Saints 12 Warrington Wolves 14 - Review

Saints suffered a second consecutive league defeat when they were edged out 14-12 at home to Warrington on Friday night (March 21). 

After winning their opening three games in Super League Saints have lost their last two on their own patch having also been seen off 20-10 by Hull KR on March 7. It leaves Paul Wellens’ side fifth in the table after five rounds and needing an upturn in results as soon as possible.

Wellens made two changes to the starting lineup which had beaten Leeds Rhinos 22-14 in the Challenge Cup the previous week. Kyle Feldt had successful surgery on a hand injury this week but still faces up to three months out. His place was taken by debutant Dayon Sambou while concussion ruled out Joe Batchelor. Matt Whitley stepped up from the bench. 

Moses Mbye was on the bench for his first involvement with the first team of 2025 alongside Jake Wingfield, Agnatius Paasi and George Delaney.

Warrington had their own debutant as Head Coach Sam Burgess made wholesale changes to the side which had narrowly overcome Cheshire rivals Widnes Vikings to reach the last eight of the cup. Marc Sneyd made his first appearance since joining from fiscally challenged Salford Red Devils and began what looks a tasty halfback partnership with George Williams. Meanwhile Matt Dufty, Toby King, Matty Ashton and Lachlan Fitzgibbon all returned. 

In the 1980s Notts County were managed by a man named Jimmy Sirrel across two spells. If you were a collector of Panini stickers (and what self respecting child of the 80s wasn’t?) you may remember that he was in his sixties but looked around 87. But that’s not why I mention him here. I do so because he is perhaps most remembered for saying that ‘the best team always wins, the rest is just gossip’. I was reminded of this by the many online claims that Saints were the best team and deserved to win.

There is some justification to those claims. The gossip here is that Saints had more than enough possession, territory and try scoring opportunities to have won this game. Jimmy might not have considered them the better side if he were still with us (he passed in 2008 aged 86) but many observers would disagree and did so, sometimes in capital letters. Saints gained a total of 1272 metres to the visitors’ 1017. Centres Mark Percival and Harry Robertson made 337 metres between them. Yet it was the missed opportunities which cost Saints so dearly.

Do you remember a Jon Bennison try against this same opposition in April 2023? Playing on the left wing during that 28-6 win, he broke down the touchline before selling an outrageous dummy to Dufty and going over untouched. The Wire fullback was allegedly charged to get back into the stadium. History almost repeated itself in this one when a flowing move involving Jonny Lomax, Tristan Sailor and Robertson set Bennison clear, this time down the right wing. Confronted again by Dufty and with Sailor supporting on his inside, Bennison chose to attempt the pass rather than throw the dummy. Dufty committed himself in just the same way as he had two years ago but guessed right and was able to bat the ball down. 

That it was a thrilling passage of play might not help appease some fans but it should be noted that the movement only materialised as a result of Saints opting to run the ball on the last tackle from their own 30 metre line. All of which must surely serve as evidence that there is a different approach to attack since Lee Briers came in to assist Wellens. All of which flies in the face of claims on social media - sometimes in capital letters - that nothing has changed and we are still playing a Wellens-adapted version of Woolfball. Only without the results.

Though he ran all over Warrington all night Percival was at the root of two of Saints’ most glaring butchery of their chances. It would arrive later, but Sambou missed out on a debut try when Percival could only find the sideline with what looked a simple pass for a wide open walk in for the winger. Saints won second prize when play was called back for a penalty for a late tackle by Zane Musgrove on Lomax. Percival was able to slot over the goal to get his side on the board first at 2-0. But it should have been four and possibly six. 

Most Saints fans rate Percival among the best centres in Super League. If that were judged on speed, work rate and bravery he would be right up there. But his passing game leaves a little to be desired for me to consider him among the truly elite. This column observed previously that he and Regan Grace often played like they had never met. So often they would fail to link up as Percival’s execution or sometimes his outright reluctance to let go of the ball proved to be their undoing. He last played for England in 2018 which must say something. I’d be staggered if he is among Shaun Wane’s selections for the first rugby league Ashes series since 2003 which has just been announced for this autumn.

There was a definite contrast of styles between the two sides. Unusually for Saints in the Wellens era they were much more expansive than their guests who - through the kicking game of Sneyd - were willing to play the percentages and await their opportunities. On studying the TV broadcast of the game I nearly fell off my sofa when late in the first half the Sky Sports commentator opined that Saints hadn’t looked like scoring. I wouldn’t want to have been watching the game that he had been during that first half. As well as Bennison’s chance and Percival’s passing blunder the centre would have crossed for a try himself had Lomax been able to better direct his attempted offload from virtually on the Warrington line. All of those near misses arrived within the first half hour.

