THE run of tough games that Saints have had to battle through to qualify for the top four will now help the team deal with the sudden-death pressure that Thursday’s semi-final at league leaders Castleford brings.

That is the view of coach Justin Holbrook, who includes last week’s feisty encounter against Salford as the sort of game that will have helped bring the team up to the mark for knockout rugby.

Having been written off in May, Saints have climbed past Wigan, Wakefield and Salford to retain their record of reaching every single play-off series, under numerous formats, since 1962.

Holbrook said: “The good thing for us is that we have been playing in those pressure games for a while and that will help us on Thursday.

“I thought Salford made it really tough for us last week and that will help us against Cas.

“If they had decided that they had had enough the week before, that would not have been good for us. Salford gave us a really tough hit out and that has put us in good stead.

“It got a bit heated and spiteful – anything that can happen in a game of rugby league. We settled down and finished the game off well.”

Holbrook said Jonny Lomax is fit to play and will slot back into the team at stand off.

There have been twists and turns along the way, and having climbed the significant ladder of beating Castleford at the Jungle, they immediately hit a snake with a three-game losing streak.

That meant Saints had to dig deep into their reserves to stay in the competition, with their never-say-die spirit seeing them home with a late win at Wakefield.

Ultimately, that has been the difference between Saints preparing for semi-final this week instead of a Mad Monday.

Holbrook added: “I am thrilled for the players because we had to work really hard to fight our way into the four.

“We don’t want it to finish here, obviously, and know we have got a tough game ahead.

“We expect but we were looking forward to it.”

The 19-man squad will be named later today, but there is not expected to be a change to that.

However, Jonny Lomax does return and will slot back in at stand off for the Castleford clash after sitting out the Salford game.

“He picked up a slight strain against Huddersfield and was not worth risking him last week. It was a bit of a gamble if he did play, so it was better to take a safer option.

“He will come back in at six.”