Saints 26 Hull KR 18 - Review

A fifth league win in a row saw Saints consolidate their four-point lead at the top of the Super League table. Kristian Woolf’s side edged Hull KR 26-18 in an entertaining clash on Sunday afternoon (June 12).

As Saints pulled clear again at the top the visitors’ defeat meant that they relinquished the sixth and final playoff place for now. The Robins suffered their eighth loss in 15 league outings. That’s an identical record to that of Castleford but if the playoffs were to begin tomorrow the Tigers would squeeze in ahead of Rovers by virtue of their superior points difference. Or some might say their less terrible points difference.

Saints had looked better balanced in last week’s 28-14 win in Toulouse and Woolf wisely stuck as close to that formula as possible. There was an enforced change at centre where Sione Mata’utia - who had filled in for Mark Percival in France - was suspended. With Percival also still out the left gig went to Ben Davies. It offered a good opportunity for Davies to start in his favoured position. He missed out on selection in Toulouse having played the previous five as a makeshift stand-off. 

In the forwards Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook missed only his second game of 2022, the other being at Castleford in April when a virtual academy side went down 30-10. A facial fracture is currently laying McCarthy-Scarsbrook low, so both Jake Wingfield and Dan Norman came into the 17 on the bench. Curtis Sironen missed out and with Mata’utia also absent James Bell started in the second row alongside Joe Batchelor with Morgan Knowles in his regular loose forward slot. James Roby started too, featuring in a Super League game for a record-breaking 455th time. The Toulouse game saw Roby tie the record which had been held for seven years by Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield. Now he moved out on his own - the latest milestone in a storied, phenomenal career.

In doing so he earned himself a guard honour from both sets of players as he entered the field. If any current Super League player deserves that level of reference it is Roby, though not everyone will be comfortable with Super League records in a sport which started a long time before 1996.

In the Rovers side most Saints fans’ eyes were on Lachlan Coote. The former North Queensland Cowboy made 66 appearances for Saints in three seasons between 2019-21. Three of those 66 appearances were winning Grand Finals. Coote was returning to Saints for the first time since moving to Rovers at the end of 2021. Just has he had been during his three-year stint with the champions, Coote was worth the entrance money by himself.

Rovers coach Tony Smith was still without halfback Jordan Abdull so again paired the exciting but inexperienced Mikey Lewis and Rowan Milnes in his creative department. That meant Rovers were unchanged from the 17 which had thrashed Salford Red Devils 43-16 in their previous outing. Ryan Hall is chasing his own record - now on 223 and only 24 short of Danny Maguire’s Super League record of 247. Matty Storton, Matt Parcell and George King were charged with slowing down Saints’ formidable front row while behind them Frankie Dalton was excellent in defeat.

Expecting an open game, the fans didn’t have long to wait for the first attacking wave from the home side. The opening set ended with a Jack Welsby kick towards the corner which looked destined to roll into touch before Konrad Hurrell got to it and threw a speculator back over his head towards Will Hopoate. The Tongan snaffled it and produced a deft flick pass to allow Tommy Makinson to walk in at the corner. It was the Saints and England winger’s 16th of the Super League season, moving him two clear at the top of the Super League try-scoring charts for 2022. He could not add the goal to this early effort but Saints led 4-0.

Having gained the early initiative Saints quickly set about the task of indulging in a little self sabotage. Their next attack promised to put them into a double digit lead but only succeeded in leaving them a man light. Jonny Lomax’s lob was just too long allowing Coote to diffuse it. As he did so, the chasing Welsby mystifyingly saw fit to push his opposite number and Saints predecessor in the back. Referee Marcus Griffiths took a dim view and sat Welsby down for the next 10 minutes. 

There are those who will say that Griffiths was pedantic. No real harm was going to be inflicted on Coote. Yet to my mind Griffiths was not as pedantic as Welsby was needlessly aggressive and fairly brainless. Perhaps he thought he was making a statement about how he is now the new guy in town. Perhaps it was just bantz between master and apprentice. A kind of Obi-Wan vs Anakin in front of the East Stand rather than on the fiery planet of Mustafar or - spoiler alert - Jabiim. Either way it didn’t really help the cause. 

Saints compounded that error of judgement when they were caught offside, allowing Rovers to set up the position from which Coote made his first imprint on the contest. Saints had defended a set on their own line pretty well until Coote took hold of proceedings, slashing outside Walmsley to get over from dummy half. Coote kicked 284 goals in his three seasons at Saints so it was no surprise when he landed his first goal of the afternoon to give Rovers a slender 6-4 lead.

More indiscipline cost Saints soon after. Readers of this column will recall my lament of the persistent concession of penalties which made the task harder in Toulouse last week. This week Saints were even causing themselves problems when in possession. 

Alex Walmsley put a huge dent in the Rovers defence after he was put through a gap by a clever short ball by Bell. As Walmsley got up to play the ball quickly 10 metres out there was the usual struggle between ball carrier and marker. One trying to get the ball back in play as quickly as possible, the other trying to prevent that from happening. In his frustration Walmsley pushed Parcell at marker and was duly penalised. Parcell didn’t need much persuading to go over. Few players do as the scourge of football-style simulation creeps ever further into the game. Yet for all that it was an exercise in self-harm from Saints and an opportunity lost. 

Since this was his record breaking game it just had to have a moment that was typically James Roby. It came at a good time as it put Saints back on top on the scoreboard. Rovers contributed to it too, penalised for offside and a scrum offence and conceding a set restart in the passage of play that put Roby in position to score his 116th try in a Saints career that now extends to 509 appearances in all competitions. Close to the line at dummy half the Saints skipper feinted left, pirouetted back around to the right and shot through a big gap in a confused Rovers defence. It was a signature way to mark the occasion. Makinson slotted over the conversion from bang in front and Saints led 10-6.

George King had to leave the field with what looked like a cut to the head or face on Saints next attack. While he was away Saints pressed home their advantage with a try of some considerable quality.  Hurrell was held just short over on Saints’ right edge before Roby, Lomax and Welsby combined to find a rampaging Walmsley. Known more for his north-south, no-nonsense methods Walmsley showed that he is not just a battering ram as his perfectly timed, expertly executed pass back inside gave Morgan Knowles a clear run to the line. 

Many - including this writer - have fretted about the lack of cohesion in Saints attack during the recent halfback crisis but this was a display of clinical, devastating precision during which all the moving parts hit exactly the right spot at exactly the right time. It was another simple conversion for Makinson and Saints seemed to have wrestled control of the game at 16-6. It was also Knowles’ second try in successive games, a feat he has not achieved since the last two games of the 2021 regular season.