Lomax has been the subject of much scrutiny in the wake of this and other performances this year. There is a growing consensus that sentimentality is all that is keeping him in the side and that George Whitby should be given another opportunity. The riposte to that might be that many of the calls for a change come from those whose experience of watching Whitby is limited at best. We should also remember that after similar certainty around the brilliance of Lewis Dodd he managed one promising season, suffered a terrible injury before running off to the NRL where he is currently operating only in their version of the stiffs. Be careful what you wish for. 

Yet there is no doubt that Lomax is slowing down and losing some effectiveness. He makes more poor decisions and dies with the ball to scupper attacks more often. At 34 years of age and with an injury record that would make Robocop wince he should never have been offered a three-year deal. But they did. And if you want to know it my view is that as long as his friend and former teammate Wellens is at the helm we won’t see Whitby or anyone else replace the skipper. But a new deal at the end of his current one would be demented. The equivalent of backing Nigel Wood’s return to the RFL when you were instrumental in his ousting.

By the time of the last of those spurned chances Saints were behind on the scoreboard as Warrington were clinical with a half chance on 20 minutes. Facing the north sideline Sneyd was nevertheless able to place the most perfectly weighted grubber into the Saints in-goal area. Williams had read it - perhaps that combination is developing faster than I think - and managed to reach it first to touch down for his first try of the Super League campaign. If that’s the standard of service he can rely on there’s a fair chance he’ll score many more. Saints could have done little to stop it but Wellens might remind them this week that the field position was only set up by the concession of a needless penalty for interference at the play-the-ball on Warrington’s 30 metre line. Sneyd is a prolific goal-kicker as well as a formidable kicker in general play and was never going to miss the conversion. Burgess’ men led 6-2. 

Both sides had suffered a key injury late in the first half too. Saints lost Daryl Clark after half an hour with a hip injury while Josh Thewlis also left the action with a similar problem. Mbye came in for Clark though in truth both were outplayed by the outstanding Danny Walker. Rodrick Tai moved from centre into Thewlis’ wing position with Ben Currie filling in at centre. I confess that I mention this only so I can work in a cheap gag about Wire’s right edge of Tai-Currie sounding like item number 12 on the menu at your local takeaway. What? It’s an improvement on Feldt tip from a couple of weeks ago.

Saints went in to the sheds six points behind after Sneyd added a penalty from in front of the sticks. Wellens’ men continue to struggle with discipline. It’s not the number of penalties they concede. Six teams have given up as many or more than their 23 this season. It’s often the timing or the position on the field that seems to make them more significant. On this occasion they were offside from a scrum after Sambou’s only handling error of the night. 

Three minutes into the second half referee Chris Kendall called for a needless review. Joe Philbin found himself in possession late in the tackle count but within spitting distance of the Saints line. He’s probably not the man that Burgess would like to have performing the grubber kicking duties - that’s what he signed Sneyd for - but it was a surprisingly decent effort by the prop. Yet it seemed fairly obvious that he had not caught up with his effort in order to ground it before it went dead. Replays proved it pretty quickly. 

A minute after Lomax had achieved that rarest of feats, a successful captain’s challenge, Saints were back level. Morgan Knowles was playing his 200th Super League game and marked it with his third try of what will be his final campaign in the red vee. His 33rd in 233 appearances in all competitions for the club. It was a no frills effort as he took Mbye’s pass 10 metres out and crashed through several would be tacklers to dot it down under the posts. Percival added the goal and it was suddenly 8-8.

Not for long. Ashton has often been the scourge of Saints. He has scored nine tries in 13 appearances against them but it feels like more. Probably because he has crossed in his last five. The one prior to this was in the one-point victory over Saints in last season’s playoffs which put our season out of its misery. The run began with one in the resounding 31-8 Challenge Cup quarter-final larruping of Saints last April. He’ll face them again at the same stage of that competition in less than a fortnight. Who isn’t looking forward to that?

And so with a measure of inevitability he got us again here. Jack Welsby - who had been effective in the first half but cut a slightly frustrated figure after the break - threw what Australians refer to as an absolute bludger of a pass out towards Robertson and Bennison on Saints’ right edge. It was so inaccurate that it was actually about three metres forward. Yet Kendall’s whistle remained unblown as the ball hit the turf and took a primrose and blue bounce back towards the Saints try line and into the arms of chief tormentor Ashton.

