Saints look to arrest what for them constitutes a slump when they travel to Wigan for the second derby of the season on Friday night (July 12, kick-off 8.00pm)
Paul Wellens' men start the weekend in second place in the Super League standings - just two points behind Wigan - but could slide down a greasy pole which takes them as low as fifth if they lose to the champions and other results go against them. Defeat would be their third in a row after losing 20-18 at Salford on June 23 and then 8-6 at home to Castleford last time out. The latter was one of the more worrying performances and results in recent years. A response is needed.
But based on that performance against Craig Lingard’s side a win against the league leaders looks like a huge task. Matty Peet's side haven't lost in the league since going down 26-10 at Hull KR on April 26. That's a run of seven consecutive league wins with victory over Warrington in the Challenge Cup final at Wembley thrown in too There was every reason for the Warriors camp to be feeling confident of gaining revenge for their 12-4 Good Friday loss in St Helens before Saints fell into a state of apparent disrepair. Before a spate of injuries exposed the limited tactics and insipid attack currently being offered by a side which this time last year was going for an unprecedented five Grand Final wins in a row.
There has been a smidgeon of brighter news for Wellens as he selects his 21-man squad for this one. Daryl Clark missed the debacle that was the defeat to his old club but should return to the line-up this week. Normally he would be backed up by Moses Mbye but the former St George-Illawarra man failed in his appeal against a one-match ban. That is just the way things are going at the moment.. You know that things are going against you when even Mike Rush's crack legal team - capable of getting a brown bear off a charge of shitting in the woods - failed to come up with the goods this time. That could mean that after making his debut against the Tigers last week Jake Burns could find himself involved in a derby in only his second Super League runout.
Konrad Hurrell is still out which is a big loss when you consider the alternatives. Ben Davies continues to be unconvincing for some fans and unacceptable for the rest, yet he is the most likely candidate to fill Hurrell's centre spot opposite Mark Percival. Another option is last week's other debutant Jonny Vaughan. Sione Mata'utia has filled in at centre at times this season but he is again ruled out with a neck injury.
Tommy Makinson's foot injury means another uninspiring choice between Tee Ritson and Jon Bennison for the vacant right wing spot. Waqa Blake will likely be on the opposite wing to one of those two with Jack Welsby at fullback.
Perhaps the most intriguing selection question surrounds Lewis Dodd. He has been scapegoated to Trent Alexander-Arnold levels for the team's recent form and with Wellens hinting at changes in his post-game comments the social media chat was all about whether the NRL-bound halfback would be the one to be sat down. Fuelling those rumours further are the inclusions in the squad of young halfbacks Harry Robertson and Will Roberts. Could captain Jonny Lomax - who looked light years from his best in attack during the Cas loss - be asked to hold the hand of one of the youngsters in a game of this magnitude? For me you can put that one in the file marked utterly bonkers. For all his underwhelming high bombs and his seeming unwillingness to take on the line, Dodd still has to be the best option for the short term particularly against the form side in the competition who - it just so happens - hold every single honour that northern hemisphere clubs can play for right now.
If the situation is troubling in the backs it is not any more reassuring in the forwards. Alex Walmsley continues to be a gargantuan loss in the front row. Clark's return will help but George Delaney and Noah Stephens are still making their way and should not have too much expectation and responsibility placed on them. But frankly needs must at the moment. Matty Lees is a fine player and an England international but he is never going to offer you the same kind of go-forward as Walmsley.
Agnatius Paasi offers hope but he too has only recently returned from injury and is at his best in short bursts in any case. So if Saints are going to make up the ground that would normally be made by Walmsley they will have to do it by committee in the absence of a standout.
Mata’utia’s absence and those of Joe Batchelor and Matt Whitley mean that we are likely to see Sam Royle start again in the second row alongside Curtis Sironen. It’s bizarre to consider that at the start of the season many including this writer were making the argument that we are bloated in the second row position. Three key injuries later we look threadbare. There’s also still no Morgan Knowles so expect James Bell to start for the seventh game in succession.
Peet has been forced into two changes as he goes in search of the win that would probably put everlasting daylight between the sides on the league table. Brad O’Neill is out which is apparently a major loss. He is a player highly rated by his own fans but has yet to give this observer anything but thuggish bouncer vibes. Just the next cab off the Wigan number 9 rank after Terry Newton, Michael McIlorum and Sam Powell. But thuggish bouncer vibes are exactly what many Wigan fans look for in a player - especially a hooker - so maybe it’s little wonder he’s so popular.