Had Welsby released the ball to Bell a split second earlier Saints may well have added to their lead on their next raid. Instead Welsby hung on and Walmsley came up with an error. Griffiths then pinged Saints for offside and suddenly Woolf’s men were defending their own line. They have been excellent at doing that this year but couldn’t quite pull it off on this occasion. Milnes and Coote combined in a movement which culminated in a fizzing ball across the face of the Saints defence from Coote to Hall. It was reminiscent of so many we were fortunate to witness during Coote’s time in the red vee and was good enough on this occasion to put Hall in at the left hand corner. 

Hall now has 223 Super League tries. He is only 24 short of the record held by Danny Maguire - another former Leeds man with Rovers connections. More importantly in the shorter term it brought the Robins right back into the contest. They were now just four points down at 16-12 as Coote made another testing conversion from out wide look routine. Witnessing this match was a strange experience to this point. Saints had enjoyed more possession and played some pretty un-Woolf-like expansive stuff yet found themselves only four points to the good. Perhaps that is why the coach favours a little more of what modern game planners call structure. 

Coote caused more problems when he got on the end of a hopeful punt from Milnes. The former Saints man hacked forwards but the danger was averted by a covering Makinson. He even managed to escape the in-goal before Parcell cheekily claimed a try as the ball came loose. The Rovers man was penalised. Makinson then reminded us that he is a major factor at both ends. He was bundled into touch just short of the try line after good work by Roby, Lomax, Knowles and Welsby. 

Having set up one chance for Makinson Parcell then served up another. His horror pass went all along the ground without ever really threatening to get anywhere near a Rovers player. The man most alert to its whereabouts was Roby, who covered it up deep in KR territory. From there Saints moved it right where Makinson - about to suffer the same fate as he had a few minutes earlier and run out of room - tried to find Welsby but the pass shot forward into the Rovers in-goal. 

The pendulum swung again, Ryan Hall rampaging down the left wing before handing on to Elliot Minchella. He in turn shifted it to the busy Parcell who was only halted by a fine tackle by Grace 25 metres out. Minchella, Coote and Lewis then tried to engineer a chance on the right flank but the final ball was well anticipated by Welsby. His unfortunate inability to hold on to it meant another set of six for Rovers in great field position. A set restart gave Rovers more encouragement but Saints’ formidable defence held out. Milnes’ kick beyond the try line was scooped back and brought back into the field of play by Hopoate. 

That failure to capitalise would eventually cost Rovers another two points before half-time. The visitors came up with a crucial error in their own territory and one typical Roby burst later Parcell felt compelled to interfere at the next ruck. Not only did it offer Makinson an easy opportunity to put Saints a further two points up at 18-12 at the break, it also represented the point where Griffiths’ patience with Parcell’s antics ran out. As the teams walked off the field the Rovers hooker’s interlude would be 10 minutes longer than everybody else’s.

In the early exchanges of the second half Saints spurned one chance with a forward pass, and then were laid low by their recurring disciplinary problems. Perhaps in homage to Walmsley’s earlier effort it was now Knowles’ turn to pointlessly push away at his marker as he got up to play the ball. We could have done without the reaction from George King. His theatrics made Harry Kane’s dive at the Allianz Arena last week look like the consequences of an all out physical assault but the point about Saints’ discipline stands. Stop doing stupid stuff and make life easier for yourselves,

As I write this news is just breaking that Hurrell has agreed a one-year extension to his deal which will keep him in the red vee for 2023. The next significant action was Exhibit A in why Saints have been keen to keep him from a possible NRL return. Picking up possession around 15 metres from his own line the former Rhino stampeded through the defensive line and streaked away to cross half way line. At this point there was only Coote between him and the try line. There was not a thought in Hurrell’s head of trying to go around Coote, or beat him with a bit of footwork. Instead he barrelled straight at the fullback who just about did enough to halt his progress.

Hurrell’s burst had scattered the Rovers rearguard like Boris Johnson rearranging the ministerial code. Seeing this, Welsby placed an unfathomably well weighted kick to the left side of the field where it was seized upon by Davies. The ball held up in exactly the right spot for Davies to gather and ground it in one movement. He took a bang on the head in the process but in scoring his second try in his eight Saints appearances to date he had given his side a two-score cushion at 22-12. Makinson could not tack on two more this time but the threepeaters were starting to exert a deal of control and scoreboard pressure.

Smith’s men weren’t helping themselves by now, making a simple error early in the tackle count. That after surviving a burst by Makinson whose kick was just too long for the chasing Lomax. If fatigue was playing a part for Rovers it was not a surprise against a defence which is still only shipping an average of 10.5 points per game across their 15 Super League outings so far. Rovers had already managed more than that, so perhaps they shouldn’t have expected to pick up too many more. 

Perhaps Saints slipped into a temporary comfort zone. Following the Rovers error they gave it straight back when Joey Lussick inexplicably failed to take notice of the ball being played back to him by Batchelor as he waited at dummy half. This sort of thing doesn’t happen in Robyworld. To be fair it’s something of an aberration for Lussick who has been excellent since coming back to England from Parramatta. He must have been feeling particularly off colour as soon after his pass to Roby - which Australians might refer to as an absolute bludger - could not be handled by the skipper and possession was lost again. 

Perhaps Saints needed a jolt. They almost got it when former Leeds splinter-collector Jimmy Keinhorst combined well with Lewis to put Jez Litten over on the right. Yet Griffiths deemed the pass to Lewis forward as Saints maintained their 10-point lead. Lewis was not deterred. When Parcell - by now off the naughty step - broke the Saints line and kicked ahead only the presence of Regan Grace denied Lewis the opportunity to get his team back into it. Lewis is quick and elusive but in a straight race the Saints winger was always a likely victor. He covered up forcing Rovers to settle for the goal-line dropout. 

From there Rovers had two bites at the proverbial cherry. They got a fresh set when Shaun Kenny-Dowall’s wayward pass was gobbled up by Roby only for Griffiths to rule that it had been knocked forward by a Saints hand. Not to worry, the ball was lost on the very first play of the set by Ethan Ryan. KR must now have been entertaining thoughts that this would not be their day.

All doubt was removed when after a smart break by Lomax the ball was shifted right by Lussick, Roby and Hopoate to Hurrell. He showed more of what has earned him another year as he expertly used Makinson as a foil outside him before gliding through the defensive line with the grace of a man a third of his size. Like Knowles before him it was his second try in as many games. His fifth in 15 appearances since heading to the fun side of the Pennines. It was a thing of beauty and a score which settled the issue on this day. 

