Warrington Wolves v Saints - Super League Playoff Eliminator Preview

Just about showing signs of a pulse, Saints look to avoid the killer blow to their Super League Grand Final hopes when they visit Warrington Wolves in the playoff eliminator on Saturday night (September 28, kick-off 5.30pm).

Although they were beaten for a 12th time in 27 league outings last week - this time 18-12 at Leigh - Saints scraped into the top six to earn themselves the dubious pleasure of visiting Sam Burgess’ third-placed Wire. A solid if stupefyingly boring first half of the campaign saw Saints hanging out in and around the top two. Yet all hopes of finishing that high vanished in a fog of injuries and tedious tactics under second year Head Coach Paul Wellens. Sixth place was Saints’ worst finish for seven years.

Meanwhile Warrington kept up their top two challenge throughout before doing what they are famed for and just falling short. Hull KR’s last day win against Leeds Rhinos denied Wire who - like Saints last term - might yet find that missing out on a home semi-final proves costly. Though they’ll go in as favourites they’d probably admit that they’d rather not face an extra game before the semi-finals against a club which has a history pissing on their metaphorical chips throughout Super League. 

Wellens is forced into one change from last week’s initial 21-man squad. Moses Mbye pulled out with a calf injury during the warm up at Leigh and has not recovered in time. On the plus side Alex Walmsley - who was also a late withdrawal at the LSV - has recovered from illness and should take his customary place in the front row alongside 2024 Super League Dream Team member Matty Lees. Unsurprisingly after something of a shit show of a season by recent standards, Lees is the only Saint to make it in to the all star selection. 

Despite Mbye’s absence Saints still have decent options at hooker to complete that front row. Wellens has been keeping Daryl Clark on the bench since the ex-Warrington man returned from injury and must decide whether to do so again or else unleash him on his former colleagues from the outset. Jake Burns is the likely alternative. He has impressed at times since breaking through this year but neither he nor Clarke can boast Mbye’s kicking game. They do offer speed out of dummy half.

Curtis Sironen is not yet ready to return so there is unlikely to be a change in the second row. A position in which Saints looked stacked at the start of the year has looked flaky of late. Sione Mata’utia - who is one of three Saints for whom defeat would signal his final appearance for the club - has played the last two at centre as Wellens finally lost patience with Waqa Blake. The coach even allowed his bonkers blind faith in Ben Davies to fizzle out. Jonny Vaughan is another option as he returns to the 21 in place of Mbye. If it is to be Mata’utia continuing then the out of form pairing of Matt Whitley and Joe Batchelor will no doubt go again with Morgan Knowles at loose forward.

Knowles will be backed up on the bench by James Bell who is likely to be joined by one of Clark or Burns as well as any two of George Delaney, Agnatius Paasi and Noah Stephens.

In the backs there seems little prospect of change. Jack Welsby looked out of sorts at Leigh but is always capable of brilliance at fullback while Tommy Makinson joins Mata’utia not only on the right edge of the attack but also in the club of those hoping to avoid an early farewell. Makinson will join Catalans Dragons whenever Saints’ season is put out of its misery. For now he’ll be in his regular wing spot outside Mata’utia and opposite Mark Percival and Jon Bennison on the other flank. The likely halfback combination is between captain Jonny Lomax and Lewis Dodd - the third member of the departing trio hoping to extend their stay by another week.

The headline for Burgess is that he can once again call on prop Paul Vaughan after suspension. The former St George-Illawarra Dragon is over 1,000 metres down on what he made in his debut season for Wire in 2023 but is still their key yardage maker among the forwards. Joe Philbin is also back to strengthen a front row group that potentially includes Luke Yates, James Harrison, Tom Whitehead and Zane Musgrove. 

Between the props the hooking duo comprises of another Dream Teamer in Danny Walker backed up by ex-Wigan veteran Sam Powell. Matty Nicholson and the much traveled pantomime villain and one time England centre John Bateman form the back row along with Ben Currie.

Matt Dufty returned at fullback for last week’s 54-0 win over London Broncos. He will add the kind of pace that Saints can only dream of at present. Wire already have Matty Ashton and Josh Thewlis on the wings with Rodrick Tai returning to partner Toby King in the centres. At halfback Josh Drinkwater and George Williams can shift a bit, too. In the unlikely event that Saints pull this one off it will be Drinkwater’s last game for Warrington.