They will feel his loss more keenly because of the absence of Kruise Leeming. The former Huddersfield and Leeds man is sidelined with an ankle injury. With Powell now in Warrington colours it would appear to leave Wigan without a recognised number nine in the squad. Ryan Hampshire, anyone?
The other change sees Mike Cooper miss out due to concussion protocols. He was forced out of last week’s 24-6 win over Leigh very early and subsequently failed a head injury assessment.
Wigan of 2024 appear better equipped to cope with the loss of an experienced front rower like Cooper. This is no longer the Wigan front row of Ollie Partington and Brad Singleton. These days the Wigan prop corps is led by two-time Grand Final winner with Saints and NRL tourist Luke Thompson. With Tyler Dupree, Ethan Harvard and Sam Walters assisting him it’s probably fair to say that our hosts have the upper hand in this area. It feels a long time since I’ve had to concede that.
Walters can also operate in the back row but getting into the starting 13 in that position is also a tough gig with Liam Farrell still earning his spot and Junior Nsemba continuing to impress also. Loose forward options are basically auxiliary props Kaide Ellis and Patrick Mago.
The big name still missing from the backs is Jai Field. Bevan French is one of the genuine superstars of the league whether you play him at stand-off or switch him to fullback to cover the loss of Field. Last week Peet opted for the latter which meant that Jack Farrimond came into the halves to partner Harry Smith and could do so again.
The three-quarter line boasts the league’s top try scorer in Liam Marshall. Less heralded than either French or Field he has quietly amassed 17 four-pointers so far this season and should be a serious threat against a Saints back line that lacks pace in the first place and which is missing two starters in Makinson and Hurrell. Former Catalans Dragon Adam Keighran is the centre partner of a man with a realistic claim as the league’s best in Jake Wardle.
As touched on earlier Saints did manage a 12-4 home win in the Good Friday meeting. Yet that was partly facilitated by the red card issued to Liam Byrne. It’s debatable whether Saints would have broken Wigan down had it not been for that. Yet those sorts of lapses in discipline are not uncommon among the Warriors.
They are still exponents of dark arts and shithousery even if some believe that Peet has made the club more likeable. Provoking someone in cherry and white into something which results in a walk back down the tunnel almost feels like a feasible strategy for an out-matched Saints side. Troubled times.
So let’s talk about slightly better days. Honours were even in 2023 with Wigan winning 14-6 on Good Friday and Saints prevailing 34-16 at home in June. Makinson and Welsby both scored twice on that occasion with Batchelor and Paasi also getting over. There’ll be no sharing the series this year with a third meeting set for the Magic Weekend at Leeds United’s Elland Road in August.
Every time these two meet it is a big occasion for the supporters but there have been several major final meetings which particularly stand out. The pair have clashed in four Super League Grand Finals - ranging from the infamous 2014 clash which saw Ben Flower cement his status as a shameless human being - to the 2020 version when Welsby beat French to Makinson’s upright-clattering drop-goal in an incident like something out of an 80s sports movie. In all Saints have beaten Wigan in three of those four Grand Finals, the exception being 2010 when opportunist gambler Martin Gleeson came back to haunt the red vee for whom he had previously starred.
This time Saints prospects look bleak. They are playing badly and if we are being honest that is only in part due to the injury list. Meanwhile Wigan are flying and should be motivated by the chance to land a potential knockout to Saints’ hopes of finishing in the top two.
Squads;
Wigan Warriors;
2. Abbas Miski 3. Adam Keighran 4. Jake Wardle 5. Liam Marshall 6. Bevan French 7. Harry Smith 8. Ethan Havard 10. Liam Byrne 12. Liam Farrell 13. Kaide Ellis 15. Patrick Mago 16. Luke Thompson 19. Tyler Dupree 20. Harvie Hill 21. Junior Nsemba 22. Sam Walters 23. Ryan Hampshire 26. Zach Eckersley 28. Jacob Douglas 30. Jack Farrimond 36. Taylor Kerr
St Helens;
1. Jack Welsby, 3. Waqa Blake, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Matty Lees, 15. James Bell, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 22. Sam Royle, 24. Jake Burns, 25. Tee Ritson, 29. Will Roberts, 30. Jonny Vaughan, 31. Noah Stephens, 32. Leon Cowen, 33. Harry Robertson.
Referee: Liam Moore
Video Referee: Ben Thaler
No comments:
Post a Comment