On his current form Hurrell is more than worth his new deal. Still to turn 31 you would imagine he has more than another good year in him. The only danger is what psychologists refer to as LMS Syndrome, where an ageing player ups his levels until a new contract is secure before reverting to type. If we see this Hurrell rather than the one during his last days at Leeds then we will have got ourselves a real asset for next year and maybe beyond. Though if Hurrell does have designs on another crack at the NRL he doesn’t want to leave it too long.

Makinson could not convert Hurrell’s effort but Saints were now cruising with a 14-point advantage at 26-12. There was a slight scare after Rovers executed a short restart but Lomax’s tackle on Halton was a try saver. Saints went close to adding to their lead when Welsby was brought down just a metre or so short on the last. The challenge which stopped him in his tracks looked suspiciously high but was let go by Griffiths. Hurrell was then called for interference at the ruck allowing Rovers to put Ben Crooks away down the right channel. Yet having been denied at the other end Welsby pooped the Rovers party by executing an assured cover tackle. 

The Saints stand-off - soon to make an England debuts of sorts in this weekend’s pick-numbers-in-the-playground, bring-whoever-will-play farce against the Combined Nations All Stars - then put a shrewd grubber in at the other end which only just evaded the unlikeliest of kick-chase try scorers in Walmsley. Saints were happy trading blows at this point, confident that their defence would not be breached enough in the time that remained. Missed opportunities like this were by now something to work on for the next game rather than worry about immediately.

Rovers would have the last word. Coote grabbed his second try when Kenny-Dowall cut in from the left and place a perfect grubber in behind the defensive line. The fullback got up and converted the try himself to narrow the arrears to a respectable eight at 26-18. Kenny-Dowall then coughed up possession in his own half to spurn what would have been Rovers’ very last chance to cause any alarm. Instead the game ended with Saints knocking on the door for more points. Walmsley was held up over the line before a Rovers hand stopped Hopoate’s pass reaching Makinson out wide. The hooter sounded after one play from the resultant scrum as Grace was brought to ground.

Makinson was the leading metre maker on either side with 159, while Hurrell was Saints’ next best with 121. Walmsley added another 120 to his name, Bell managed 110 and Davies 101. Rovers’ best in this category was Halton with 135. Just behind him was Kenny-Dowall with 132 as Rovers’ left edge caused most of the problems. Add Hall’s 120 into that mix and there is further evidence of where the visitors’ attack was at its best. Parcell had a very eventful afternoon in all sorts of ways, one of which was his 104 metres with ball in hand.

Both teams made five clean breaks but were slightly hamstrung by their error count.  Saints came up with 11 while Rovers were only a step behind with 10. Uncharacteristically, Saints produced 15 offloads but perhaps even more out of character was their concession of second phase play to their opponents on no fewer than 20 occasions. Woolf will be grumpy about that but with a blank Super League weekend because of the internationals he has some time to ponder a solution.  

Coote was a perfect three from three with the boot while Makinson was at 50% with three from six. Had Makinson landed a few more the margin of victory could have been more convincing. Perhaps if Coote had still been in the Saints ranks. To be honest, Coote was that good all round that if he had not been in the Rovers side Saints might have won by 30. He was involved in everything and makes a huge difference to any side. 

Defensively only two players topped 30 tackles as the work was shared around and the game became more open than your average Super League encounter. Parcell got through the most work with 39 tackles while Roby led Saints with 36.  

A short break coming up then, after which Saints will welcome Leeds Rhinos into town on June 23 for a Thursday night Sky clash. Saints will be going for a sixth straight league win. You’d have to fancy them to get it too despite Leeds showing signs of improvement under another member of the Smith family in Rohan. The problem for the Rhinos is that they have too much improving to do to convince anyone that they will be able to overcome Saints in less than a week’s time. They currently sit eighth with five wins out of 15 and were fairly comfortably handled by Huddersfield Giants last time out.

If Woolf and his side want it there is a League Leaders Shield in the offing before the business of securing what would be a record fourth consecutive Grand Final success.

Saints:

Hopoate, Makinson, Hurrell, Davies, Grace, Welsby, Lomax, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Bell, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Lussick, Paasi, Norman, Wingfield

Hull KR:

Coote, Ryan, Crooks, Kenny-Dowall, Hall, Lewis, Milnes, Storton, Parcell, King, Halton, Johnson, Hadley. Interchanges: Vete, Litten, Minchella, Keinhorst

Referee: Marcus Griffiths

     

Sants v Hull KR - Preview

Threepeat champions Saints look to earn a fifth league win in a row when they take on Hull KR in a rare Sunday afternoon home outing (June 12, kick-off 3.00pm).

Last week’s 28-14 success in Toulouse was payback for one of only two league defeats in Saints’ opening 14 games. The only other blemish came at Castleford in April when coach Kristian Woolf chose to send an experimental side into The Jungle as his stars rested up from the Easter double header. That consistency over the season has translated to a four-point lead at the top of the table going into this weekend’s round of games, temporarily cut to two by Wigan’s stroll over Salford on Friday night (June 10).

Meanwhile Rovers have not quite kicked on from last season when they came within one game of making it all the way to Old Trafford and the Grand Final. Their campaign so far has had its disappointments to say the least. Tony Smith’s side failed to win any of their opening two league games against Wigan and Huddersfield. Their first win came against Castleford in Round 3, but the manner of their 32-0 shellacking by the Tigers in mid-May illustrates the Jeckyll and Hyde nature of their season so far. That came on the back of another nilling - this time against Leeds. Both those results bookended their meek surrender to the Giants in the Challenge Cup semi-final. 

Sunday’s 43-16 pummelling of Salford came on the back of three consecutive league defeats. Currently Rovers sit sixth in the table, occupying the last playoff position. Smith’s men are only two points behind their local rivals Hull FC in fifth, but defeat here would have them nervously looking over their shoulders at the teams chasing them for the right to extend the season. They have already suffered at the hands of Saints in 2022 when a Tommy Makinson hat-trick and two tries apiece by Lewis Dodd and Sione Mata’utia set Woolf’s side on the way to a 42-8 win. 

Two of those three will not be in the Saints ranks this week. Lewis Dodd had his season wrecked by an Achilles injury on Good Friday, while Mata’utia has picked up a two-game suspension for a late hit on Lucas Albert in the win at Toulouse. His place in Woolf’s initial 21-man selection is taken by Sam Royle. In the only other change Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is denied the opportunity to add to his impressive if logic-defying collection of 392 Super League appearances after picking up a facial injury in France. More on Super League appearance addicts to follow.

