Set of Six: Talking points ahead of Saints first game with Wigan

1. IT shows what an odd year it has been when the conkers are on the ground before Saints have played Wigan.

The game is not the same without this fixture - even if we did get sick of the sight of each other in 2011 when the teams clashed six times.

Of course it won't be a normal game - and more than any other behind closed doors it will miss the adversarial chanting that I very much doubt that the recorded sound effects department dare replicate.

2. We have waited till September - and still it is not ideal. A Tuesday night game a few days before Wigan's Challenge Cup semi-final has taken some of the edge off the contest.

I don't blame the administrators - caught between trying to schedule bigger fixtures in the hope of having fans inside the grounds, but wedging it in between the Challenge Cup fixtures.

Whichever way you look at at it, given the narrow autumn window, the game was always destined to be before or after a cup semi or final.

It is unfortunate timing, but it can't be helped given the bigger picture.

3. To those predicting a walkover or easy match because Wigan have made 10 changes, with an eye on the cup, there is just one past clash to throw out there. On Good Friday 2003 Wigan fielded a team that included four Academy players and a lad borrowed from Orrell against Ian Millward's Saints.

It was going to be a walkover, but the Cherry and Whites - marshalled by Adrian Lam and Terry Newton - and two experienced props produced the shock to win 22-20.

Those young lads, including Umyla Hanley, son of Ellery, will raise their game tenfold for this one....so this is a tricky one for a Saints team on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

4. With Wigan fielding a younger side, does this give Saints an opportunity to try something different. Maybe throw Lewis Dodd in at seven to get his debut done and dusted?

Everyone is excited to see him play - and he would have done a few weeks back but for being forced to self-isolate - it is just a case managing that. He seems more than capable of taking it from there.

It may be that Saints play it absolutely safe and pick their strongest 17 to try and win what is effectively a four-pointer against a top four rival.

Saints have just one focus now - but who knows what next week or the next month brings with Covid or injury - so they need to bank as many points as possible while they can.

5. Saints will have a vacancy in the centre with Mark Percival sidelined with his hamstring.

It should give Josh Simm an extended run in the centre which will be great for his development as well as the team in the short and longer term.

READ: Woolf's thoughts on Simm and Welsby>

Saints did not look particularly well-blessed in the three-quarters at the start of the year, but the more games Simm and Jack Welsby play the stronger the depth of that squad will be.

Simm emerged from his last two games. particularly the Hull KR match, with a lot of credit - so this will be a good opportunity to hammer that home.

6. Finally, this will be the last match of Tommy Makinson's five-match ban for that daft incident against Castleford.

They have missed him - especially the way he starts off those sets and gets the team on the front foot.

After this costly lay off, hopefully he will return refreshed and determined to fire Saints' mission to regain the title.

And after three such incidents of varying degrees of intent, then hopefully this 'tackle' grabbing can be cut out of the game.