He had 80 metres still to travel but it never seemed to be in that much doubt. Sailor made a valiant effort to chase back and seemed to be slightly gaining on the Warrington flyer before running out of steam. He resorted to a desperate attempt to dive at Ashton’s feet for the ankle tap but narrowly missed. The gate was then metaphorically shut as Ashton went in unopposed for his 104th try for Warrington since joining from Swinton in 2020. With the freedom of the stadium to finish the try the conversion was a gimme for Sneyd who pushed his new side out to a 14-8 advantage.

When Saints hit back there were still over 20 minutes to play. Sambou’s deserved moment in the spotlight arrived when Lomax, Welsby and Percival combined. This time the centre’s pass was good enough for Sambou who dived in acrobatically at the south west corner of the ground. He ended the game one metre short of 100 but this was by far his most telling contribution. There were a couple of defensive lapses late on when Tai found it rather too easy to skip around him but it was a most impressive debut. And a much needed success given the current injuries to Feldt and Lewis Murphy. 

But what of Sambou’s future? It was reported in February that he and Jonny Vaughan had agreed to join Wigan from the start of 2026. Vaughan has since disappeared from the first team scene quicker than his annoying namesake vanished from your television screens, yet Wellens saw fit to select Sambou. Crucially the original report stated that the deal for the pair had not been fully agreed and would not be until season’s end. Does Sambou’s inclusion suggest there has been a change of heart? He certainly seemed to enjoy the adulation of the faithful as he regained his feet following his somersaulting score. He was pumped, in modern parlance. 

Or was he just selected out of necessity? In his post game interview Wellens explained that he is keen to be able to replace unavailable players with those who play in the same position. Like for like. If you like. Which is fine, but it doesn’t explain why he keeps selecting Bennison on the wing while actual wide men Tee Ritson and Owen Dagnall are not required. I know…I wouldn’t pick Ritson either but if you want a winger for a winger then he is at least that. 

Percival was unable to convert Sambou’s try from the sideline. In truth it was a bit of a shank and not remotely close. All of which has led to criticism among the fan base of his goal-kicking endeavours. He succeeded with just over 73% of his attempts in 2024 and has landed 68.5% so far this term.  Nobody has kicked more than his 24 goals through the first five rounds. Yet it may be that the margin of the defeat - the equivalent of just that one errant conversion - has highlighted whatever deficiencies he may have. 

For comparison Sneyd nailed 88% for Salford in 2024 and led all goalscorers with 97. He has begun this year hitting 80% albeit from a small sample size of only five attempts as appearances for the Red Devils were sparse before his move to Wire. But it should perhaps be remembered that he’s a specialist and alongside Rhys Martin probably the best in the competition. Percival has been a reluctant volunteer since Lewis Dodd’s achilles went three years ago. 

Despite having more than a quarter of the game to find another score the closest Saints came was when Percival made a 45 metre break six minutes from time but was again hamstrung by his indecision. He had a few options in support but couldn’t find any of them and the move fizzled out as Warrington’s defence funnelled back. 

Despite my earlier criticism of him a tip of the hat still goes to Percival for leading all players in this one with 214 metres. Saints’ other centurions were Welsby with 127, Robertson with 122 and - inevitably - Alex Walmsley with 120. Knowles topped Saints’ tackle count with 42 ahead of Whitley with 39 and Sailor with 30. The former Brisbane man is averaging close to 24 tackles per game since joining the club as opposition coaches continue to target him. He’s holding up well, missing only 15 in Super League so far which isn’t even enough for a place in the competition’s top 20 wet paper towel offenders. Top Of The Pops there is Castleford Tigers’ Liam Horne with 29. 

In something of a smash and grab win Warrington had only two men over 100 metres with ball in hand. Dufty and Ashton are the real pace in the side and it should shock nobody that they were the players concerned with 149 and 145 respectively. James Harrison was their top tackler with 37 while Currie made 34. 

Round 6 brings a trip to Perpignan to face Catalans Dragons on Saturday night (March 29). With only two wins from their first five outings in 2025 - and one of those coming against Castleford - the Dragons have looked as poor as they have been in some time. Even their 11-0 win over Leeds was a turgid performance in one of the worst games in Super League that it has been my displeasure to witness. There has been speculation about the future of Super League’s longest serving coach Steve McNamara. The return of Sky pundit, Wire fan and former Wigan hate figure Sam Tomkins makes them better but I’ll be especially disappointed if Saints don’t make it four wins out of six come Saturday night. 