Mata’utia has been operating in the centre of late and with Mark Percival still out a vacancy has now arisen. Ben Davies may feel deserving of an opportunity in his preferred position after a difficult time filling in at stand-off. That would remove the need to shuffle other players around too much, but it should probably be remembered that Will Hopoate was touted as a replacement for Kevin Naiqama when the Tongan arrived from Canterbury. He would fit in seamlessly there but given the problems Saints have had in halves without Dodd do we really want to move Hopoate out of the fullback role. Do we want to then have to adjust the position of either Jonny Lomax or Jack Welsby? Jon Bennison is another option at either fullback or centre. With Regan Grace now restored he and Makinson should start on the wings, with Konrad Hurrell at right centre.

It is strange to think that Mata’utia won’t be too sorely missed as a back rower but there is depth there now. Joe Batchelor is an established Super League performer with a Danny Houghton-like appetite for a tackle, while Curtis Sironen is a skilled if sometimes temperamental performer on the opposite side. Morgan Knowles is an unchallenged starter at loose forward when all things are equal but it is comforting to know that we have more than capable back up in James Bell.

And so to the front row and the subject of appearances. Hooker and skipper James Roby is set to make Super League appearance number 455, thus breaking the record that he currently holds jointly with Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield. The milestone has provoked much debate among fans of all clubs but especially those of a Saints persuasion on the subject of the greatest ever Super League players. In particular number nines. In many ways the Roby/Cunningham debate is one that can never be conclusively won by either side. It’s our Messi v Ronaldo argument. Nothing about it is proven other than the fact that the level of revisionism on Cunningham’s playing days has been launched into the stratosphere by a rather sad coaching stint. 

Yet stats are stats and records are indisputably great achievements. Roby never has a bad game. An absolute legend of all sport, not just rugby league. In many ways the debate around Roby and Cunningham is in danger of cheapening the overall contribution of both. They are both all-time greats in their own right. Roby should start on Sunday alongside props Alex Walmsley and Matty Lees, while the excellent Joey Lussick waits for his opportunity from the bench. Roby is sure to get a richly deserved raucous reception from the fans. We’ll all be hoping there will be a few more appearances to come after number 455.

With McCarthy-Scarsbrook having gurned himself into the treatment room there is a bench spot up for grabs. Royle will fancy a shot at backing up the second rowers but then so will Jake Wingfield. But if it is a prop that Woolf needs then Dan Norman would appear to be well placed. Lussick and Agnatius Paasi are dead certs if fit while the final place in the squad is taken by Dan Hill who may yet come into Woolf’s thinking in the backs.

There are still notable absentees for Rovers. Brad Takairangi looks to have played his last game for the club having sustained a season-ending injury in the final year of his contract. Yet it is perhaps the loss of halves Mikey Lewis and Jordan Abdul which has caused the biggest headache for Smith in recent times. Even Saints have discovered that life can be difficult with injuries in your creative department. I just read that back and should like to point out that it is not a euphemism. Whatever, leaving it in. This is a blog, not Martyn Sadler’s column. Happily for Rovers Lewis is now fit again but they will still be without Abdul while Korbin Sims also misses out this week.

Focusing on who they do have in their side, one name immediately stands out. Lachlan Coote only spent three seasons at Saints but was a Grand Final winner in every one of them. You can throw in a Challenge Cup winner’s medal too. He is a bona fide Saints legend and the man who made us forget about Ben Barba. He’s also a pretty good mentor too if the rapid development of Welsby as his replacement is anything to go by. He may be on the opposite side on Sunday but I have nothing but good things to say about Coote. 

Of course Coote had quality NRL experience before he pitched up at Saints. That source of incredible talent is something that Rovers have proven outstandingly adept at in recent years. Shaun Kenny-Dowell, Albert Vete and Kane Linnett are players who might have been considered ageing, risky luxuries if they’d turned up at a doss house like Warrington or Hull FC but they have been exceptional for Rovers. There’s an art to NRL recruitment. It is not a sure thing. We all have our Josh Perrys, our Greg Inglises. Rovers have got it right more often than not of late. 

There’s some exciting British talent too. Lewis’ injury gave an opportunity to the gifted Rowan Millnes while in the forwards Matty Storton and Elliot Minchella look to be still improving. Meanwhile at the other end of the age spectrum Ryan Hall has won six Super League rings, two Challenge Cups and two World Club Challenges and is one of only three men to have scored over 200 Super League tries. He currently lies second on the all-time list on 222, 25 behind his former Leeds Rhinos team-mate and current Rovers assistant coach Danny Maguire.  The third member of the 200 club is Josh Charnley. He played for Hull KR too once upon a time. 

This is not a fixture Saints struggle with often, at least not at home. At Rovers’ Craven Park they have had their tribulations but on home soil Saints haven’t lost to the Robins since a 24-12 reverse nine years ago. Saints try scorers that night were Francis Meli and Anthony Laffranchi. They were different times. So long ago in fact that Roby was playing for just the 276th time. 

I don’t expect Saints to struggle here either. The attack looked better balanced last week with Hopoate at fullback and Grace back in on the wing, albeit against the league’s bottom club. If Woolf sticks to that formula and resists the temptation to tinker then Saints should have far too much for a Rovers side who were in a slump until they had the good fortune to run into the currently ailing Salford Red Devils last week.

Squads;

St Helens;

1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Regan Grace, 6. Jonny Lomax, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13, Morgan Knowles, 14. Joey Lussick, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 19. Jake Wingfield, 20. James Bell, 22. Ben Davies, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 24. Dan Norman, 26. Sam Royle, 27. Jon Bennison, 29. Dan Hill.

Hull KR;

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Ben Crooks 4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5. Ryan Hall 8. Albert Vete 9. Matt Parcell 10. George King 11. Dean Hadley 13. Matty Storton 14. Jez Litten 15. Luis Johnson 17. Elliot Minchella 18. Jimmy Keinhorst 19. Will Dagger 20. Mikey Lewis 21. Rowan Milnes 22. Will Maher 23. Ethan Ryan 24. Sam Wood 25. Greg Richards 27. Frankie Halton

Referee: Marcus Griffiths

Toulouse Olympique 14 Saints 28 - Review

Saints now hold a four-point lead at the top of the Betfred Super League after a fairly comfortable 28-14 victory over Toulouse Olympique at the Stade Ernest Wallon on Saturday (June 4).

Neither Saints fans nor those of their rivals had forgotten the champions last visit to Toulouse. They were humbled 22-20 in March in what remains one of only two league wins picked up so far by the French side since their promotion from the Championship. That jolt to the pride of Kristian Woolf’s outfit was met with plenty of dark muttering about preparation and attitude, with many feeling that the decision to travel on the day was evidence of complacency. So as well as the opportunity to stretch their lead at the top following Catalans Dragons’ loss to Huddersfield Giants, Saints travelled on the eve of the game with perhaps a score to settle. 

