SAINTS will play a training game against Sydney Roosters on Friday as the NRL champions prepare for their clash with Wigan Warriors on Sunday.

The game will be part of Saints' training routine ­— given they have no game at the weekend ­— with coach Justin Holbrook setting up the meeting with his former club.

The training session, at the Totally Wicked stadium, is not a public event, but tailored to help both teams prepare for their respective next games - and will not be a full intensity game.

Holbrook, a former assistant coach at the Roosters, said: "Instead of captain's run on Friday we will have a training hit out against the Roosters, which will be good for us because we haven't got a game.

"It will good for the Roosters too ahead of their game against Wigan.

"I'd much rather be playing them on Sunday - but we weren't good enough.

"It will be good to give our boys some different opposition so early in the year.

"If it was later in the year I would have given them time off, but with it being so early there are plenty of guys who need match fitness and we will use Friday's session as a decent hit-out and then we will look at Leeds.

"It will be a 70 per cent game - not a full game as they have to play on Sunday.

"It is not a full on game - and not full on intensity just a case of letting them get a run against another team."

Holbrook revealed that he set up the training match last October after meeting up with Roosters head coach Trent Robinson.

"I met up with Trent a few times in October when he was over in London for a leaders conference that I was at.

"We teed it up back then.

"It has always been in the pipeline once we knew they were coming over and we had the week off," he said.