Friday 2 March 2018

St Helens v Salford Preview

It’ll be a little later than planned, but Saints still hope to face Salford Red Devils in Round 4 of the BetFred Super League this weekend.

The match had been scheduled for this Friday (March 2) at 8.00pm but was called off on Thursday due to the freezing temperatures brought about by the Beast From The East. However, there are plans in place to stage the game on Sunday (March 4) with a 4.00pm kick-off time.

Unaware of the postponement at the time Saints coach Justin Holbrook named a 19-man squad on Wednesday which featured just one change from that which travelled to Huddersfield for last week’s 26-12 win over the Giants. Matty Lees misses the cut this time out as Ryan Morgan returns. The Australian centre has not been seen since the opening round win over Castleford but is expected to be involved should the game against the Red Devils get the go-ahead.

If he does he will feature in a back-line with Mark Percival and Tommy Makinson in front of fullback Ben Barba, with Holbrook then faced with a choice between Regan Grace and the resurgent Adam Swift for the remaining spot on the left wing. Alternatively, Morgan could be left to kick his heels for another week while Makinson stays in the centre to allow both Grace and Swift to retain their places. Danny Richardson and Jonny Lomax will form the halfback partnership with Theo Fages likely to get the nod for the bench spot ahead of the as yet unseen Matty Smith.



Up front Morgan Knowles serves the second of his two-game suspension, although another postponement would complicate things further for the Welshman. With Lees out expect both Kyle Amor and Luke Douglas to make the 17, one to start at prop alongside Luke Thompson and the other to occupy the bench with wind-up metre-muncher Alex Walmsley. James Roby is unchallenged at hooker not only in St Helens but in most places outside Melbourne, while Zeb Taia was another key performer for Saints in the win over Rick Stone’s side and should start again in the second row. Dominique Peyroux and Jon Wilkin will make up the back row, although Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is also likely to play a key role in that area from the bench.

Salford come in off the back of their first win of the season, a 36-12 success over Hull KR. Prior to that they had struggled, taking a 40-12 beating by Wigan in their opener before being edged 14-12 by Wakefield Trinity in front of the Sky cameras in Round 2. Coach Ian Watson has named an unchanged squad, with only George Griffin, Ryan Lannon and Kris Brining the notable absentees. Former Saints Gareth O’Brien, Josh Jones, Mark Flanagan and Lama Tasi are all among Watson’s 19-man party.

O’Brien has developed into one of the most exciting fullbacks in the country since his loan spell at Saints as a halfback, while Salford’s backline also contains the exciting talents of Niall Evalds and Junior Sa’u. Robert Lui and Jack Littlejohn form the halfback partnership while the forward pack includes former Wigan pair Lee Mossop and Logan Tomkins as well as other ‘other’ Burgess brother Luke and the veteran Craig Kopczak.

Salford’s last visit to St Helens produced one of the modern classic Super League clashes last June. Down and almost out, Saints produced three tries in a dizzying eight-minute spell before Lui inexplicably chipped into the arms of McCarthy-Scarsbrook who fed Smith for a breath-taking 40metre drop-goal on the hooter to complete a memorable 25-24 win. It was the start of a slump for Watson’s men who having been as high as fourth in the table slipped out of contention, winning just one of their last four regular season games and just one more in the Super 8s phase before finally finishing seventh.

They have been tipped by many to do far worse than that this year with former owner Marwan Koukash no longer providing the funding and with stars like Michael Dobson and Ben Murdoch-Masila having passed through the exit door. A top eight spot should still be the aim for the Red Devils but they are unlikely to get any change of what looks a more focused and driven Saints side under Holbrook in 2018.

Squads;

St Helens;

1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Ryan Morgan, 4. Mark Percival, 5. Adam Swift, 6. Theo Fages, 7. Matty Smith, 8. Alex Walmsley, 9. James Roby, 10. Kyle Amor, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 18. Danny Richardson, 19. Regan Grace, 23. Ben Barba.


Salford Red Devils;

1. Gareth O’Brien, 2. Greg Johnson, 3. Kris Welham, 4. Junior Sa’u, 5. Niall Evalds, 6. Robert Lui, 7. Jack Littlejohn, 8. Craig Kopczak, 9. Logan Tomkins, 11. Josh Jones, 12. Weller Hauraki, 13. Mark Flanagan, 14. Lama Tasi, 16. Luke Burgess, 17. Tyrone McCarthy, 18. Ben Nakubuwai, 19. Josh Wood, 23. Lee Mossop, 24. Jake Bibby.

Referee: Scott Mikalauskas

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