Woolf will have been a relieved man to finally be able to call on the services of Regan Grace and Will Hopoate. Grace was making only his second appearance of an injury-hit year, further complicated by unceasing speculation about his future. Every non appearance from the Welsh flyer fuelled more chit-chat about the circling of rugby union vultures. Meanwhile Hopoate - who only arrived for the start of 2022 from Canterbury Bulldogs - was turning out for only the sixth time this season and the first in over five weeks following persistent injury problems.

Even with Mark Percival absent the return of Grace and Hopoate gave Saints a better balance. Hopoate slotted in at fullback, allowing Jack Welsby and Jonny Lomax to combine in the halves. Tellingly, there was no hiding Lomax at fullback defensively this week, which may suggest a little more durability around that bicep injury that has been troubling him of late. Mata’utia retained the role at left centre which he filled at Warrington when Percival played on the left wing. That meant Ben Davies missed out for the first time since Easter Monday. 

Another very significant if rather more obvious and predictable selection was that of James Roby. The captain played his 454th Super League game, equalling the record set by former Leeds Rhinos star Kevin Sinfield. This coming Sunday’s visit from Hull KR (June 12) should see Roby move out on his own as the top Super League appearance maker since the competition’s inception in 1996. About three of those 454 so far have been seven out of 10 performances, with the other 451 somewhat higher. For all that the likes of me moan about how the salary cap has driven down standards Roby has proven immune to that criticism. He is one of very few genuine all-time greats still running around Super League in 2022.

Toulouse had three former Saints in their 17. Dom Peyroux and Andrew Dixon started in the pack while Joseph Paulo came off the bench. There were a clutch of ex-Wiganers too with Chris Hankinson, Romain Navarette, Matty Russell and Harrison Hansen all included. 

While this wasn’t a Saints performance to go down in folklore it looked much more cohesive in attack than has often been the case in recent weeks. Woolf has struggled to solve the conundrum of Lewis Dodd’s absence and has been further hampered by key injuries. Hopoate may not have the creativity or guile of Welsby or his predecessors Lachlan Coote and Ben Barba but he looked a perfectly serviceable option for the way that Woolf wants to play. That third playmaker from fullback has become ever more prevalent in the modern game and Hopoate handled it well enough. He had one try assist and was deprived of another when his scoring pass to Konrad Hurrell was somehow deemed forward. 

Hopoate was also excellent at returning kicks. Lucas Albert and Corey Norman persistently pounded the ball downfield towards him but he always made good headway. Overall he ripped off 160 metres on 17 carries. Only Grace managed more on either side. The winger was also outstanding, gaining 169 metres on 14 carries with a try and a couple of clean breaks. Keeping this pair fit could be a big key to helping Woolf overcome the Dodd predicament. 

Early on there were signs of the struggles that Saints have had in attack recently. Their first opportunity was spurned when Morgan Knowles spilled possession after Toulouse had been caught offside. That was compounded when French referee Geoffrey Poumes - in action due to Liam Moore’s travel problems - awarded a set restart to the home side. It came to nothing but Saints next set indicated more rustiness as Welsby was caught in possession on the last play.

Poor last plays have plagued Saints since Dodd went down and Lomax got hurt. They would reappear again in this one from time to time. There is still work to be done in that area. Discipline also was a serious issue in this one. Woolf’s side were hammered 12-4 in the penalty count. The first of these saw Joe Batchelor pinged for interference at the play-the-ball. It was within kicking range and Hankinson put Toulouse 2-0 in front.

Saints soon struck back, and it was Knowles making up for his earlier error to grab his first try in Super League in 2022 and his first since Saints’ last visit to France - the Challenge Cup win over the Dragons in early April. It was the Cumbrian’s 26th four-pointer in 163 Saints appearances and came when he took a beautiful short ball from Welsby and showed decent speed to just about hold off Olly Ashall-Bott. The former Widnes and Huddersfield man almost halted Knowles but rather fell off the tackle as the Saints loose forward’s greater physical strength told. Tommy Makinson could not convert but Saints led 4-2.

Another set ended poorly when Welsby’s kick was easily diffused in-goal by the over-worked Ashall-Bott. Not that Toulouse were flawless in that department either. In their next possession the recently acquired former Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors and St George-Illawarra Dragons prop Daniel Alvaro found himself caught on the last, turning the ball over to Saints in reasonable field position.  A good link up between Welsby, Lomax and Mata’utia allowed Grace to surge to within 20 metres of the Toulouse line. From there Knowles almost bagged his second, dragged down just five metres short. The reprieve was temporary as Roby and Lomax linked up with Hopoate who gave Makinson a simple walk-in at the right hand corner.

It was Makinson’s 15th try of the Super League season making him the outright leader in the competition. All of which is just reward for the industry and consistency he has shown over recent seasons while others have taken on more of the individual glory. That industry remains - Makinson chewed up another 101 metres here and has 1922 for the season. Only Leeds Rhinos’ Ash Handley has more throughout Super League. Makinson’s return to try-scoring form is another element which gives the Saints attack more balance particularly if Grace is now set for a run in the side. The England winger is also the third highest goal scorer in Super League this year but missed out this time as Saints had to settle for an 8-2 lead.

Toulouse had a chance to hit back when a Curtis Sironen error was followed by the concession of another penalty. Sylvain Houles’ side got to within 20 metres of the Saints line but Ashall-Bott’s attempted wide ball to Russell missed its target and rolled tamely into touch. Sironen’s error was one of only eight by Saints on the night, some way short of their season’s average of almost 12 per game coming in. No side has made more than Saints’ 163 errors in Super League this season. But then that happens if you dominate possession. Woolf would probably say it needs cleaning up just a bit. 

Hansen and Mata’utia both suffered head knocks in the next phase of the game but happily both would return after passing assessments. When the game settled down again Ashall-Bott flapped at a high ball from Lomax to allow Roby possession 20 metres out. Lomax got involved again, dinking into the in-goal for Welsby to chase but he was beaten to it by a combination of Russell and a recovering Ashall-Bott. Frustratingly, Saints missed out on launching a further assault from a goal-line dropout as Welsby was adjudged to have been in front of the kicker.

When Saints eventually did stretch the lead the record-equalling Roby was involved again. He attacked the short side from dummy half before finding Lomax who put Hurrell through a hole in the home rearguard. Hurrell went 45 metres untouched for his third try of the campaign. There was no mistake with the boot this time from Makinson and Saints looked comfortable at this point at 14-2 up.  