This will be the fourth meeting between the sides in 2024. Saints haven’t won any of the previous three, so quite how anyone expects them to win this one is beyond my comprehension. The first of those three defeats came in the Challenge Cup quarter final in April and was arguably the worst of the lot. A Saints side missing only Lees from what you might call it’s strongest 17 was blown away 31-8 at home. 

In mid-July - again at home - Harrison’s dismissal and a yellow card for Nicholson was still not enough to awaken Wellens’ narcoleptic attack as Saints went down 24-10. Most recently the attack was the big problem again as Saints were held tryless in a 16-2 defeat at the Halliwell Jones. 

The teams met at this stage of the playoffs last year though it was Saints who had finished third in the regular season and enjoyed the home advantage over the then sixth placed Wolves. I suspect that fairly soon I’ll have far happier memories of that 16-8 win - earned courtesy of tries from Makinson and Dodd and four Percival goals - than I will of this one. My only doubt about Warrington is that they may be going into it a little untested. That 54-0 win over London was preceded by an even sillier 66-0 shoeing of Huddersfield Giants. 

For all the pessimism in these words I don’t expect a defeat on that scale. There isn’t too much wrong with Saints defence. Statistically it is still the fourth best in the competition. It’s their inability to score points that will probably be their undoing. The attack is too slow and predictable. That’s in contrast to Wire’s pacy attack which should be more than capable of getting enough points to earn a home semi-final with Leigh Leopards next week. 

Squads;

Warrington Wolves;

1. Matt Dufty 2. Josh Thewlis 3. Toby King 4. Stefan Ratchford 5. Matty Ashton 6. George Williams 7. Josh Drinkwater 8. James Harrison 9. Danny Walker 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Ben Currie 13. Matty Nicholson 14. Rodrick Tai 15. Joe Philbin 16. Zane Musgrove 17. Jordy Crowther 29. Tom Whitehead 32. Sam Powell 34. Arron Lindop 41. Luke Yates 42. John Bateman 

Saints; 

1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Waqa Blake, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Jon Bennison, 6. Jonny Lomax, 7. Lewis Dodd, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Bactchelor, 13. Morgan Knowles, 15. James Bell, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 19. Matt Whitley, 20. George Delaney, 21. Ben Davies, 24. Jake Burns, 30. Jonny Vaughan, 31. Noah Stephens.

Referee: Liam Moore

Video Referee: Chris Kendall

Leigh Leopards 18 Saints 12 - Review

The road to Old Trafford goes through Warrington and Wigan after a seemingly narrow loss to Leigh which flattered Saints. 

The defeat meant Paul Wellens side finished sixth - their worst performance in a Super League season since 2017. That season started with club legend Keiron Cunningham at the helm like Ted Striker in Airplane, eventually saved from the toxicity to be replaced by Justin Holbrook. Saints will now have to travel to face Sam Burgess’ Wolves in the first round of the playoffs. That’s grim news considering that Wire have already beaten Saints three times this season by a combined score of 71-20. 

In the unlikely event that Saints survive that they’ll likely face League Leaders Shield winners and defending Super League and world champions Wigan at what they’re now calling The Brick. God speed, lads…God speed. Yet for now, worrying about facing Wigan feels a little bit like worrying about whether Joss Stone’s parents will like me when she takes me round to meet them. 

Adrian Lam’s Leopards have also made it in to the six. This win enabled them to leapfrog Saints into fifth from where they’ll face Salford Red Devils on the road. Matching last season’s league placing marks Leigh out as a genuine, established contender. Proof positive that promotion can work if you throw a shitload of money at it. It is all the more remarkable for the fact that they started the year with just three wins from their first 10 league games. They have won 10 of their last 12 to seal their spot in the knockout stuff. 

Making every attempt to avoid using Super League 2024 buzzword ‘mitigation’ (doh!) it didn’t help Wellens that two of his senior players were ruled out late. Alex Walmsley seems to miss every other game these days and was again ruled out while Moses Mbye made it at least as far as the warm-up before pulling out with a calf injury. Jake Burns had initially been left out of the 17 but earned a reprieve. He started the game with Wellens again choosing to keep Daryl Clark on the bench. The only other change from the side which beat Castleford last week saw Noah Stephens back in on the bench while George Delaney stepped up to fill Walmsley’s regular starting role.

Lam made only one change to his lineup, bringing back hooker Edwin Ipape for Matt Davis. 

