Saints Fall Short
Winning at Hull KR was always a bit of a long shot. Only the bafflingly positive rugby league
journalists were talking up Saints’ prospects against the league leaders. And so it proved, as once again the stulted
attack of Paul Wellens’ side failed to function. Their defence always gives them an
opportunity but an inability to score points ultimately led to this 12-8
defeat. It will ultimately prove their
undoing in 2025 overall. On this night they
were left to settle for Deon Cross’ solitary try and a Mark Percival penalty. Although that famed defence restricted Rovers
to just Joe Burgess’ four pointer disciplinary issues allowed Rhyse Martin to kick
three penalty goals to make the difference on the scoreboard.
A Predictable Solution
Ahead of last week’s narrow win over Hull FC Wellens was facing
a selection dilemma. With Jack Welsby
back fit and Tristan Sailor in the best form of his short Saints career so far
there was pressure on the coach to drop one of club captain Jonny Lomax or Wellens
favourite Moses Mbye.
George Whitby’s progress appears to have been shelved for
now. As if we have such an embarrassment
of riches we can afford to sideline one of the best young halfback prospects in
the game. Wellens seems to have been
decisive on that at least. He was
rescued from his perplexing conundrum to some extent by an injury picked up by
winger Owen Dagnall at the end of the Hull FC game.
So it was simple as far as Wellens was concerned. Leave Lomax and Mybe to combine for the
slowest partnership since you and your mum ran the three-legged race at the school
sports day, and shunt the pacy Sailor on to the wing where he can dream of
emulating his famous father. The choice to
remain loyal to both Lomax and Mbye will not help address the attacking
issues. With those two in tandem there
is a veritable inspiration famine and a fatal lack of speed. Not to mention the smorgasbord of wrong options.
The choice was made even easier for the Head Coach to get
away with by the news that Kyle Feldt would also miss this one due to a head
injury picked up against FC. He had
played on after the early blow but had displayed concussion symptoms following
the game. Cross came in for his first
slice of first team action since the end of June.
Another Headache
Still, if you want to talk about major losses owing to
concussion look no further than at the fate of Morgan Knowles in this one. Just eight minutes in the Saints loose
forward was clubbed over the head by Rovers’ former Leeds Rhinos man Martin. Knowles was playing one of the few games remaining
in his Saints career before he moves on to the Dolphins in the NRL. He now has one fewer after he failed an HIA
and did not return. He will not play in
this weekend’s derby at home to Wigan Warriors.
That’s a savage blow to our hopes which were not exactly sky rocketing to
begin with. Knowles might not be my idea
of the second coming of Jesus Christ – or Paul Sculthorpe - but his importance to the side cannot be overstated. He is going to be almost impossible to
replace if Saints only look domestically.
You would have to go big on someone like Sydney Roosters’ Victor Radley
to get a player in the same position who can offer similar qualities. But what
would his dad say about his lad turning out for what used to be a Lancashire
club?
An Unlikely Fix
Shane Wright has been brought in on loan from Salford after
having long been linked with a permanent switch. Whether that materialises is yet to be
determined but for now I can hardly breath under the weight of my apathy. You back any player who pulls on the shirt
and I wish him the best. I hope he turns
into one of the elite back row forwards in the game. But you would have to say that based on the
evidence of his Salford career so far – even before they became crisis-hit
Salford and started losing heavily to everyone except Warrington – it isn’t all
that likely. Last year was his standout
season for the Red Devils when he made 27 appearances as the club finished in
fourth position but Wright has only appeared in a further 24 games for Paul
Rowley’s side in his other three seasons combined. Injury prone as well as average. We have Jake Wingfield for that. Perhaps we
should take solace in the fact that rumours have cooled around the possible
arrival of Oli Partington.
Martin’s Escape
Martin could have been red carded for his recklessness but was
spared by referee Chris Kendall and his cohort video referee Jack Smith. It looked lenient but you can’t accuse them
of inconsistency within this 80 minutes.
George Delany also saw yellow for a similarly dangerous high shot on
Eribe Doro 15 minutes later. It seems
that lessons are yet to be learned by Delaney who narrowly escaped a red card
just a couple of weeks ago when he thundered his shoulder into the head of
Lachlan Walmsley at Wakefield. Discipline
is going to be a big key in the playoffs at the end of the season and the young
prop is developing into something of a liability in that area. Indeed, the
penalties conceded by Joe Batchelor and Daryl Clark in particular proved particularly
costly in this one. It’s endemic.
A Proud Record Continues
Even in defeat Saints secured their place in the end of
season knockout games. Hull FC’s 34-0
meltdown against Leeds Rhinos confirmed Wellens’ side’s top six place
regardless of what happens across the final three rounds of the regular season. It means that Saints remain the only team
never to have missed a playoff series since the concept was reintroduced in
1998. It’s a proud record but one which
has raised expectations to the point where merely qualifying is barely even
celebrated. It is never going to be good
enough for most fans, especially if you achieve it with some of the most mind-numbing
rugby league on show anywhere in the division.
The only tangible goals are to win either the League Leaders Shield, the
Challenge Cup or the Grand Final. Otherwise
you are trending locally on Twitter.
Only one of those prizes remains on the table and the task
now is to finish as high as possible to provide the best opportunity to get
back to Old Trafford for the first time since 2022. That’s complicated not only by the visit of
Wigan this week and the Knowles injury, but also by an upcoming trip to Leigh
on September 12. Adrian Lam’s side
jumped above Saints over the weekend with their one side stroll over Castleford
Tigers and won 16-4 in St Helens in mid-July.
Saints have not won at Leigh since the Leopards returned to Super League
in 2023. There aren’t a whole load of
reasons to think that they will start now.
Holding On To Hope
And so somehow we retain hope. Hope for this weekend against our friends
from over the lump and hope of another Old Trafford appearance. For many the
lack of belief in the side’s potential to win another Super League title won’t
stop them believing that Saints can beat Wigan.
Some buy wholesale into the form book thrown out of the window
metaphor. The great paradox is that
while few believe we can and will win the title there are a good number who
will still retain a firm belief that we can beat both sides from the borough of
Wigan. Saints defence will probably ensure
that pride remains intact but just don’t have the firepower – and not just at
halfback - to get over the top of Matty Peet’s side if they are at their best. Mercifully,
they are not in the greatest form of their lives at the moment.
As it stands fifth is feeling more likely than third. That would likely see us travel to Leigh or
Leeds in the first playoff round. If
history is anything to go by you would probably rather go to Leeds from a
Saints point of view. Either is…well…a
bit of a long shot.
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