Officially, Saints returned to competitive action on Friday night (February 6). Unofficially, a 98-2 ravaging of Workington Town was about as competitive as a goldfish racing a cheetah.
That said it's hard to get too carried away with this Challenge Cup stroll. Full time professionalism has made it all but a physical impossibility for a part time team like Town to compete with the game's elite. But that is not to say that there weren't things to enjoy and to learn from Saints' performance.
A report of a match in which Saints ran in 17 tries feels redundant. Far better to focus on the team's approach to the game under new head coach Paul Rowley and on how his new recruits fitted into his ideas. Four players in the starting 13 were on their competitive debuts for the club after an off season of much needed refreshment.
Rowley pitched all of Nene McDonald, Jackson Hastings, David Klemmer and Joe Shorrocks into the starting lineup and all were prominent in different ways. McDonald offers pace and power which this admittedly modest opposition couldn't handle. But it was Hastings who was most interesting.
Could he solve a halfback problem that has been an issue for a long time? On first showing he looks like he might. He was involved in pretty much everything Saints did in attack and ended the night with 38 points from two tries and 15 goals. That's just two points shy of the club's individual single game points scoring record of 40 held by Paul Loughlin. Yes kids, rugby league did exist before Eddie and Stevo.
Klemmer took Alex Walmsley's starting role. His job took on extra significance when new skipper Lees hobbled off early. He wasn't placed under undue pressure on the night but his level of responsibility goes up if Lees misses next week's Super League opener at Warrington. Shorrocks was a surprising success, showing good handling skills and intelligent decision making. But there's no getting away from the fact that everything achieved here has to be placed in context because of the gulf in class between the sides.
Tristan Sailor was given the stand-off role despite not convincing everyone in it last term, while Jonny Lomax was used as a bench hooker to spell Saints' only experienced specialist Daryl Clark. That positional switch could extend Lomax's career meaningfully, helping him add to his 379 appearances.
Wellens did not experiment with this last year when it was becoming abundantly clear that Lomax's days as a Super League halfback were in the rear view mirror. The worry is the wear and tear on the body given that he's had so many injuries over the years. But if Rowley uses him sparingly in the hooking role it might just work.
His distribution is elite when compared to the other nines in the league and he's always been an outstanding defender. Frankly, we had better hope that it does work because outside of the hitherto unconvincing Jake Burns there isn't an obvious back up to Daryl Clark in this squad.
The most common gripe during the Wellens years was around the style of play. The appointment of Rowley has brought optimism that we will see something more expansive this year. We certainly got that in this one. There was a willingness - an urgency even - to shift the ball wider no matter where on the field the set of possession began. Time and time again that brought dividends as Workington found Saints too quick and strong.
The question I have is whether we'll see that kind of open rugby against Super League sides. At Workington it felt like the team were not so concerned about making a mistake, even in their own territory. They were rightly confident that their defence would cope if the ball was turned over cheaply. I'm not sure they will be as keen to risk putting themselves in taxing defensive situations against teams at the highest level.
Saints have had one of the best defences in Super League for a while now but even their dam will break if they offer good sides too many opportunities. One of the more compelling elements of the start of the league campaign is in finding out if Rowley can find the right balance to succeed and - just as importantly for many including me - entertain.
But optimism should remain. Saints did exactly what was expected of them and won the game with ease. Only the fact that the defence and game management skills weren't tested leave nagging doubts about how well 2026 will go. Saints' only other pre season game was Lees' testimonial against Castleford Tigers. But they're not exactly elite either so hardly provided a rugged examination of those traits. It's the top three sides that Saints need to relearn how to compete with after Wellens' tenure, and for that they'll need resilience and intelligence on a level not required in Cumbria.
The Lees injury might be a problem given the current absence of Noah Stephens and the restricted minutes given to Walmsley in his twilight years. It could make the contribution of George Delaney more important. But overall Saints look in good shape to address what was an appalling record against Sam Burgess' Wolves in 2025. Wire beat Saints three times last season, ending their Challenge Cup hopes in the process.
Those dreams remain alive for 2026 but much stiffer tests are lurking before thoughts can turn towards another Wembley day out.
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