The controversy arrived early in this one. Ten minutes in Tommy Makinson dived over in the right corner for what he thought was the opener. However, referee Liam Moore wasn’t convinced and ordered a review. His suspicion was that Sione Mata’utia had obstructed Lachlan Lam to create the space for Makinson. 

For some time now obstruction by a lead or dummy runner has been judged solely on whether there is contact with the defender’s outside shoulder. Knowing this, defenders who fear that they won’t get across in time to make a tackle can initiate this kind of contact and theatrically hit the deck. It’s almost impossible to prove that Lachlan Lam deliberately stepped into Mata’utia to win a penalty and the Saints man knows that he has to try to avoid that contact. 

So according to the modern interpretation the decision to penalise Mata’utia and chalk off the try was the right one. But it’s a bad rule which must have a better alternative. I used to refer to it as the TV rule as it only ever tended to be seen when video reviews were available. Now that they are  in use at every match at least everyone is playing to the same rules every week. Even if they are an over simplified nonsense.

Not every decision was going against Saints. Like the tin-foil hat conspiracy theorists on social media Moore missed Jack Welsby’s cheeky flick away from Ipape as the Leigh man got up to play the ball near the Saints goal-line. Then when Darnell McIntosh coughed up possession on his own 25 metre line Moore was similarly blind to the fact that Matt Whitley had got a foot to the ball which knocked it loose. Not that it helped Saints’ attack particularly on that occasion as the set ended with Lewis Dodd tackled standing upright and appealing that the ball had been touched by a Leigh hand.

Saints were about to be on the end of a ropey decision, but not before Welsby made the biggest of several errors in an unusually fraught first half performance. Lachlan Lam boomed a 40-20 attempt down towards Saints territory but was unfortunate to see it hold up rather than cross the sideline. Welsby was in position and got to it first, only to slide a toe on to the sideline. It made contact just for a split second but it was enough for the touch judge who raised his flag.

Even so, Leigh were somewhat fortunate that the try they scored soon after was allowed to stand. It rubbed salt in the wound that the scorer was arch nemesis John Asiata. Even signing for Hull FC doesn’t seem a strong enough punishment for the man responsible for the serious injuries suffered by Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi last year. Here, he shrugged off the tackle of Burns to stretch over the line. 

Moore wasn’t convinced about the grounding so sent it upstairs again to Ben Thaler with an initial ruling of no try. This usually means that sufficient evidence has to be found to overturn the original call. I’m not at all sure that Thaler found that evidence. From the angles viewed there was a hint of separation but nothing conclusive. But nor were those angles conclusive in proving that Asiata had applied downward pressure. 

It really needed a look from an angle on the other side of the posts to be sure. But that never came. Not to the TV audience at any rate. Nevertheless Thaler had seen all he needed and made his decision as the modern mantra goes. The decision was to overturn Moore’s call and with Matt Moylan’s conversion Leigh led 6-0.

Saints were three minutes away from reaching the interval at that score. Given the woeful nature of the attack under Wellens that wouldn’t have been a disaster. Yet it wasn’t to be as the Leopards grabbed their second through Ricky Leutele. Moylan was the creator, sending Mata’utia out for the proverbial hot dog before finding Leutele who held off Jonny Lomax to score. 

The departing Mata’utia has been quite vocal this week about his regret at making a few important mistakes on the night. He hasn’t cited this one in particular, focusing instead on a couple of handling errors made late in the game. Yet he should not carry the load alone. Yes he should have defended better on that play and yes he should be able to catch or keep hold of the ball under pressure. But it’s not his fault he’s having to play centre due to a combination of injuries and the fact that neither of the two specialist centres Wellens could use is good enough. That’s all part of a deeper malaise amid some very iffy recruitment. Moylan could not have cared less, popping over another two points to give his side a 12-0 lead at the break.

The former Cronulla Shark had an opportunity to wrap this one up without too many dramas 10 minutes into the second half. Leutele put Josh Charnley free down the left but when he found a wide open Moylan on his inside the Australian couldn’t reel the pass in. It looked simple. A one in a thousand error for a player of that calibre. Yet it arguably kept Saints alive. Had they gone 16-0 or 18-0 down at that point it would surely have been all over. Unlike many of the teams he graced as a player, Wellens’ class of 2024 is hardly built for a comeback. There’s more chance of Ringo and Sir Paul reuniting to play Shea Stadium than there is of this Saints side coming back from two scores down against decent opposition. And since Shea Stadium was demolished in 2009 it seems more than a long shot.

