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2022 SLGF
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MATCH VIDEO |
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MATCH REPORT |
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MATCH REPORT : The big talking point ahead of the game was whether Head Coach Paul Wellens would pick George Whitby to start after a stellar performance last week against Wakefield Trinity, and he did. Partnering Jack Welsby in the halves, the 18-year-old was making his fourth senior appearance of his career, in one of if not the biggest regular season round. Mark Percival also returned to selection in the centres, and Daryl Clark also did too but coming off the bench. he Saints got the match started with the kick and started very strongly in defence, pinning twice the Warriors in their own half. A huge battle of the middles was already clear to see. Coming out of our own 30m though, Alex Walmsley look to take a carry in but knocked on trying to take it on the run. Doing well to hold the Wigan side out initially, Moses Mbye under the posts was judged to have been offside, gifting the hosts a penalty slap bang in front of the sticks. Harry Smith called for the kicking tee and slotted over the opening points of the match, 2-0, with nine minutes played. Looking to make up for his earlier error, Walmsley not long after broke the line and sought to promote the ball to Mbye but he could not collect is cleanly and we were pinged for obstructing a Wigan player from tackling, a let off for the hosts. However, the Saints’ #8 would knock on again minutes later after a six-again was given against the hosts – frustrating. George Delaney came on then in Walmsley’s spot, looking to create a dent in the Warriors’ defensive line. A back and forth of errors from both teams saw Saints push close, with Sironen close to the line trying to power over but losing it, with Warriors giving the ball back quickly off a loose carry themselves, and then taking out Delaney from an offside position for a penalty. Saints called for the kicking tee and levelled the game up, 2-2 with 23 minutes gone. Paul Wellens’ men were being made to rue their own errors, Joe Batchelor played the ball incorrectly giving the Warriors a start from just inside our half. Bevan French on the right edge chipped the ball into the middle with ample space and Jai Field raced onto it with the bounce kind to go under the sticks. Smith adding an easy conversion for an 8-2 lead at the half hour mark. Another Batchelor error, this time in the tackle with Jake Wardle slapping it out on his own in a tackle. The Saints initially stopped the Warriors with good scramble, but a cross-field kick to the right ricocheted off someone’s hands and then Abbas Miski picked up the loose ball and grounded it. After a very long check with the Video Referee, it was confirmed. Smith missed the conversion, keeping the score at 12-2 with six minutes left on the clock. Agnatius Paasi was introduced into the game and looked to cause issues, Tyler Dupree coming off second in a collision and needing to come off. However, in the final two minutes it was a Moses Mbye tackle which was reviewed time and time and time again from the Video Referee, who then intervened for a tackle which was judged as contacting with the head and saw him sin binned in the final major moment of a bruising first half. A calm opening period quickly was brought to a halt when five minutes into the half the towering Sam Walters was shown a yellow card for the Warriors, after taking Jon Bennison high and with his shoulder. Joe Batchelor was then subbed off after looking to hold his hamstring, something now confirmed by Paul Wellens following the game. That meant that Dayon Sambou was introduced into the game and another re-jig of our outside back line for the third successive week. With the teams still feeling out one another early in the second period, it was not until a rogue Paasi offload close to our own line that either side looked to be too dangerous. The hosts made the most of getting onto that offload, with Smith finding Field with a short pass close to the line with gaps in our scrambling defence to score. Smith added the extras for an 18-2 lead, with 50 minutes played. The Saints’ first real sight-line of the Wigan try-line in the second forty came five minutes after Field’s brace. At this point, it felt Saints were finally getting to grips with holding onto the ball for longer. Plenty of second phase play caused the Warriors some defence issues, with Jack Welsby growing into the match. Combined with the introduction of Daryl Clark, the S-Men got more attacking influence. After the hour mark, Whitby broke through the line and doing as he should with options on his inside and out assessed both and threw the ball in to Clark who went under the posts for what he thought was a score – but it was pulled back for being forward. Not long after that denial, the Saints forced Liam Bryne to knock on coming out of his own 20m. Tristan Sailor on the left edge fired off a perfect pass to Lewis Murphy and the wing-man did as he does, dived into the corner for an acrobatic and beautiful finish. Whitby with all the eyes of The Brick Community Stadium on him from the sidelines slotted over the kick too to give Saints a lifeline, 18-8, 65 minutes in. Now with the wind in our sails, Wellens’ men were looking like they had momentum. Clark and Welsby looked to create on the left, with Jack running through an impressive line to cause chaos. More and more Saints flair was being put on, with Welsby putting up swirling bombs looking to cause a knock on, and whilst that didn’t come the Warriors again buckled with strong goal-line defence from St.Helens and knocked on. Following the spilled ball, Paasi was in at dummy half, and despite being a bulldozing Tongan prop he acted like a dynamic elusive hooker, scooting with the ball and powering away three Wigan men to score under the sticks. Whitby wasted no time and kicked the conversion to bring Saints within four of the hosts, with 6 minutes left on the clock. It was almost a dream back-to-back scores finish for the Saints, Welsby’s bomb this time was chased under by Sailor and he sought to catch it but could not do so cleanly. What could have been. With less than two minutes to go, Wigan held on and kicked down field looking to keep St.Helens down at the other end. Sailor took the return in but hesitated, and in doing so knocked on the ball, the Warriors leapt on the loose ball and it was worked to Abbas Miski to seal a home victory. Smith added the extra two points to add more salt in the wounds. A spirited fightback from the Saints, but it was not enough as they fell to a 24-14 away loss to Wigan on Good Friday 2025. Thanks to the Saints Media Centre for their excellent match report. |
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