Ashall-Bott continued to be a threat, almost narrowing the arrears as he broke 60 metres downfield from dummy half only to be stopped five short by Welsby and Makinson. Back-to-back penalties against Saints followed putting them under severe pressure. Even more so when Hankinson’s kick to the in-goal proved just too strong for Russell but was adjudged to have been knocked dead by a Saints player for a dropout and potentially six more cracks at the line for the league’s bottom club. They couldn’t take advantage. As they swept the ball to the right winger Ilias Bergal was taken into touch short of the line by Welsby on the last meaningful play of the first half.

Ashall-Bott was far and away Toulouse’s biggest threat with ball in hand. He ended the day with 153 metres to his name - albeit helped significantly by that 60-metre jaunt just before the break. Only Russell joined Ashall-Bott over the 100 barrier among the home ranks, a lack of go-forward which is testament to another solid defensive performance from Saints but perhaps also indicative of why Toulouse have struggled so much in their first three months in the top flight.

Nevertheless they threatened to make a game of it when they were first to cross the try line in the second half.  Dixon was stopped short on the left but on the next play Norman and Paulo combined to put Hansen in just to the right of the posts despite the attentions of Hopoate. Hankinson, who had earned the penalty which set up the position for that opportunity, landed the conversion to drag the hosts back within six at 14-8.  

Any momentum gained by the Super League new boys was almost lost straight away. An error at the play-the-ball by Justin Sangare gifted possession to Saints just 15 metres out. However, Saints could not take advantage as Hopoate’s attacking grubber trickled harmlessly dead. The scourge that is the last tackle play then reappeared, this time Grace caught on tackle six just 10 metres out after Mata’utia had put the winger in space. Saints were creating chances but having a hard time putting Houles’ team away. 

The next try was always going to be pivotal at that point. Batchelor went a long way to ensuring it wasn’t going to be Toulouse who scored it when he intercepted Peyroux’s offload inside Saints’ 10 metre line.  That enabled Saints to go close to striking the knockout blow, Roby breaking from half way and handing on to Joey Lussick who was halted just short. From there Saints shifted it right through Batchelor, Roby, Lomax, James Bell and Hopoate. The latter’s pass found Hurrell for a stroll over. However, the pass from Bell to Hopoate was called forward by Poumes.  Admittedly I have only seen it on a TV screen but despite several such viewings it remains a head-scratcher. 

So too does the pass from Hurrell to Makinson which was pulled up by Poumes soon after. Grace and Sironen set it up with probing runs before Roby again used the short side to allow Hurrell to put Makinson over. Yet like the fate of the former Leeds Rhino moments earlier it was not to be a double for recently named Super League Player Of The Month Makinson. 

The arguably game-clinching score only arrived when Bergal came up with a crucial error at the play-the-ball in the shadow of his own posts. Lussick picked up from the scrum and found Lomax who handed on to Welsby. He brilliantly used Makinson as a decoy on his outside and sliced through to put Saints almost out of reach. Makinson’s second conversion meant that at 20-8 down Toulouse would need to score two converted tries to even force golden point extra time. 

In fairness to Houles’ side they did not accept their fate. In fact it was their willingness to chance their arm which contributed to their ultimate downfall. A stray offload was pounced on by Grace who streaked away to score his first try of 2022. It was his 86th in Saints colours. They have arrived in 135 appearances. A strike rate of almost two tries every three games. How many more will we see if the whispers about a code switch have any merit in them? Best not to think about it until we have to, maybe. A third Makinson conversion put Saints in the comfort zone at 26-8.

It was not the end of the scoring though as a defiant Toulouse crossed for their second try and - as it turned out - the last four-pointer of the game. Albert, Norman, Ashall-Bott and Dixon were all involved before Hankinson stepped neatly inside the cover to score. The former Wigan Warrior converted it himself to reduce the arrears to 26-14 and bring his own personal points tally to 10 for the night.  

Makinson then missed one opportunity to add two further points but made no mistake when Ashall Bott was penalised bang in front. Bell had broken through the line but held on despite having Lussick in support. Ashall-Bott was the man who brought Bell down but was too eager to stop the pass from the resultant play-the-ball. Makinson couldn’t miss and any remaining doubt about the result was removed as Saints stretched the lead to 28-14.  

The game ended with Toulouse in possession inside the Saints half and still seeking consolation points. Saints soaked up the pressure - grounding Ashall-Bott as time ran out despite having conceded repeat sets following penalties as Alex Walmsley, Bell and Sironen all transgressed. 

Indiscipline was an unwanted feature of Saints’ display. Along with the ugly penalty count Mata’utia will sit out the matches with Hull KR and Leeds Rhinos in the coming weeks after being found guilty by the Match Review Panel of hitting Albert after the former Dragons half had passed the ball. It is the former Newcastle Knight’s second such ban of 2022. Mata’utia has been impressive since arriving from the NRL club. If he can steer clear of the injuries and silly suspensions which have limited him to nine league appearances this season there are scarcely any limits to the success he could enjoy as long as he stays. He’s a bloke we need on the field and not in the stands.

Aside from Grace, Makinson and Hopoate the other Saint to top 100 metres was Walmsley. Some things don’t change whatever else is going on around this team. Defensively only Roby (32) and Knowles (30) were required to top 30 tackles. Anthony Marion - operating at hooker for Toulouse - was the game’s leading defender with 34 tackles while ex-Saint and Grand Final winner Peyroux chipped in with 30.  Offensively Toulouse managed 10 offloads to Saints’ relatively meagre four but Woolf’s side were far more penetrative with nine clean breaks to four. 

The way the fixtures fall this week - with Saints venturing into their annual experiment with Sunday afternoon home games - means that Woolf’s side will get to sit back and watch nearest rivals Catalans and Wigan try to keep pace before taking to the field against Hull KR. Following the major setback of the Dodd injury and the agony of the Challenge Cup exit, Saints may just be in the best shape they have been in since before Easter. 

Toulouse: Ashall-Bott, Bergal, Hankinson, Jussaume, Russell, Norman, Albert, Navarrete, Marion, Alvaro, Dixon, Peyroux, Puech. Interchanges: Paulo, Cunningham, Sangare, Hansen

Saints: Hopoate, Makinson, Hurrell, Mata’utia, Grace, Welsby, Lomax, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles. Interchanges: Lussick, Paasi, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Bell

Referee: Geoffrey Poumes

 

Toulouse Olympique v Saints - Preview

Refreshed and hopefully recharged Saints swing back into action when they travel to face Toulouse Olympique on Saturday night (June 4, kick-off 6.00pm CET, 5.00pm BST).