Things looked rosier when Leutele earned himself a spell in the sin bin. The ex-Huddersfield man attempted to put a shot on Welsby but when you do that you are invariably incapable of preventing head contact. It’s a familiar story. Nobody would have minded the challenge too much in days gone by but everyone knows the rules now. Even if nobody seems to have yet worked out how to abide by them. Regardless, it’s a yellow minimum.

It has been suggested by more than one Saints fan - and I’m sure fans of many other clubs - that had Leutele not transgressed then the red vee might not have scored any points at all in this one. As it was they scored two tries - both converted by Jon Bennison - while Leutele was off the field. The first came from Makinson who dived in at the corner from Lomax’s pass. This time Thaler was right to overrule Moore’s initial hunch of no try. Replays clearly showed that the Saints winger stayed in the field of play. And he grounded the ball with a good deal more downward pressure than Asiata had mustered earlier.

Just moments later Makinson was involved again. He was first to Lomax’s hopeful bomb, batting it back to Dodd who had Morgan Knowles on his shoulder with a clear run to the line. Suddenly - and having showed few signs of attacking life in the previous hour - Saints were level going into the last quarter. They couldn’t, could they?

No.

Four minutes after Leutele returned to the action Adrian Lam’s side were in for their third try of the night. One of those Mata’utia handling errors set up the field position from where Ipape, Asiata, Lachlan Lam and Moylan all combined to put Charnley in on the left flank. In crossing the ex-Wigan and Warrington man equalled Danny McGuire’s tally of 247 Super League tries. Now only Ryan Hall has more. You have to feel for McGuire. You hold a record for five years and then two people reel you in the space of a few short weeks. Alright, you don’t have to feel for him.

Moylan couldn’t add the extras to that score but he did manage two more points when Leigh were awarded a penalty in his range. Makinson was penalised for passing the ball off the ground in a rare show of attacking urgency from Saints. If you’re Wellens you were probably thinking that displays of attacking urgency are nothing but trouble as it edged the home side out to an 18-12 advantage.

Even at that stage there was still a chance that Saints could claw their way back. All of Mata’utia, Mark Percival and James Bell dropped their proverbial lolles inside the last five minutes. Bell’s was the last chance, putting down a Clark pass inside the last 30 seconds. While it looked like Saints had come up agonisingly short on the face of it, the truth is they never really had any semblance of control all night. 

When you look at the injuries Saints have suffered this year and also the apparent decline among the ageing senior pros it’s not that surprising to see them edged out by a side like Leigh. Until last week’s 24-0 drilling by Hull KR the Leopards were the league’s form horse. What’s harder to stomach for Saints fans is the repetitive nonsense that comes out of Wellens’ mouth post-match.

This week he surpassed himself by suggesting that although his side had lost it was actually a win  given the adversity they have faced. I’m paraphrasing but that was about the size of it. Fans, bloggers and podcasters like me can say that. But if you are the Head Coach of the club you can’t have that mentality. Regardless of circumstance this is a club with a rich tradition of winning trophies and doing so with a bit of swagger. It’s the most successful club in the Super League era. If I was advising Wellens I’d always be telling him to emphasise the disappointment and the need to improve after every loss.

There have been 12 of those this term in 27 regular season assignments. So the truth is - putting aside the mitigation - Saints are currently an average team who need to improve dramatically. They have maintained their record of appearing in every Super League playoff series because the competition rewards mediocrity. The media will bang on about how you never write off the Saints as long as they are still involved in a playoff scenario but that’s just to stop people turning their televisions off. It would frankly be amazing if Saints got close to beating Warrington at the Halliwell Jones this weekend. 

Wellens probably knows this and is trying to put a positive spin on things. As much for himself as for the players and fans. Yet he’s starting to look a little stressed by the job. Visibly ageing before us like his squad, but at a rate that’s closer to that of the bloke who drinks the wrong chalice at the end of that Indiana Jones movie. At this point whether we believe in him or not seems a moot point. It just seems incredibly unlikely that he’ll be in the job by the middle of next season. 

