“It’s great to have him back”: St Helens star returns to starting 13
The Huddersfield Giants hope to build on their upset win over the Leigh Leopards today, but they will face a St Helens team that easily defeated the London Broncos last week.
The Giants defeated Leigh 16-8 with to tries from Esan Marsters and Elliot Wallis, but they’ll face a Saints team who scored 40 points against the London Broncos in Round 1.
Paul Wellens’ team strolled to win, with new arrivals Daryl Clark and Matt Whitley both scoring goals, the latter twice for the club he grew up loving.
The Red Vees are probably stronger today, with Wellens able to pick Morgan Knowles in his squad after the loose forward was left out in round one.
Even more concerning for Huddersfield is that full-back Jake Connor is out after failing his HIA last week against the Leopards.
Fortunately for Ian Watson, Tui Lolohea’s pre-season ban has been lifted, allowing him to slot the Tongan international right into the back row, meaning Oli Russell will once again pair NRL recruit Adam Clune in the halves.
Morgan Knowles’ return is extremely important for St Helens, especially given that Huddersfield do not have their own top forward in Luke Yates, who is serving a questionable ban.
That was a talking topic this week at the Giants’ news conference, although it wasn’t Ian Watson who spoke, but rather assistant Luke Robinson, who said it was due to superstition.
He revealed: “If you know him, he’s really superstitious. We won last week and played well, so he’s like, ‘you’re doing it again’.
“Hopefully you’re going to see me all year.”
As for Watson’s counterpart, Paul Wellens has disclosed the benefit that the returning Knowles brings to the team, with Konrad Hurrell and Moses Mbye both pulling out.
In a video posted to the St Helens X profile, he stated, “It’s terrific to have Morgan back. He was near last week, but we didn’t want to push it, and he’s been gnawing at the bit all week.
“His application in training has been first class and he’s ready to go.”
On what he expects today against the Giants, he said, “I think like ourselves, they had a win in round one and you’re very thrilled with that, but you don’t rest on your laurels and you want to build on it.
“I’m sure they’ll want to build on what was a fantastic performance away at Leigh, and that’s the task we must meet.
“We want to establish some continuity and momentum, and there’s no better location to do so than here. Huddersfield are a fantastic team, really competitive, and this is a significant task for us.”