It’s been a fortnight since Kristian Woolf’s side were last in action as Super League took a break for the Challenge Cup final last weekend. The opportunity to recalibrate perhaps came at a good time for Saints. Following the cup exit to Wigan the champions have laboured to narrow wins over Salford and Warrington either side of a more dominant success over Hull FC. The Lewis Dodd-shaped hole in the halves was really starting to tell during that spell, particularly with Jonny Lomax also carrying an arm injury and the likes of Will Hopoate, Regan Grace and Jon Bennison sidelined throughout that period too. 

Though it has been a struggle Saints have at least kept winning. As a result they remain two points clear of Catalans Dragons at the top of the Super League table as we go into this weekend’s round of games. Despite their problems Saints have won 11 of their first 13 league fixtures. 

Contrast that with their hosts, whose only league wins since earning promotion from the Championship were a shock 22-20 triumph when Saints last visited in March and a somewhat less surprising 20-14 victory over a currently dreadful Wakefield in mid-May. All of which means that although Sylvain Houles’ side remain bottom of the pile they are only two points behind Trinity. With Leeds and Salford improving it is looking increasingly like a two-way battle to avoid the drop into the second tier.

Saints have reasons to be cheerful coming into this one as they bid to avenge that rather blush-inducing reverse in France. Jack Welsby and Matty Lees have agreed deals to stay at the club until at least the end of the 2025 season. Both are academy products who have become key members of the side as it looks for a fourth consecutive Grand Final win. Turning youth products into first team regulars has been absolutely key to Saints’ success over the last few years so it is great to see it continuing. 

In addition, Sione Mata’utia and Agnatius Paasi have committed until at least the end of the 2023 season. Both were on deals until the end of this year but have had their options for a further year triggered. That’s a huge boost for Saints given the impressive form of the duo. Mata’utia has been operating in the centres recently but is one of the premier back rowers in Super League. It says a lot about him that he sits joint third in the Steve Prescott Man Of Steel standings despite having missed six weeks of the season through injury. Meanwhile Paasi has been fantastic this year especially, catching the eye as the impactful, offloading prop which every great Saints side should have.

There’s better news for Saints in the short term too. Three long-term absentees return to Woolf’s 21-man squad for the trip across the Channel. Hopoate has not played since hobbling through the win over Salford on April 29, and has only made five appearances in the red vee since joining from Canterbury Bulldogs at the start of the season. He is back in contention here along with Jon Bennison who after appearing in four straight Super League games earlier in the season has not featured since fracturing his cheekbone in the loss at Castleford in April.  Both Hopoate and Bennison are options in the fullback role but Woolf has been using Lomax there of late in what appears to be an effort to protect that troublesome bicep from the more frequent physicality required in the defensive line. 

Perhaps the standout returnee to Woolf’s squad is Regan Grace. The winger has only featured once in 2022 and that was the relatively gentle assignment of the cup win at Whitehaven in March. A return for the Welshman has been regularly tantalised by Woolf only for it to consistently fail to materialise. As a consequence the chat has got louder about Grace’s future. 

Alarm sirens blared when he only agreed a one-year deal last year.  Since then the gossip has intensified, with suggestions on social media that Grace’s agent has been looking for a rugby union club for his client. That a young Welshman should want to play rugby union for his country should not come as a surprise, particularly with that sport’s next World Cup on the horizon in 2023. In the hope of being wildly wrong I’d suggest we make the most of any opportunities we get to see Grace flying down that Saints left wing from now on.

Hopefully this will be one such opportunity.  If it is it will help out a three-quarter line which will be without the services of Mark Percival. The 28 year-old has started the last two games on the wing as Woolf has had to move pieces around to cover for injuries. Yet Percival will not feature in this one after picking up a knock at Warrington. If Grace and Tommy Makinson occupy the wing slots then Hopoate could slot in at centre alongside Konrad Hurrell with Bennison or Lomax at fullback. Hopoate is also an option at 6, although Ben Davies has started there of late.

The picture looks a little clearer in the forwards. Lees should join Alex Walmsley in the starting front row along with James Roby at hooker. If Mata’utia reverts to the back row then it seems likely that Joe Batchelor will get the other starting berth ahead of Curtis Sironen with Morgan Knowles at 13. Former Manly Sea Eagle Sironen could be on a bench also featuring Paasi, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and back-up 9 Joey Lussick. Dan Norman, Jake Wingfield and James Bell will all be pushing their claims for a place in the 17 also. Suddenly the squad is looking considerably stronger than it has in recent weeks.

The same can be said of Toulouse relative to the way they started their maiden Super League campaign. Since their win over Saints they have been out shopping, with Corey Norman and Daniel Alvaro added to the ranks. Norman is a creative if slightly unpredictable stand-off who lists Brisbane Broncos, Parramatta Eels and St George Illawarra Dragons among his former clubs. Alvaro is a prop, another ex-Eel who turned out 89 times in blue and yellow. The pair add much needed quality to a squad suffering from the age old promoted side’s complaint of having less time and less money to recruit in their preparations for life in the top flight.

Other familiar names in Houles’ 21 include former Catalans Jack-Of-All-Trades Tony Gigot, ex-Dragons dummy half Eloi Pelissier and former Saints trio Andrew Dixon, Dominique Peyroux and Joseph Paulo. There’s also a significant ex-Wigan contingent in props Harrison Hanson and Romain Navarrete as well as centre Chris Hankinson and winger Matty Russell. 

In addition to former Dragons Pelissier, Gigot and Lucas Albert and ex-Wigan man Navarrete there is some lesser known French talent who are all keen to make their mark on Super League. Fullback Latrell Schaumke and winger Mathieu Jussaume could feature as could forwards Anthony Marion, Maxime Stefani and Maxime Puech. 

Aside from the league meeting in March you have to go all the way back to 2010 to find the next most recent encounter between these two. On that occasion Dixon was a try scorer for Saints in a 56-16 Challenge Cup fourth round success at Knowsley Road in front of only just over 4,000 fans. Gary Wheeler, Chris Dean, Chris Flannery, Tony Puletua and Maurie Fa’asavalu were also among the Saints try scorers on that occasion while Jamie Foster kicked eight goals. 

Toulouse could have had more than just the two wins in Super League this year. Both of last week’s cup finalists edged past them by just a single point earlier in the year. Wigan won 29-28 in early March while the Giants prepared for Tottenham by beating Houles’ side 17-16 at The John Smith’s Stadium on May 20. As well as that there was only one score in it when Hull KR came to town, Rovers winning 28-24 on Easter Monday.  Toulouse are getting closer, and as Saints already know to their cost the French side can spring a surprise if the visitors’ preparation and attitude is not quite right. The strengthening done by Houles only increases the level of jeopardy Saints will face. 