Saints: Welsby, Sambou, Robertson, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Sailor, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Whitley, Knowles. Interchanges: Wingfield, Paasi, Mbye, Delaney

Warrington: Dufty, Thewlis, Tai, King, Ashton, Williams, Sneyd, Musgrove, Walker, Vaughan, Currie, Fitzgibbon, Harrison. Interchanges: Powell, Philbin, Holroyd, Wood

Referee: Chris Kendall 

Saints 22 Leeds Rhinos 14 - Challenge Cup Review

Saints moved safely into the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, holding off a late rally by Leeds Rhinos to secure their place in the last eight on Friday night (March 14).

Coming off the back of their first loss of the Super League season at home to Hull KR Saints were able to welcome Matty Lees back into the side. The England prop had missed the 20-10 defeat to Rovers with multiple vaguely unspecified knocks but was able to take his place in the starting lineup once more. That meant George Delaney dropped to the bench while the unfortunate Noah Stephens was the one to lose his place in the 17. 

There was a good deal more pack shuffling by the visitors. With Matt Frawley out Head Coach Brad Arthur was no doubt grateful to have Lachlan Miller back at fullback. Jake Connor moved to the halves to replace Frawley alongside Brodie Croft. Ryan Hall returned on the wing. Morgan Gannon had to settle for a place among the interchanges as former Saint James Bentley moved from loose forward to second row. Keenan Palasia moved from prop to fill in at loose forward - if that can be described as a positional move - and Cooper Jenkins stepped up from the bench to start at prop beside Mikolaj Oledzki. Thomas Nicholson-Watton was included on the bench with Jarrod O’Connor out.

It was the Rhinos who posted the first points of the night. Saints were found guilty by referee Liam Moore of interfering with Harry Newman’s attempts to get up and play the ball quickly with his side in scoring position. You’d have to think that Saints’ still formidable defence had some influence over the decision to go for goal. Connor stepped up to land a fairly straightforward penalty goal and Leeds led 2-0.

We had to wait 25 minutes for Saints to hit back. Kyle Feldt notched the fourth try of his Saints career in all competitions. The winger was first to a Jonny Lomax bomb, batting it back to Joe Batchelor. The Saints back rower collected it on the bounce and was able to shuttle it underarm to Feldt who dived in at the corner. 

The former North Queensland Cowboy might have had a fast start to his time with Saints in terms of try scoring but that opening four-pointer will be his last for a while. Feldt did not come off the field during the game but it has since been revealed that he sustained ligament damage to his hand which requires surgery. It means a three-month layoff for the man brought in to replace the ever dependable Tommy Makinson after he joined Catalans Dragons. 

With fellow wing recruit Lewis Murphy also sidelined it means that two of Saints’ three major signings for 2025 are currently out of action. Not the sort of problem you need when a lack of pace has long been your most pressing concern when it comes to squad building. It might be the sort of bad juju that can get a Head Coach the sack.

With that in mind Batchelor’s exit from proceedings was another kick in Paul Wellens’ proverbials. Unlike Feldt Batchelor was not able to finish the game after he collided with Ash Handley’s shoulder during a routine carry. The Saints man was taken for an HIA from which he did not return. Not only did that put him out of the more than 50 minutes which remained of this one, it also means that he must sit out for the mandatory 11-day period and will miss the visit from Warrington Wolves this weekend. Not great news for anyone connected with Saints except Matt Whitley who replaced him. The former Widnes and Catalans man looks likely to do so from the start when visa hunting former union scapegoat Sam Burgess brings his troops to town.

Saints held a slender 6-2 lead at halftime which was extended seven minutes into the second half by Tristan Sailor. Saints’ last man standing among the new boys benefited from a searing break down the right flank by Harry Robertson. The youngster - operating at centre until Wellens figures out why in the world Konrad Hurrell was given another one-year deal - showed he could think like a three-quarter as he calmly found the supporting son of Wendell on his inside with an open run to the line. A second Mark Percival conversion had Saints feeling more comfortable at 12-2.

Five minutes later Whitley offered his pitch to be the man to replace Batchelor. Not only in this one or when Wire come calling this weekend but also for seasons beyond this one when Batchelor will  join the black and whites of Hull FC. Another impending leaver set up the opportunity as Dolphins-bound Morgan Knowles’ perfectly timed short ball set Delaney off on what was possibly the longest run of his young career. He was brought down by the covering Leeds defence but quick thinking from Lomax enabled him to find Whitley outside him with the Rhinos having run out of defenders to retrieve the situation. Percival was not able to add the extras but at 16-2 it was difficult to see how Arthur’s men’s stay in the Challenge Cup was going to be anything but short. 