Leigh: 

Moylan, McIntosh, Hanley, Leutele, Charnley, Lam, O’Brien, Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O’Donnell, Halton, Asiata. Interchanges: Dwyer, Hughes, Pene, Trout

Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Mata’utia, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Dodd, Delaney, Burns, Lees, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Bell, Paasi, Clark, Stephens 

Referee: Liam Moore 

Video Referee: Ben Thaler 

Leigh Leopards v Saints - Preview

Home or away? As Davids Vine and Coleman used to ask of clueless sporting celebrities on one time BBC flagship quiz A Question Of Sport. That was before it was reduced to an embarrassing, gimmick-ridden game show totally devoid of sports questions and even - by the end - actual sports people. 

It’s a question also being asked of your newly enthused Saints as they get set to visit Leigh Leopards in the final game of the regular season on Friday night (September 20, kick-off 8.00). Win and Paul Wellens’ men will very likely secure a home playoff in week 1 of the knockout business. Lose and it’s all aboard the Derek Ball for a trip to either Warrington or Hull KR. By the time you read this you may already know whether a win will secure a home tie. It rests on whether Salford - who have made 17 changes to their 21-man squad for Thursday night’s meeting with a Wigan side for whom victory will secure the League Leaders Shield - can beat That Nice Matty Peat’s Warriors. It seems unlikely.

Meanwhile Adrian Lam’s Leopards need a win to be certain of a top six spot. That outcome hadn’t looked all that likely earlier in the season but a run of nine wins from their last 11 league matches has catapulted them back up the table. A victory will ensure that they finish above Saints and probably earn themselves a sudden death trip to Salford.

Even if they lose to Saints the Leopards will still make it in should Leeds see their own playoff dreams turn to Rhino shit with defeat at Hull KR. Our beloved broadcaster - in conjunction with Salford boss Paul Rowley and his selection policy - may have taken all of the drama out of the race for top spot but regardless of Wigan’s result Rovers will still need a win to make sure of a top two finish. That comes with a home semi-final and could be huge for a team’s chances of reaching Old Trafford. Should KR slip up then they will likely be leapfrogged by Warrington who have a chance to bolster their points difference when they host London Broncos at the same time as the games at Leigh and Leeds. 

With many of the big guns having returned in last week’s 40-4 home win over Castleford Saints boss Paul Wellens makes just one change to his 21-man squad. Moses Mbye is available again after a one-match ban and comes back in at the expense of Tee Ritson. Tommy Makinson returned from a suspension of his own against the Tigers and with Waqa Blake left out of the match day squad Jon Bennison took advantage of being selected ahead of Ritson by grabbing a hat-trick of tries. 

That has almost certainly earned Bennison another run out on that left wing opposite Makinson so it is just a question of whether Wellens wants to recall Blake at centre alongside Mark Percival or else keep faith with the out of position but nonetheless more consistently competent Sione Mata’utia. Jack Welsby is back at fullback with Harry Robertson injured and Lewis Dodd back to partner captain Jonny Lomax in the halves.

Mbye has played a lot of his recent rugby at halfback with Dodd having been absent through injury. It wouldn’t be the first time Wellens has omitted Dodd in favour of using Mbye at halfback but it seems more likely that the former St George-Illawarra Dragon will be one of two pivot nines in the 17 alongside Daryl Clark. Which of them starts will depend on Clark’s fitness having only returned last week and even then only off the bench behind Jake Burns. Either way it looks like being tough on Burns who could miss out after appearing in the last seven and starting the last three. 

Completing the starting front row should be veteran and club legend Alex Walmsley and grafting worker bee Matty Lees. Behind them there is competition between youngsters George Delaney and Noah Stephens and Tongan favourite Agnatius Paasi. Curtis Sironen is still missing from what the Australians now annoyingly call the edge forwards so Matt Whitley and Joe Batchelor look certainties especially if Mata’utia plays in the back line. Morgan Knowles is usually Wellens’ preferred starting loose forward with backup provided by James Bell. 

Leigh welcome back hooker Edwin Ipape. He was missed in last week’s 24-0 home defeat to Rovers. Expect him to be restored at nine in place of Matt Davis in what could be the only significant change to the lineup. 

Matt Moylan did have a blossoming halfback partnership with boss’ son Lachlan Lam but the former Cronulla Shark has also been used at fullback of late. Former Saints loanee Gareth O’Brien fills in any gaps left by Moylan in either position. Darnell McIntosh, Umyla Hanley, Ricky Leutele and Super League try scoring record chaser Josh Charnley should line up in the backs. Zak Hardaker will join Hull FC next season but offers an alternative while he’s still around.

