Set of Six: Talking points from Saints' win over Hull FC

Here are this weeks Set of Six talking points.

1. Doing a job on Alex Walmsley.

Saints struggled with their yardage sets for spells on Friday, although Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook made some inroads in his lively stint as the game wore on.

For two weeks running now the opposition have done quite an effective job on stopping Big Al, a player whose big carries have been a feature of Saints’ glorious run of success.

Even Hull FC coach Tony Smith referenced the job they had done on arresting Big Al's momentum.

But it should not be looked at in isolation - teams have not suddenly found the key to toppling the big man.

It should be noted that the big play three and four momentum carries of Walmsley and Matty Lees have invariably come off the strong early set-starters of Mark Percival, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell and Sione Mata’utia.

When three of those four are not out there it does make a difference to a team that has built its success on a relentless go forward.

Let’s see what happens when those missing pieces are slotted back into the Saints jigsaw - and Lees and Big Al are hitting the ball with momentum.

2. The Saints attack.

Coach Paul Wellens admitted post-match that the attacking side of Saints’ game was something that needs working on.

He referenced the return of missing strike players who will help that side of the game, but was not using that as an excuse.

Wellens said the focus was on ‘being on the same page’ and getting the ball to the right areas at the right time.

There were two things to factor in - and the first goes back to Point 1 which if a team is not as relentlessly dominant as they have been used to then those attacking opportunities that present themselves will be limited.

They didn't have masses of good ball sets.

And secondly, as a result of losing two games in a row you could almost see the anxiety in Saints' attacking play which was jittery, a little flat and lacking in spark at times when they did have good ball.

Hopefully a win will take some of that pressure off - but there is a combination of inter-linked factors at play with why teams go off the boil - especially after a big occasion.

3. Hull FC's response.

After winning their first two games, then losing their last - especially the last one by 60 - there was always going to be a Hull response.

The Hull pack aimed up and were dogged and did their utmost to get in Saints’ faces and slow them down.

Some saw it is a poor game - but parts of it was a real, intense and compelling battle that really could have gone either way.

Had Brad Dwyer held the ball with the line in front of him Hull would have done, what they have done several times already this past 11 season - and won at TWS.

There is no God-given right to win any game - no matter who you are. And it is very clear that being four-in-a-row champions doesn’t intimidate opposition into submission, in fact it is quite the reverse.

Teams are ripping into Saints, wanting the scalp of the World Club Champions - and that will include those who come with a bit of desperation as well as motivation.

4. Joey Lussick's impact.

After limited time this year, Joey Lussick managed to get a decent run out on Friday when he came on for James Roby.

It is important - not simply to give the skipper time to recover - but for Lussick to begin stamping his style more on the game.

We saw some of that, and his kicking from deep is a particular asset when the team is on the back foot.

It is often difficult to make an impression and bed yourself in if appearances are limited to a few minutes at the end of the game. But the onus is on Lussick to grab and earn more minutes. He did that well on Friday.

With Roby hanging up his boots at the end of the year, agents across the rugby league world are no doubt already hawking their assets to Saints. Occasionally that is simply to get their player’s offer upped at their current club before the May 1 deadline when contracted players can speak to other teams.

And it is likely that Saints may need to go in the market to get an established nine, to work in tandem with Lussick while Taylor Pemberton develops.

Lussick will no doubt be trying to do all he can to secure a spot and an extension with Saints from next year.

5. Saints losing streak ended.

At one point in the game on Friday, another journo asked the last time Saints lost three in a row.

That probably shows how successful Saints have been this past five years given three matc, historically, is not a huge losing streak. Blimey, I can recall in Alex Murphy's first year as coach in 1985-86 Saints went six matches without a win but then fought back to come within two points of winning the title. 

Saints last lost two on the spin in August, with defeats to Wigan and Wakefield, but it was under Justin Holbrook in late 2017 when they last lost three on the spin with home defeats against Hull FC and Wigan, and a loss at Leeds.

Thankfully we can put that away for now - but as a bald stat I don’t think it would have told us anything five weeks into a new season and after winning the World Club Challenge in Australia.

Learning lessons from history can be a positive in so many aspects of life, not just sport, but we should not go out of our way to try to and create a narrative that fits the present with difficult times past for a simple argument.

6. Saints crowd.

The crowd was a disappointing 9,218 - and for comparison that is some 2,050 down on the match between the sides last May.

That is a worry - coming so soon after a home sell-out greeted the homecoming World Club Champions.

Maybe there were other distractions, given it had been St Patrick’s Day and Gold Cup day which was a pull for some - especially as the game was televised.

Fans raised ticketing glitches and the delay putting the Hull tickets on sale.

In the middle of a cost of living crisis that is hitting everyone in the pocket if clubs don’t get fans to part with their cash early, it can often be spent a week before pay day.

Although Saints have taken plenty in recent weeks to Castleford and Leigh, as this year rolls on getting non-season ticket holders to games won’t be as easy as last year given how much people are shelling out for increased mortgage payments, the costlier price of food and hefty gas and electric bills.

But hopefully getting back into the routine will help, as will the nicer nights coming as spring rolls on.