It’s just possible we might have seen the best Saints performance of the 2025 season in Friday night’s 34-4 win at Wakefield (August 8).
Quite what that says about performances throughout the rest of the season is a debate for another time. But for now let’s just enjoy it. Saints were dominant, especially in the first half hour when they built a 20-0 lead and effectively settled the contest.
If there is a criticism it is perhaps that the attack went off the boil a bit after that first half hour. But maybe that doesn’t give enough credit to Trinity who did improve after the break. And considering many of us were fretting about a fixture at the home of a direct top six rival - Wakefield would have got to within two points of Saints on the Super League table with a win - it’s an outstanding result.
Where would we be without Wakefield? Daryl Powell’s men are a much improved outfit this year. There is every chance that they could still pip inconsistency’s Hull FC to a playoff spot. Yet they have failed to work Saints out this season. This was our third league win over Trinity in 2025, a very helpful six points in the quest to extend the season beyond the home meeting with Castleford Tigers on September 19.
Head Coach Paul Wellens went into this one with exactly the same 17 which had beaten those same Tigers 40-0 last time out. After a resounding win like that there was certainly a case for continuity. Yet that does nothing to quieten the calls for George Whitby to return. The young half hasn’t started a first team game since a 46-4 win at Super League whipping boys Salford Red Devils in mid June.
During that time Moses Mbye has done a steady but far from spectacular job alongside captain Jonny Lomax in the halves. Saints’ only defeat since then has been the 16-4 home loss to Leigh Leopards on July 17. That’s a run of six wins in seven games which has at least made it fairly certain that Saints won’t miss out on a top six spot and involvement in the playoffs.
Yet who is to say those results would have been any different had Whitby got the nod? Well, stats actually. Saints have won five and lost five of the 10 games the youngster has started. For those willing to accept a more patient approach there’s an argument that Wellens should be bedding in a specialist half like Whitby now instead of relying on bits and pieces Mbye, who turns 32 in a few days from the time of writing.
Although injuries were another factor in the lack of freshness in the side it is starting to look like certain individuals are only going to be used as a last resort. Jack Welsby, Lewis Murphy, Deon Cross and Noah Stephens remain unavailable but Wellens could have called upon one or both of James Bell and Joe Batchelor. Instead he persists with Jake Wingfield and former fan favourite turned poster boy for the disgruntled Agnatius Paasi. Suffice to say that his new one year deal has caused a little consternation among the fan base.
You can argue with the team selection but there wasn’t much to quibble with in a hugely impressive opening. Saints dominated possession and territory with Alex Walmsley particularly prominent. It was the big front rower who opened the try scoring, taking Morgan Knowles’ well timed pass to go in untouched. He was on his way to gaining another 132 metres. All in a day’s work. It was his fourth try of the season and his 55th in Saints colours.
Knowles scored the second himself. Mbye hoisted what seemed a rather humdrum high ball into the Wakefield half where Owen Dagnall was first to it. He’d been fortunate to earn a penalty to set up the position. Trinity were adjudged to have forced him over the sideline after the tackle had been completed.
It was a tight call but I’m ok with anything which discourages defences from continuing with a tackle once momentum has stopped. It’s ugly to watch and potentially dangerous. And Wigan are very good at it which is reason enough to outlaw it. We should adopt the NFL principle and have the referee call held as soon as forward progress stops.
With Trinity defenders slow to react Dagnall quickly found Knowles on his inside with the line open. Known more for his defensive work Knowles nevertheless has six tries this season. Which is a significant portion of the 36 he has managed in 240 Saints appearances since 2015. He will leave a huge hole in the side when he joins Kristian Woolf at the Dolphins. Although if Woolf oversees too many more performances like Saturday’s capitulation against the Roosters (August 9) he may not be there by then. Yeah. Sorry. Spoiler alert. But it’s not like Sky haven’t already told you the result of the NRL games already.