Up front Tom Amone is following Hardaker out of the exit door and - although he hasn’t quite had the impact of a year ago - is still one of the league’s better front rowers. He will be sorely missed when he departs for Canterbury Bulldogs. Robbie Mulhern should start alongside him with Owen Trout and Aaron Pene providing relief. 

In the back row the excellent Kai O’Donnell - soon to be of North Queensland Cowboys - will be partnered by either Frankie Halton or Jack Hughes. Like Hardaker and Oliver Holmes loose forward John Asiata will be making the switch to Hull FC at the end of the season. Even further motivation for the man who has cultivated a villainous persona when it comes to St Helens. That stems from the shenanigans in last year’s Challenge Cup semi-final and a similar but thankfully less damaging assault on Mata’utia earlier this season. 

That semi-final was the standout classic between the two in recent times although Saints’ 22-12 home win last September was a belter too. In two clashes so far this season Saints won a tight one 12-4 at home in March before a squad in crisis were battered 46-4 on their last visit to the Leigh Sports Village at the end of July. That was a game best forgotten for Saints fans but few of us have quite managed to scrub the image of Blake turning back into the defence with the line open in a quite shambolic defeat. If A Question Of Sport was still running and actually any good they could have certainly used this clip in the What Happened Next Round.

So what will happen next? You have every right to expect a better effort and performance from Saints on this occasion. You might even see some top level Sports Action leading to a Sprint Finish. In a tight one Saints might just do it. Or not. This is a tough fixture even with a much more experienced squad and an almost impossible result to call. 

Squads;

Leigh Leopards;

1. Gareth O’Brien 3. Zak Hardaker 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Josh Charnley 6. Matt Moylan 7. Lachlan Lam 8. Tom Amone 9. Edwin Ipape 10. Robbie Mulhern 11. Kai O’Donnell 12. Jack Hughes 13. John Asiata 15. Matt Davis 16. Frankie Halton 17. Owen Trout 20. Ollie Homes 22. Keanan Brand 24. Umyla Hanley 33. Brad Dwyer 34. Darnell McIntosh 35. Aaron Pene.

Saints;

1. Jack Welsby 2. Tommy Makinson 3. Waqa Blake 4. Mark Percival 5. Jon Bennison 6. Jonny Lomax 7. Lewis Dodd 8. Alex Walmsley 9. Daryl Clark 10. Matty Lees 11. Sione Mata’utia 12. Joe Batchelor 13. Morgan Knowles 14. Moses Mbye 15. James Bell 17. Agnatius Paasi 19. Matt Whitley 20. George Delaney 21. Ben Davies 24. Jake Burns 31. Noah Stephens 

Referee: Liam Moore

Video Referee: Ben Thaler

Saints 40 Castleford Tigers 4 - Review

Looks like we made it, as Shania Twain once said. And though they may no longer be the one Saints are still in there fighting after this mercifully comfortable victory over Craig Lingard’s Castleford Tigers on Friday night (September 13).

The last few weeks have seen pressure build on Paul Wellens as the prospect of missing the playoffs became a very plausible one. And while this result and performance won’t eliminate the doubts about the Head Coach among the fan base he will have been relieved to finally see his attack rack up some points as well as get through another 40-minute period without conceding any. The points difference situation was well in Saints’ favour before this one. It will take a mathematical miracle to keep them out of the top six now.

 

By contrast Castleford were not thinking about the playoffs. All interest in that ended some months ago for them. If indeed it ever existed. With no relegation to worry about either, the Tigers’ season has long since been reduced to stressing about off-field matters. Attendances, the state of their home ground and their place in IMG’s latest gradings will decide their Super League participation in 2025.  There was very little to gain or lose for them on the field, and it showed in their performance. 

 

The cavalry returned for Saints as Wellens made several changes to his 17.  Harry Robertson was out injured so Jack Welsby settled back into his customary fullback role from the start, while Tommy Makinson returned from suspension to replace Tee Ritson.  Sione Mata’utia remained in the centres which was some surprise given that Mark Percival also returned.  It meant that finally - after much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the fan base – comedy wick dipper and occasional try scorer Waqa Blake was left out of the match day squad. 