And yet for all of that, the once bitten nature of this assignment added to the return of some very useful personnel leads me to believe that the proverbial lightning won’t strike twice on Saints. With no promises about how the attack will look I’d back Saints to get home by 16 to consolidate their place at the Super League summit.

Squads; 

Toulouse Olympique;

2. Latrell Schaumkel 4. Mathieu Jussaume 6. Corey Norman 7. Lucas Albert 8. Romain Navarrete 10. Harrison Hansen 11. Andrew Dixon 12. Dominique Peyroux 13. Anthony Marion 14. Eloi Pelissier 15. Maxime Puech 17. Joseph Paulo 19. James Cunningham 20. Ilias Bergal 21. Chris Hankinson 23. Justin Sangare 25. Matty Russell 27. Olly Ashall-Bott 30. Maxime Stefani 31. Tony Gigot 35. Daniel Alvaro

St Helens;

1. Jack Welsby, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Will Hopoate, 5. Regan Grace, 6. Jonny Lomax, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Matty Lees, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Joe Batchelor, 13, Morgan Knowles, 14. Joey Lussick, 15. LMS, 16. Curtis Sironen, 17. Agnatius Paasi, 19. Jake Wingfield, 20. James Bell, 22. Ben Davies, 23. Konrad Hurrell, 24. Dan Norman, 27. Jon Bennison.

Referee: Liam Moore

 

Amor Joins The Wolves’ Pack

I wasn’t going to write anything this week. We don’t have a game due to that irritating Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Wigan two weeks ago. The lack of activity is because the final is this weekend at Tottenham. The schedule must be cleared so that Brian Noble can use the phrase ‘in relation’ to a record number of times and union’s Jonathan Davies can tell us how he would take the two regardless of the situation to a maximised audience. And Wigan might just lose, and we wouldn’t want to miss that because we are away at Wakefield Trinity.

So why am I writing? Simply and only because Kyle Amor has joined Warrington Wolves on loan until the end of the season. Amor has been with Saints since 2014, joining from Trinity after starting out with home town club Whitehaven. In between those stops he had a spell at Leeds Rhinos.  But we’ve all made mistakes.

He made his Saints debut in a 38-8 win at his new club Warrington (ironic by Alanis Morissette’s definition), scoring a try and playing alongside the likes of Gary Wheeler, Luke Walsh, Willie Manu, Sia Soliola, Josh Jones, Anthony Laffranchi and current assistant coach Paul Wellens.

In all the Cumbrian prop has made 211 appearances for Saints including 100 off the interchange bench. He has scored 21 tries in the red vee (and assorted multi-coloured away strip disgraces) and managed a best of six in the 2016 season.  

That was slap bang in the middle of the now notorious period of Keiron Cunningham’s tenure. Surprisingly the great man couldn’t get a tune out of Matty Smith and Greg Richards. While they copped their fair share of the fans’ ire as we slipped to the humiliating depths of fourth, Amor was also unfairly singled out at times. And very probably by this writer but that was in my Redvee days. You probably won’t find that material now. Not unless you work for the Intelligence Services.

The truth of the matter is that Amor has been a great servant to the club with no small amount of success. He played in three Super League Grand Final wins and was an unused substitute in another. He featured in two Wembley Challenge Cup finals, losing to Warrington in 2019 (the ironies keep on coming - it’ll be a black fly in your Chardonnay next) and getting his hands on a winner’s medal when Saints beat Castleford 26-12 last year. Amor was again one of the try scorers. 

The move comes when Amor is - to be polite - in the autumn of his career. He will turn 35 this week and is only contracted to Saints until the end of the season. That still makes him a year younger than Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook whose new contract announcement can only be days away. Yet while McCarthy-Scarsbrook has played in all but one of Saints’ 13 Super League assignments so far in 2022, Amor has only been seen four times.

One of those four was as the old stager in the virtual academy team which Kristian Woolf sent to Castleford at the end of April. That was Amor’s only start, though he did manage another try in a romantic Challenge Cup homecoming at Whitehaven. When the big guns are let loose he has fallen behind not only McCarthy-Scarsbrook but also Agnatius Paasi and Dan Norman in the scramble for bench places backing up starting props Alex Walmsley and Matty Lees. 

But why are we dealing with Warrington, a local rival and potentially - should they turn their form around in the second half of the season - a playoff rival? It may just be a case of needs must at the moment. Saints are desperate to bring in a halfback with Lewis Dodd out and Jonny Lomax playing with a significant bicep injury. To do that they may need to offload somebody. We have an experienced, quality prop sitting around doing nothing but wait for his next TV commentary, while Wire have a desperate need to bolster their flagging pack. Looked at from that point of view the deal makes quite a bit of sense for all parties. 

Besides the move isn’t the first time the two clubs have done business. Remember when Saints borrowed Gareth O’Brien from Wire in 2013 after injuries to Lomax and Lance Hohaia? Paul Sculthorpe, Alan Hunte and…er…Andre Savelio are all relatively recent examples of players who have turned out for both Saints and Wire. 

Warrington’s need to strengthen their prop corps is fairly obvious. There is very little behind former England international Mike Cooper. It’s a small sample size but in those four outings for Saints this term Amor averages 94.3 metres per game. That compares favourably with the efforts of Joe Philbin (71.6), Matty Davis (52.14), Robbie Mulhern (79.58). and even Cooper (89.66) and Joe Bullock (86.83). 

Amor could make a genuine contribution to Warrington’s currently invisible go-forward, his inexperience could be invaluable and - unlike most of his new team mates - he can show you his medals. Amor might just have become Warrington’s most decorated player of all-time. No, I haven’t fact checked that. I got it off a bloke off Twitter but it’s funny, isn’t it?

Turning attentions to Saints, if we are in Gareth O’Brien territory - that is bringing in a halfback on loan because all of our’s are broken - the names in the frame don’t really inspire. With the cap situation and this being mid-season you should probably not expect Nathan Cleary or Adam Reynolds to rock up outside the Cunningham statue carrying their boots. 

Suggestions so far include Wakefield’s Jacob Miller, Halifax’s Joe Keyes or more Saints-Wire relations in the shape of Riley Dean, currently on loan to York. I even saw mention of Leigh’s ex-Wigan and Widnes man Joe Mellor but I was hoping somebody had just spelled Miller wrong. If you want one from left field how about Chanel Tevita-Harris who has just decided - Jamie Lyon style - that he has had enough of the New Zealand Warriors and the NRL at just 23 years of age.

There will be some dark muttering about Amor joining a traditional rival but that’s background noise. Amor has had a great eight years with Saints, has always given 100% even during his caveman hair and beard phase when he must have had difficulty seeing, and deserves an opportunity to play some more first team rugby in Super League before he moves from the pitch to the broadcast booth.