Just 10 minutes on from Sailor’s try the home side added another. Three tries in 10 minutes more or less settled the outcome. It was exactly the sort of Saintsy burst of speed and skill which would often be enough to see off opponents when I started watching the team in the 1980s. The mind tends to think of those games as being thoroughly scintillating performances for the whole 80 minutes but in truth the memory filters out much of the garbage. On many occasions an otherwise iffy performance like this one would be lit up by a decisive patch of purple. 

The latest score belonged to Robertson and again it showcased his undoubted natural ability and talent. Sailor placed a low kick towards the Leeds in-goal which bounced up perfectly around the try line for Robertson to get there first. Yet he still had Newman and Miller to contend with. Beautifully, he was able to spin away from both to touch down to the right of the posts. 

The youngster now has eight tries in 15 appearances for the first team since making his debut in a 16-12 defeat at Wigan in July last year. You get the sense there’ll be many more. Robertson tries that is. Not defeats to Wigan. Heck, they can’t even beat Hull FC with a 16-point start. Percival converted once more meaning Saints had scored 16 points in not much more than 20 minutes to lead 22-2. 

If Saints’ triple salvo was quick it was followed by a brisk response from the Rhinos. Five minutes after the Robertson pirouette Handley bagged his side’s first try of the night. Just as Sailor had created Robertson’s effort with a low kick so Connor returned serve to assist Handley. Ice skating manoeuvres were not necessary as the Leeds man collected the kick and fell across the line despite the attentions of two Saints defenders. Connor’s second goal of the night reduced the arrears to 14 at 22-8. Yet with little more than 12 minutes remaining a comeback remained unlikely. 

Still it wasn’t a great time to lose Percival. Though they were still massively up against it Leeds will have been heartened by the departure of the Saints centre. It meant another positional move for Whitley too. But the main concern was whether Percival would now be ruled out of the Warrington game. Fortunately he has been named in Wellens’ 21-man squad for that one so all seems ok. 

But any injury suffered by the 30 year-old serves as a reminder that Saints are highly unlikely to get a full season out of him for however long he is around. His own disregard for his personal safety is a part of the reason why he has suffered so often with injury but Saints’ philosophy of having the backs do the hard yards early in the tackle count over the course of Percival’s career has also been a major contributor.

Whatever the reason for Percival’s fragility it is what it is and makes a mockery of the decision to hand Hurrell that one-year deal. Now 33, Hurrell is currently plying his trade on loan to Halifax Panthers in the Championship. A troublesome neck/back injury ruled the Tongan out of the final three months of last season. 

Even then there was much nattering about whether he was capable of playing in Super League again, so why the new deal? His only appearance for Saints in 2025 was against the amateurs of West Hull in an earlier round of the Challenge Cup. It’s quite bonkers and even more so in the context of Percival’s fragility. Robertson’s adaptability is all that stands between us and a heavy dose of Ben Davies. There’s Jonny Vaughan, but since he’s agreed to join Wigan next year I’d be reluctant to let him play for my team if I was Wellens. But I’m petty like that. 

After that flurry of points scoring both sides went back to misfiring in attack. Connor tried to find a wide open Riley Lumb close to Saints’ line but only succeeded in finding the front row of the north stand. For their part Saints were ending sets sloppily. On one occasion Jake Wingfield found himself with no option but to take on the last tackle kicking duties. His effort went predictably dead. 

Eventually Saints stopped kicking on the last altogether, preferring instead to hand it over as close to the Leeds line as possible. Make them go 100 metres to beat you. It’s a tactically reasonable idea when you’re protecting a three score lead against an opponent which has proven itself capable only of aspiring to mediocrity. Yet from an aesthetic point of view it is the kind of anti-rugby that got Wattoball kiboshed in Huddersfield. Even they’d had enough. 

The brightest moment in attack for Saints in the final stages was the 40/20 executed by Jack Welsby. Amid much criticism of their territorial kicking game to start the season Saints have tellingly not managed a single 40/20 across the first four rounds of Super League. League leaders in the category Salford only have three so the skill is not that common. But it would be nice to see a few more from those wearing the red vee. As an aside, the Red Devils may find that their tally dries up also now that Marc Sneyd is in Warrington. He has all three of Paul Rowley’s side’s efforts to this point.