 

Moses Mbye was suspended but that loss was covered by the return of Lewis Dodd.  The South Sydney Rabbitohs-bound halfback had not featured since Mbye’s drop-goal edged Saints past Salford Red Devils in early August.  Up front Daryl Clark returned to the 17 but was not thrown in from the start which allowed Jake Burns to take his place in the first 13.  Joining Clark on the bench were the returning James Bell – not involved since Saints were shut out 20-0 by Wigan at mid-August’s Magic Weekend – as well as props Agnatius Paasi and George Delaney.

 

Lingard was without star fullback Tex Hoy as well as centre Corey Hall.  Fletcher Rooney deputised for Hoy while Alex Mellor was drafted into the threequarters in place of Hall.  Young halfback Jenson Windley had started in the defeat to Leigh Leopards a week previously but was relegated to a bench spot as Lingard restored Rowan Milnes to the starting line-up. 

 

In the pack there was no Joe Westerman so Muizz Mustapha got the nod to start while George Lawler was promoted from the bench to take Mellor’s second row berth.  Liam Horne started at loose forward as George Hill missed out.  Cain Robb was another absentee so there was a debut off the bench for Super League’s first ever Estonian player Akim Matvejev.

 

Aside from ensuring that they got the win the main thing on Saints fans’ minds might well have been farewells.  Unless Saints can secure a home playoff tie by beating the Leopards in their final regular season game then all of Makinson, Mata’utia and Dodd have played their last home games for the club.  Makinson has a two-year deal with Catalans Dragons with North Queensland Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt taking his place. Mata’utia is returning to Australia for family reasons and possibly retiring aged just 28 while Dodd will begin a two-year deal with the bunnies next season.

 

All have contributed greatly to the success of the side over the last few years – much longer in the case of Makinson – and will be missed even if their replacements are all of the quality of Feldt.  Makinson is in the conversation as one of Saints’ best ever wingers in the Super League era with his 203 tries in 333 appearances going into this one, while Mata’utia has been a versatile, consistent and solid presence in his four seasons even if he did have rather too many brushes with the Match Review Panel early in his stay. 

 

Dodd has attracted moans and groans since returning from a ruptured achilles which has seemingly slowed him down and made him more hesitant, but he can point to a Grand Final win in 2021 and of course – the game which is thought to have sealed his move down under – his performance in Saints’ 13-12 World Club Challenge win in Penrith Panthers’ back yard in January 2023.  Back when there were few people prepared to voice the opinion that Wellens doesn’t really know what he’s doing.  All three have made a significant contribution to the club’s recent history and That Saints Blog wishes them well. The jury remains out on Wellens the Head Coach…

 

Along with the other big guns returning to the side they certainly made their mark in this one.  While the more experienced players have taken a lot of deserved criticism for recent performances their proven quality and nous made this one something of a stroll. Makinson and Mata’utia combined to great effect on Saints’ right edge and were the top two metre makers. Yet the most notable aspect of having majority of the senior pros back was the defensive line speed. There were many occasions when the Tigers lost yards not through a bad pass or handling error but just by the sheer speed with which Saints defenders were in their faces. 

You may be among those to take the view that this was helped by the omission of one particular senior player. After a string of eccentric, languid - some may say lazy - performances Wellens finally lost patience with Blake. I’m never in favour of using second rowers in the centre - especially a second rower like Mata’utia who has played at prop this season - but it is hard to make a case that Blake merits a place ahead of the former Newcastle Knight. Certainly Mata’utia’s performance would seem to justify Wellens’ decision.

The question now is whether Blake - a five time Fijian international and City Origin player with 165 NRL games under his belt - will ever pull on the red vee again. If he doesn’t and his current one-year deal is not extended then his spell in Super League could be remembered as one of the more underwhelming of recent times. It’s maybe not been quite as disappointing as that of Josh Perry or as uneventful as that of Joel Thompson but…well…put it this way…Jamie Lyon’s Saints legacy is not in any immediate danger of being usurped. 

Though Saints were able to pile on 40 points - the most they have scored since running in 46 points at Hull in August and the joint fourth highest total they have managed in 2024 - the performance was not perfect. They left quite a few points out there on the field. Jonny Lomax would have had a hat-trick on another day. An early chance was carved up when Makinson broke down the right but the pass was slightly behind the skipper. Then in the second half Makinson tried to set him up again, batting a Dodd bomb into his possession only for Lomax to lose possession when he tried to switch hands and ground it under pressure from Rooney. Lomax did manage one, strolling over from close range from dummy half thanks to some laughable marker defence from Miller. A penny for Windley’s thoughts.