Knowles’ impending departure is a concern not just for what he brings to the team but also because - if we’re honest - none of us have too much faith in the recruitment bods to get it right when it comes to a replacement. To be fair it is difficult to replace a player who is the club’s leading tackler, gets involved in most attacks once the shackles come off and is our go to guy when it comes to winding opponents up.
Mbye has been praised for his kicking game particularly in the context of so many others having tried and failed to resuscitate it. It caused problems again when winger Jayden Myers couldn’t gather another high one. That led to Oliver Pratt being shown a yellow card for pulling Kyle Feldt back as he and Harry Robertson sniffed a try scoring opportunity. Feldt knocked over an easy penalty for a 14-0 lead.
The same pair shredded the Wakefield left edge defence to create Daryl Clark’s try on the occasion of his 400th professional game. It can’t have been easy to be the man stepping in to James Roby’s shoes but the ex-Castleford and Warrington man has given us speed out of the ruck which has helped us play a little more expansively than in previous seasons under Wellens and even Woolf.
Following his 13th Saints try and his fifth of this campaign was a more difficult, sometimes fraught period for Saints in the final 10 minutes before the break. The sin-binning of George Delaney contributed to that but in truth he and Saints were incredibly lucky that yellow was all that referee Liam Moore produced.
Delaney was off his feet when he made head contact with Wakefield winger Lachlan Walmsley on the half hour. It was use of the shoulder with little or no attempt to wrap the arms. Everyone of a red vee persuasion feared red. Yet Moore explained that there was mitigation - the officials’ current favourite buzzword - because of insufficient force.
Credit to Moore for explaining the reasoning for video referee Tom Grant’s decision but between them you have to say they got it wildly wrong. Do we have to wait until somebody gets knocked out before the amount of force crosses the threshold for a red? The question of red or yellow for hits like Delaney’s should not hinge on whether the recipient requires a head injury assessment or further medical examination. The horse has bolted at that point.
Delaney can probably expect a period of reflection at the request of the disciplinary panel though probably not as lengthy as we may have seen during the crackdown on head contact of the last few years. That directive appears to have been given up on like the concept of leaving league structure decisions to IMG.
It was during Delaney’s enforced breather that Lachlan Walmsley scored Trinity’s only points of the night. The loss of a clean sheet is the kind of thing coaches like to major on in post game interviews. It paints them as perfectionists unconcerned with the razzle dazzle of attacking play. Proper serious people. But while it is always disappointing to concede points there can be few complaints about the standard of Saints’ defence in recent weeks.
They have conceded only 20 points in the last four league games. Even Saints’ often stilted attack would be good enough to win games consistently if the opposition is only averaging five points per game. The standard of opposition during that run has to be taken into account but if Saints can replicate that kind of suffocating defence against the sides above them in the league - all of whom will be faced in the regular season run-in - then anything is possible in a playoff format.
Saints played within themselves in an attacking sense at times in the second half. A performance much more like we have had to grow accustomed to, but one lit up by occasional moments of brilliance. They added another try when Robertson’s opportunism saw him beat a dozing Myers to Tristan Sailor’s grubber. That field position was set up by a devastating 40 metre tear by Alex Walmsley. Feldt intercepted a Jake Trueman pass and went all the way to score then added a second after some mesmerising handling involving Sailor, Jonny Lomax, Robertson and Jake Burns.
Even when things go well there always seems to be a cost. Wingfield was helped off with an ominous looking leg injury which will no doubt require a scan. In addition, Curtis Sironen failed a head injury assessment which will rule him out of the visit of Huddersfield Giants next week.
There was some talk in the week of Welsby returning to action having started training again but whether you would want to risk him at home to a fairly hapless opponent is highly debatable. Yes he needs game time if he’s going to be at full pelt at playoff time but it would be disastrous to rush him back early and then lose him until 2026. And if you care to reach for your other hat there’s an Ashes series to think about too.
Besides, unless there are injuries Wellens doesn’t change a winning team. And if this version of Saints sticks around they will be a match for anyone.
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