SAINTS went into the brave new world of the revamped Super League and the Super 8s as defending champions, against a backdrop of the slogan “Every minute matters.”

And in the end it did – with some crucial moments of the semi-final at Headingley being as decisive as the early slip ups in the Super 8s that cost them home advantage.

Ultimately Saints fell at the final hurdle in the Super League after a battling display that deserved more than what they got.

The same opponents had ended Saints interest in the Challenge Cup at the same stage and so taking away their first chance of making Wembley since 2008.

Saints’ first chance of silverware ended in an even more emphatic defeat, losing 39-0 to South Sydney Rabbitohs in front of a capacity 17,980 crowd which included Russell Crowe and Sam Burgess.

Despite the heavy defeat, it was nonetheless a big night for Saints and added a little piece of history to the new stadium.

As for the bread and butter stuff, Keiron Cunningham’s tenure at the helm as coach started well - with Saints winning their opening six Super League encounters before falling narrowly to a 24-22 loss at Hull KR.

Sadly that game saw Saints pick up further injuries, with Travis Burns suffering a fractured cheekbone and Atelea Vea suffering serious shoulder damage, and that contributed to a disappointing Easter results wise.

That was one such spell, with the other coming at the beginning of the Super 8s, where a cluster of costly losses derailed their chance of regaining the league leaders’ shield.

The disappointing start to the Super 8s in particular took some picking up – but that came after they had suffered the dejection of that cup dismissal.

But they showed resilience and character to do just that and finish the year off with spirit beating Leeds, Castleford and Wigan before coming up just short at treble-seeking Leeds.

Any assessment of Saints’ season has to take into account some of the chops and changes Saints have had to endure throughout the year.

Full back to lose one unlucky – to lose four was the stuff of nightmares to the extent that it was a surprise that any player would wish to take the jersey on.

It was a desperately disappointing year for Jonny Lomax, who lost the back end of 2014 with a serious knee injury, only to suffer the same fate on the other leg after landing awkwardly five games into the new term at Wakefield.

Saints had cover at number one – but those best laid plans were scuppered when versatile Kiwi World Cup winner Lance Hohaia called it a day citing recurring headaches, and even more damaging was the long term injury and subsequent retirement of former skipper Paul Wellens.

Wellens has been such a huge character for so long, with his actions and words providing real leadership, that his enforced absence was always going to leave a hole.

Skipper Wilkin, when he was fit and playing, filled that leadership brief – but there were times when the team’s lack of experience showed.

Full back number four arrived in the shape of Shannon McDonnell, who had enjoyed his brief stint last year before breaking his jaw, and he was fitting in well until he snapped his Achilles in the narrow loss at Castleford.

To make matter worse Tommy Makinson, who had filled in at number one until McDonnell’s arrival, was sidelined for a 10-match spell during this period with a broken leg.

This meant Saints having to call Down Under again – and in came Adam Quinlan for the last dozen games.

It meant that Saints were forever bedding in a new attacking combination at 1, 6, 7 and 9.

In the halves Saints started the year missing Luke Walsh, who was still recovering from his broken leg and damaged ankle and it was the middle of April before he returned to the fold.

Even then a further ankle problem meant that there as another spell for which Saints had to revert to Travis Burns and skipper Jon Wilkin in the halves.

Walsh was slow to build into the season – understandable given the nature of the injury sustained. His return did not bring a magic wand – and it could not stop a Saints cup knockout and the meltdown that followed it in the opening three Super 8s encounters.

That of, of course coincided with Wilkin’s absence with a badly broken thumb.

The attack suffered the double blow of losing both strike edge back rowers with new recruit Vea, who was formidable at the start of the season, being swiftly joined on the sidelines by Joe Greenwood who suffered a broken leg on Good Friday.

There is no doubt that this contributed to some of the problems Saints encountered with consistency in attack and defence.

Some weeks they were absolutely rock solid, and defended their line as if lives depended upon it and other weeks it was surprisingly porous.

Ditto with the attack, but much of the late season difficulty was a product of low confidence and anxiety.

Once a few tweaks were made, Saints were looking in good shape to defend their crown.

So in some respects 2015 can be written off as an under-achievement, given the quality of player and glimpses they have shown, but there were plenty of good pointers for the year ahead.

Three young men in particular advanced leaps and bounds in 2015 – Mark Percival, Alex Walmsley and Andre Savelio; a trio of players who possess star quality that will make them in demand on the other side of the world in the future.

The way they finished the season should give them confidence and motivation to come back next term stronger.