One man not wasting opportunities - at least those of a try scoring nature - was Jon Bennison. His goal-kicking was rather more erratic but he helped himself to a fine winger’s hat-trick and the Player Of The Match award. It took his season’s tally to six which - while hardly prolific - is not catastrophic given he has only made 15 appearances while Wellens has wrestled with the underwhelming choice between him and Ritson. Bennison now has 20 Saints tries in 54 appearances which compares very favourably to Ritson’s three in 26. Yet neither appear to be the answer and we could do with another like Feldt if and when the cap allows.

George Delaney doesn’t score many tries. In fact the one he nabbed in this game was his first for Saints on the occasion of his 46th appearance for the club. It was a nice moment for the 20 year-old whose fearlessness and endeavour has never really been in question. Whether he can inherit Alex Walmsley’s role of eating up the ground and really getting the side down the field remains to be seen. Yet with Walmsley appearing to be visibly fading despite having a two-year contract in his back pocket - the day is nearing when Delaney may have to take on a more prominent role in the side. 

His try was an undoubted highlight and may have got more attention had it not been for the contributions of Mata’utia and Makinson on what could still be their final Saints outing at the stadium formerly known as Langtree Park. Makinson added try 204 of his storied Saints career late on thanks to good work by Mata’utia and Lomax on that right edge, while Mata’utia himself raised the roof when he slotted over his first and only carer goal in over 200 professional outings. 

That was the conversion to Delaney’s try which was the eighth and final one of the night for Saints. As well as Bennison’s hat-trick, Makinson, Lomax and Delaney’s efforts there was an early one for Burns as he backed up a Walmsley break and a classically simple plunge over by Paasi after a Clark pass. Not too shabby considering this was a game few of us were all that certain about even winning prior to kick-off. 

There should also be some praise reserved for the defence who were breached just the once when the outstanding Rooney beat Mata’utia’ and held off Makinson to score late in the first half. Saints then held Cas out for the entire second period. It was the 15th occasion this season on which Saints have gone through an entire 40-minute period without conceding any points. When the injuries have not been ruinous it’s reasonable to suggest that defence hasn’t been the problem. Despite a difficult second half of the season which saw them lose five league games in a row at one point Saints still have the fourth best defence in the league.

And suddenly Saints have an opportunity to finish in the top four and earn another home appearance for the departing trio. A win at Leigh this weekend should do it given that Salford face a Wigan side looking to tie up the League Leaders Shield. Paul Rowley has picked a controversially weak Red Devils squad which - while you can’t blame him for putting all of his focus on the playoffs - shows the folly of staggering the fixtures on the final weekend of the regular season. 

Any sport worth its sodium has learned that playing final round fixtures simultaneously is the only way to avoid seeing weakened sides fielded and hearing gossip about manufactured results. There’s a certain irony to that in that many of us have lobbied for staggering in previous rounds so that fans would have been able to watch them all. Yet the integrity of the competition not to mention the potential for drama are undoubtedly damaged. Ultimately it’s a broadcaster’s decision which prioritises creating more content and filling more schedule time over integrity and drama.

Leigh away is a tough fixture whoever makes the Saints lineup but at least now there is the hope of something better than a one and done playoff experience. A few short weeks ago there were those hoping Saints wouldn’t even make the top 6 so as to avoid a potentially humiliating defeat. Yet I’ve always been of the opinion that it was always worth getting in to the knockout games to preserve a proud and unique record of having never missed the playoffs in the Super League era. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Saints could end up hosting Salford in week one of the playoffs. That’s not a gimme win given Salford’s victory at Saints in March but with everyone on deck it would create excitement about the prospect of another semi-final. 

Conversely, a loss to Leigh would likely send Saints to either Warrington or Hull KR, either of which look appreciably more difficult than even another tense battle with Rowley’s men. So it’s a potentially huge last league game of the year for Wellens. 

Many will judge him on it. But aren’t you so glad we made it?

Saints: Welsby, Makinson, Mata’utia, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Burns, Lees, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Clark, Bell, Paasi, Delaney

Castleford Tigers: Rooney, Qareqare, Hooley, Mellor, Senior, Milnes, Miller, Watts, McShane, Mustapha, El Zakhem, Lawler, Horne. Interchanges: Windley, Hindmarsh, Martin, Matvejev.

Referee: Jack Smith

Video Referee: James Vella