade a little by Hall’s 155 metre effort while Hiku was also a constant threat for his 105.
Defensively there was some hard work involved for Saints whose usually watertight regard crumbled badly. Knowles chipped in with the most defensive interventions for the red vee with 38 while both Lees and Batchelor added 31. The latter also missed 12 attempts as Saints failed to execute defensively on 56 occasions. That’s around 25 higher than their season average coming into this one.
For Rovers the hard yakka was done by Litten with 39 tackles, Hadley with 34 and Minchella with 31.
In his pre-game preamble Pyke promised us that Dodd’s move to the NRL would be announced later in the day. Perhaps the scoreline and the manner of the defeat convinced the club’s hierarchy to leave it until the day after. On Sunday it was confirmed that Dodd will join South Sydney Rabbitohs for three seasons starting in 2025, fulfilling his claim from early last year that he would be headed to the Australian competition once his current Saints contract expires.
That bold statement came off the back of his match-winning drop-goal in last season’s World Club Challenge victory over Penrith Panthers. Since then his form has almost universally underwhelmed Saints fans with the only point of disagreement being whether he was still hampered by the torn achilles he suffered in 2022 and was playing with a little too much caution as a consequence or whether he was playing to negative instructions from Wellens. We’re going to find out when he becomes a bunny. They must see something special in him which is not quite being utilised at present. After all, not many British backs make it to the NRL. There’s so much talent there already at halfback that they don’t usually need to come fishing on these shores.
Slowly but surely the pressure is increasing on Wellens. Social media already shows that there are those who have made their mind up that he is not the right man for the job. With the age profile of the squad and the contract situations of key figures including Hurrell and Makinson there is likely to be something of a rebuild over the next few seasons. Even if Saints’ current league position hardly constitutes a crisis. For some, handing Wellens the opportunity to influence that rebuild is going to end badly.
For others - like me - it’s still too early to judge Wellens the coach. He is not even halfway through his second season in charge and his side - for all their flaws - are potentially a win away from going back to the top of Super League. If I have a beef with Wellens it is that they are even less entertaining than when the same core group of players were being directed by Kristian Woolf. His successes hid a myriad of sins.
Boring rugby won’t wash if it results in a 20-point loss at Hull KR or a 23-point home loss to Warrington in the cup. You don’t get a lot of leeway with results as Saints boss if you don’t entertain. Saints finished second and fourth in Keiron Cunningham’s two full years in charge but I’ve never experienced an atmosphere more toxic at home games than it was during the last few weeks of his reign. You would have thought that relegation was on the cards if you’d read the room and not the league table.
Wellens has not made himself any more palatable to his detractors by suggesting this week that recruitment for next year will be minimal. Yet that decision will not have been solely his. It’s hard to believe that a man of his standing in the game is unaware that improvements are required, especially in the backs. Yet he’s a Saints man through and through. He’ll just take the cards he’s dealt by those pulling the purse strings and if and when it arrives he’ll take the fall. Just like Cunningham did. I only hope that when it happens to Wellens his playing career isn’t subject to the same revisionism foisted on Cunningham. These men are all time great players who deserve our fullest respect. Even if we are getting whacked by Warrington and Hull KR and even if Lama Tasi and Atelea Vea are their idea of reliable pack men.
When I awoke before the Rovers game if you had asked me to turn my thoughts to next week’s visit to Castleford I would have called it a gimme. Even when Saints are bad they are nowhere close to the level of awfulness that the Tigers have reached in 2024. More than a little ski-jump lipped about Saints’ defeat in Hull I found something else to do other than watch the first half of the Tigers’ clash with Leigh Leopards. Expecting a blowout I checked in at half-time and was glued to the remainder of an epic 28-28 draw, needless extra 10 minutes of golden point nonsense included. This - it is fair to say - has rather altered my confidence levels going into this weekend.
It is now entirely possible to imagine a scenario in which Saints lose on Friday night. It’s still not all that likely. Leigh are an under performing rabble so far in 2024 so competing with them as Cas did is hardly the crowning glory of their history. Yet it does suggest that Craig Lingard’s side are not now one of those sides cut adrift and out of their depth at the Super League sea bed. All of which makes for a good deal more nervousness than I’d anticipated.
Wellens must also be quite bummed out by the timing of Castleford’s return to the land of the living. It’s far from certain that his tenure - young though it still is - would survive a defeat to the Tigers on the back of this sorry affair. We’d all do well to remember that there are some decent teams in this league outside of the usual suspects of Wigan, Warrington and Catalans. But that won’t happen because the sense of entitlement is off the charts.
What may be acknowledged after this weekend is that Hull KR look like one of the very best sides in the competition.
Hull KR: Evalds, Burgess, Hiku, Broadbent, Hall, May, Lewis, Sue, Litten, Whitbread, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella. Interchanges: Parcell, Tanginoa, Storton, Luckley.
Saints; Welsby, Ritson, Hurrell, Percival, Blake, Lomax, Dodd, Lees, Mbye, Mata’utia, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Delaney, Sironen, Bell, Clark.
Referee: Chris Kendall
Video Referee: Ben Thaler
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