KNOWING Paul Wellens as I do, he won’t rest until he’s established exactly what went wrong at Hull KR.

The Saints coach was undeniably shell shocked as his team was taken apart on Saturday, as the hosts ran out 40-20 winners.

Wello spoke post-game about the lack of defensive intent, something not usually associated with this club, especially over the last decade or so.

We're a club that prides itself on the effort based areas, speed of line and controlled aggression in defence. Something that was clearly missing on Saturday.

He spoke to the players at half-time about this, but unfortunately things went from bad to worse, losing the second 40 minutes 24-6.

Coaches will inevitably come under scrutiny when times are tough, and Wello is no different, as we are at a club that demands success.

However, that performance for me lies with the players who crossed the whitewash.

Indiscipline, basic errors with the ball, and ultimately poor defensive play cost Saints the two points.

Take nothing away from Hull KR though. They are probably the form team in the Betfred Super League at the moment, and as I predicted on the Betfred TV show ‘The Last Tackle’ on Wednesday, they would be favourites going into this game.

The Robins now sit fourth in the league table, with Saints dropping down to third on points difference.

Amazingly, top spot …points difference aside is now shared by SIX clubs, all on 14 points making it one of the most competitive seasons in the Betfred Super League era.

Of them current top six, title sponsors Betfred have the following odds to go on and claim glory at the Theatre of Dreams come October.

Favourites Wigan are 11/10 followed by Saints at 11/4 , Warrington 8/1, Catalans and Hull KR both at 9/1 while Salford have been cut to 33/1.

Despite being on the losing side, Saints full back Jack Welsby collected the plaudits from his Head Coach after the game, constantly threatening the Hull KR defensive line. Unfortunately though there are two elements to this game.

The architect of Saints downfall was undoubtedly the best scrum half in the Betfred Super League at the moment, Mikey Lewis.

A constant threat with his running game, kicking game or general organisation Mikey yet again displayed his fast growing reputation.

Still on scrum halves and it has now been confirmed that Saints no.7 Lewis Dodd will join the South Sydney Rabbitohs from next season on an initial three year deal.

Twenty two year old old Dodd, who has made 76 appearances in the Red V to date, has vowed to try and help bring more silverware to the TWS before his departure.

In my opinion, both Doddy and his teammates need to significantly up their game if this is to be the case, and it must start this week with a statement against a tenth placed, but significantly improving Castleford Tigers.

Saints travel to the Jungle on Friday in a must-win game. This is a game I expect a reaction and will go for a Saints win by 16 points.

The ever changing league positions are a constant talking point, but one thing that is constantly dividing opinions is the referee’s interpretation on the latest tackle techniques.

We all know the reasons for the clamp down on head contact, and I fully support the reasons behind player welfare…but also finding a balance between that and constantly seeing players sat in the dug out for minor misdemeanours. RL is a high speed contact sport, and one that attracts fans due to the fierce nature of the game. We cannot ever lose that….