There were just three minutes left when Leeds delivered their last act of defiance in defeat. Newman had been a nuisance all night and finally got the try that his industry arguably deserved. Picking it up from Croft 20 metres out he sprinted on an out to in line to breeze past Whitley and ground the ball before Jon Bennison could stop him. Another Connor goal got Leeds to within eight at 22-14 but time was always going to beat them. Leeds’ five-year wait for a 15th Challenge Cup goes on. 

Saints march on but the last eight draw pairs them with this week’s opponents Warrington. Wellens’ side will travel to the HJ on April 6. It will be the second of three meetings in a five week period between the two. And for once it’s the cup draw and not loop fixtures to blame for this impending over familiarity.  Without Feldt and Batchelor, Wellens has called up Davies, halfback George Whitby and Dayon Sambou. The latter will make his competitive debut if he features.

I guess Wellens doesn’t hold the kind of grudges I do after all…

Saints: Welsby, Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Sailor, Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Batchelor, Sironen, Knowles. Interchanges: Delaney, Wingfield, Paasi, Whitley. 

Rhinos: Miller, Hall, Newman, Handley, Lumb, Connor, Croft, Oledzki, Ackers, Jenkins, Bentley, McDonnell, Palasi. Interchanges: Lisone, Nicholson-Watton, Gannon, Sinfield 

Referee: Liam Moore

Saints 10 Hull KR 20 - Review

Saints’ unbeaten start to 2025 came to a juddering halt when they went down to visiting 2024 Grand Finalists Hull KR on Saturday (March 7).

It was an interesting build-up to the game for Saints and Head Coach Paul Wellens. Already having to digest the news that Morgan Knowles will head to former boss Kristian Woolf’s Dolphins in the NRL for 2026 and beyond Saints then saw two more impending departures announced. There was a strange silence on both from the club but the Hull media were very keen to declare that Hull FC have captured the signatures of both Joe Batchelor and James Bell from next year also. 

The online Saints fan base rarely misses an opportunity for blind panic so it was somewhat inevitable that the socials were chock full of users queuing up to pronounce Saints a spent force on the brink of financial meltdown. How else could you explain first team regulars choosing to leave this Saintly ground?  

Well. Both players have three-year deals with the black and whites and good luck to them for all that. They have been fine players these last few years. But the reality of it is that both turn 31 this year which always made contracts of that length somewhat risky. Batchelor in particular has been troubled by injuries of late and has consequently displayed signs of a visible decline from his 2022 peak. It’s possible he could overcome them and return to that form but is it a risk that would be wise to take? And with Knowles also leaving Bell’s impending exit does at least make it clear to Saints’ recruitment bods that there is a vacancy for a loose forward. Though good luck finding a real one in today’s biff and bash, subtlety deficient league.

So there are reasonable arguments for not matching Hull’s offer to either player and instead choosing to look elsewhere. So before we raise the alarm and signal the death of the club might we instead wait and see what Saints do in terms of recruitment for next year? The Super League era has largely shown that they deserve our trust on this one. They get it right more often than they get it wrong and mixed with the club’s freakish consistency in bringing through excellent youth stars it’s been a recipe for almost three decades of success. Keep the faith, eh? Even if we have just lost to one of the best sides in the competition.

On which subject, back to matters concerning Hull’s other Super League presence and Wellens made two changes to his 17. The first was the return of Knowles after he picked up a head knock in the win at Castleford a fortnight earlier forcing him to miss the trip to Wakefield. The second was enforced as Matty Lees missed out through a minor injury which we are assured will not keep him out of action for longer than a week. George Delaney stepped into the starting lineup from the bench with Noah Stephens taking a place among the interchange options while it was Bell who made way for Knowles. 

Rovers Head Coach Willie Peters had to make alterations also from the side which walloped troubled Salford 42-0 last time out. Niall Evalds got knocked out of that game early so Jack Broadbent moved from centre to fullback with Peter Hiku flitting from the halves to take that centre berth. All of which made the return of Tyrone May and Mikey Lewis very timely with former Saint Danny Richardson missing out on the chance to perform at his old stomping ground. Goal-kicking back rower and headline signing Rhys Martin has been ruled out for four months so his place in the starting lineup was taken by Dean Hadley. Not for long, however, as the unfortunate ex-FC man failed a head injury assessment in the first half and was consequently withdrawn.

Watching the first 30 minutes of this one almost makes you wonder how the final margin of Rovers’ victory was only a couple of scores. The Robins dominated possession and territory. Saints did not manage a play-the-ball inside their opponents 20-metre zone until the 26th minute. Alex Walmsley - who is the league’s top metre maker through the first four rounds - was ploughing a largely lone furrow in terms of go-forward. Couple that with some especially woeful territorial kicking and it is easy to see how a quality outfit such as Peters’ side were able to dominate. 

