1. A defensive shut-out – like Saints’ at home to London Broncos – is no mean feat on its own, but thrown into the context of the last three matches makes it more remarkable.

Saints were almost equally as stingy at Salford the previous week, only conceding the one try to a Red Devils kick plucked from the air.

And the week before, after they had recovered from being temporarily terrorised by Konrad Hurrell, Saints shut out the Leeds Rhinos for the last 40.

Totted up, just four points, from the last 200 minutes of rugby league is remarkable.

Defence is about attitude, but it is also about the way a team can control the game and where it is played.

And at the moment Saints are delivering in both areas.

2. Taken in isolation, there would be a shrug of the shoulders that a team of Saints’ standing, with serious title aspirations, had beaten Salford and London.

But in context do we have to put Salford’s thrashing of Catalans on their own midden and London’s win over champions Wigan the week before.

This time of year always throws up some odd results – that Saints have so far avoided those banana skins to be the only unbeaten side after five matches is pleasing.

It says two things. Underestimate any team at your peril.

And secondly, the price on Saints' scalp will be getting higher every week now. Every team, starting with Huddersfield on Thursday, will want to tuck that into their belts.

3. There was something quite refreshing about London’s approach to Friday’s game.

And you can see why they took Wigan by surprise.

There was something retro about their style – in fitting with their throwback to the original 1980 Fulham kit.

For a start, there was the perseverance with short 50:50 kicks offs, despite them biting them on the backside in the opening minute.

It made each restart a contest. Admittedly it was not everyone’s cup of tea and a bloke on the bus complained the restart made it more akin to “bleeding volleyball” than rugby.

But Broncos willingness to have a good go, try the unorthodox play, kick into no-man’s land, play what was on, backed up with as gutsy as defence as you will see this year, made it something different.

You have to admire Danny Ward’s approach at the Broncos – promoted against the odds last year and everyone’s tip to make a swift return.

There is a real spirit there among that side. The season will get tougher for a squad as thin as that, but for the good of the game it would be fantastic for the game as a whole if London can continue to build under Ward’s stewardship.

4. James Roby’s absence on Friday can only mean two things. He is human, or they simply could not find the batteries.

In his place, take a bow Aaron Smith, filling those gigantic boots with a first start in the red vee.

Smith fitted in well – and gave a sound 60-minute performance despite play being slowed down to nullify some of Saints’ threat. He distributed well and was unlucky not to touch down (being one of four or five players held up on the line).

Everyone has a theory on what the team needs in the here and now for that fourth sub spot. And obviously the priority has to be winning.

But to help Roby’s longevity and to look at the years ahead when the Saints skipper is no longer around (don’t dwell on that thought too long) we have to be looking to be in a successor.

And Smith’s displays here and at Leigh underline that all three of those boxes could be ticked.

And as an added bonus for some, Roby's absence also imposed an handicapping system on the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award. The way he was going, he'd have left the others needing snookers by Easter.

5. What can we say about the starts made by Wigan and Leeds.

The lessons of history show that it would be foolish to sit from the sidelines and simply mock their demise. Both are huge clubs – and in Wigan’s case they are a town that continues to grow off the peg stars of the future.

But in Leeds’ case are we seeing them continue to go through that difficult transition phase – post Peacock, Sinfield, McGuire and Burrow – that Saints experienced after Long, Cunningham, Sculthorpe, Wellens et al?

In Wigan’s case – as much as some of his team’s tactics were not welcomed by Saints – does it not show what an effective coach Shaun Wane was. More than once he guided that team, which did splash the cash as much as some of their rivals, to Old Trafford glory.

There is plenty of debate about Wigan’s current and future coaching arrangements.

And without wishing to interfere in private grief, you can’t help thinking that Wigan’s life after Wane – someone who could make often ordinary players run through a brick wall - was never going to be easy act to follow.

Hopefully, they are still out of sorts come Good Friday.

6. There has been plenty of discussion this week about Great Britain, or Great Britain and Ireland as Brian Carney rightly pointed out.

I don’t think anyone is seriously suggesting token quotas to make sure it is representative of the four nations.

It needs to be picked on merit. And if it is all English, like many a GB team in the past has been, would it matter?

Too big a deal has been made of this. If you take this to its logical conclusion, would we examine the county of origin of each player and just call it Lancashire and Yorkshire…?

Let’s just pick the best team these islands have produced, build the tour and hopefully it is successful enough to bring the Ashes back to the table in future years.