Yet that wasn’t showing on the scoreboard with just an unconverted Lewis try and a 4-0 lead to show for their endeavours. That had come early, with only nine minutes on the clock when Kyle Feldt flapped at May’s crossfield bomb to allow the reigning Steve Prescott Man Of Steel to pounce. It was one of three errors on the night from the ex-North Queensland Cowboy out of a team total of 10. Yet to this point he has not made a habit of it. They are the only three errors he has made in this campaign so far so perhaps we can put it down to a difficult night that will not become the norm. Lewis resumed the goal-kicking duties from the absent Martin but was unable to turn four into six.

It was ironic given the issues Saints had endured kicking the ball that their first points were created with the boot. Once they got a foothold with that first foray to within spitting distance of the Rovers line they didn’t take long to engineer an unlikely lead. Jack Welsby profited from enterprising offloads earlier in the set from Agnatius Paasi and Batchelor to place a perfect low kick towards the Rovers line which bounced up perfectly for Curtis Sironen to score the 12th try of his 68-game Saints career to date. It was his second of this season having been one of many who crossed in the farcical 82-0 crushing of Salford’s volunteers on the opening weekend. Mark Percival retains the goal-kicking responsibilities and landed his first attempt for a 6-4 lead.

Penalties also caused Feldt and his new colleagues some problems, fair or otherwise. Four minutes before halftime the winger was penalised by referee Jack Smith for supposed hands in the ruck. It looked a particularly poor call by Smith, if anything it looked like an incorrect play-the-ball by Lewis. Yet before we leap to castigate Smith for his mistake let’s remember that 2025 is the beginning of the age of Captain’s Challenge in Super League. It’s still very new to the league but Feldt is used to using it in the NRL where it has been in operation since 2020. Between them, why did he and skipper Jonny Lomax not ask for a review of the incident? 

The duo’s inaction proved costly. In the next set after the penalty Tom Davies went over for the visitors’ second try. May and Broadbent combined to provide the space in which the former Wigan and Catalans man squeezed over. It was reviewed to make sure he had not set foot in touch but there was never any real drama with it. Lewis was on target with the conversion this time and Peters’ men went to the break with a 10-6 lead.

Rovers weren’t any more effective in their use of Captain’s Challenge. Early in the second half Sam Luckley was judged to have knocked on in the tackle of Tristan Sailor. Lewis had also been in attendance and - master of shithousery that he is - talked skipper Elliot Minchella into disputing the call. Yet Lewis was banged to rights when the replays showed that it was he - and not Sailor - who had ripped the ball from Luckley’s grasp. Used properly Captain’s Challenge can perhaps right a few wrongs and eliminate the odd howler. But when you see it misused you can’t help but suspect that it’s an unnecessary extra level of forensic scrutiny which has been killing the spontaneity in the game since 1996. Other sports too as the cancer of ‘innovation’ spreads.

Feldt has shown great composure and prowess under the barrage of high balls he has faced early in his Super League career. Yet a rare lost duel was instrumental in Rovers stretching their advantage inside the first 10 minutes of the second period. Lewis fired the ammunition this time as Joe Burgess managed to outjump Feldt to claim possession right on the Saints try line. The former Wigan and Salford man could probably have scored himself as he spun away from Feldt but chose instead to offload to Oliver Gildart who was supporting closely on his outside. It was an easy put down for the centre for his second Super League try of 2025. Lewis couldn’t find the extras but crucially it was now a two score lead at 14-6.

Gildart’s third of the campaign was not long in arriving and it was a good deal prettier. Just three minutes after his last scoring contribution he found another. Kelepi Tanginoa - arguably the best back rower on either side - found Burgess in space on the left touchline and he streaked away before hitting Gildart on his inside with a clear run to the line. This time he was able to improve the angle for Lewis who nudged his side out to an ultimately decisive three score advantage at 20-6. In truth Saints hadn’t looked very much like scoring three tries all night. They only had half an hour to do it at this point. It was looking bleak.

In his post match wafflings Wellens returned to the old 2024 staple of accusing his players of impatience in attack. Of trying to score on every play. While it was hard to agree with this as an overall assessment there was an example of it when Percival put the ball out of play trying to tip a Lomax pass on to Jon Bennison. In mitigation Saints did need points quickly at that point but it was still a little hasty and a tad careless. 

Yet despite a clearly visible willingness to turn in the tackle and offload more since the arrival of Lee Briers as an assistant to Wellens it is not as if Saints were recklessly gung ho for the majority of the game. You can still see the imprint of Wellens’ lower level tribute to Woolfball. There’s a balance to be struck but you get the feeling that despite the addition of Sailor Saints are still slightly hamstrung in attack by a lack of pace. Especially with Lewis Murphy out injured for a couple of months after making just one league appearance.

Braver use of the interchange bench may also help freshen things up. Stephens and Matt Whitley were made to wait until the 60-minute mark for their introduction to proceedings. Walmsley and Paasi were two of Saints’ best but there may be a way of making better use of the reserves of energy of both if there is a little more trust in others. Even when he emerged from the bench Stephens had a strangely short stint on the field. It’s not clear whether he took a knock or not but if not - and if he has only limited trust from the coach when it comes to the number of minutes he can play - then perhaps someone else should be in the 17 instead. 

Fifteen minutes from time Saints flickered into life. Fed by Sailor 15 metres out on the Saints right, Welsby effortlessly glided past Gildart - whose defence on the play possibly hinted at why he didn’t quite cut it in the NRL. Welsby’s third try of the season - to go with his 10 try assists which is three more than his nearest challenger in the category George Williams - brought Saints back to within 10 at 20-10. It remained unconverted by Percival and was to prove the last of the scoring on the night. 

Subsequent raids on the Rovers line became ever more desperate. One ended in a quite chaotic kick on the last tackle by Paasi while as the clock ticked down the home side resorted to trying barge overs from anywhere within five metres of the line. Imagination was in short supply in attack as something which was either panic or resignation set in. 

If Wellens wants to instill any learnings to his players from this defeat beyond the normal post match quotes about game management then perhaps the kicking game is a good starting point. Rugby league is largely a battle for territory and Saints’ boot work for field position was woeful, particularly early on which proved costly in the final analysis. 

No surprise to see Walmsley featuring prominently in the metres made stats. The veteran talisman made 128 and is now 18 metres clear of his nearest challenger in the league so far this season who just happens to be Welsby. The fullback led all players in this game with 171. Feldt chipped in with 107 of his own though this was the first time in Super League this term that he has failed to cross for a try. 

Knowles showed what Saints will be missing next year as he topped the home side’s tackle count with 49. Daryl Clark was worked almost as much with 46 while Delaney made 40. Sailor was targeted defensively by the smart thinking Peters to the extent that he was called upon to make 33 stops. The ex-Brisbane man missed five which would appear to justify the Rovers’ coach’s logic. It’s a slight concern that other coaches might try something similar as we go through the year.

Errors are still an issue for Saints whether you are of the belief that this year’s style is more open than last year or not. Only three teams have made fewer than Saints’ 33 errors in 2025 so far of which 10 were committed in this one. Offloads were down from the 16 managed at Wakefield. There were nine this week which is much closer to what we had come to expect from Wellens’ Saints before the arrival of Briers. Paasi was responsible for three of those nine thus doubling his tally for the campaign. 

Rovers had three men over the 100 metre mark. Davies had 161, Broadbent 141 and Hiku 117. The other Batchelor brother on the field - James - made 46 tackles while Minchella made 44. There were 35 each for Jai Whitbread and Jez Litten. Burgess matched Paasi’s three offloads and the Robins made one fewer error than Saints with eight. By those measures you might summise that this was a very close contest but - and despite the scoreline - there was little doubt about which side was the superior of the two.

Super League takes a break this week just when you were starting to think that it had gathered early momentum. That’s because the last 16 of the Challenge Cup takes centre stage with Saints at home to traditional heavyweights but current strawweights Leeds Rhinos. Brad Arthur’s side were truly abysmal in losing 11-0 in Perpignan last time out. It was the third year in a row that they have failed to score a single point at the home of the Catalans Dragons. 

Fourteen errors on the stats sheet looks suspiciously like somebody lost count and gave up, such was the abject nature of the Rhinos’ handling. Catalans weren’t much better but won almost because it would have been difficult not to in the face of such rank incompetence. Saints might be a little short to beat a title contender like Hull KR at the moment but they should have way too much for Leeds to even think about halting their progress to the last eight. 

Saints;  Welsby, Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Bennison, Lomax, Sailor, Walmsley, Clark, Delaney, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Whitley, Stephens, Paasi, Wingfield 

Hull KR; Broadbent, Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Burgess, Lewis, May, Sue, McIlorum, Warea-Hargreaves, Hadley, Batchelor, Minchella. Interchanges: Litten, Tanginoa, Luckley, Whitbread.

Referee: Jack Smith