SAINTS coach Paul Wellens was asked about playing Leeds twice, last Friday's costly errors, the goalkicking role, Reserves and a return to action in union for Regan Grace after 18 months on the sidelines.

MC: Does it feel awkward playing Leeds two weeks in a row with the Challenge Cup game coming the week afterwards?

PW: It don’t feel it is awkward, and in some respects it is less work because you're not preparing for a different team the week after.

We had a similar experience last year with Hull, albeit the Challenge Cup game came before the league game, so it's a different challenge.

It is a bit more like international series at the end of the season where it's normal to play the same team week after week.

We'll approach the situation for what it is and it is obviously two huge games against a good side and two huge games that we're determined to win.

So we have to really knuckle down over the next few weeks to bring out the best in ourselves.

MC: Does it influence what you will do on Friday. You don't alter anything because you have got to play them in the Challenge Cup the week after?

PW: No. We're going there to win a game on Friday night.

We have got a number of players carrying a few knock knocks at the moment, which we are continuing to assess. But if they're fit and good to go, they'll play because it's an important game that we want to win.

We have been relatively healthy these first few rounds and we've had players miss out who are quite naturally disappointed that they're not playing.

But as the season goes on, as you pick up injuries, and as in Mark Percival's case, we pick up a suspension it provides opportunities for other players.

St Helens Star:

Final thoughts on Saints defeat by Salford Red Devils

MC: Was last Friday’s defeat a tough one to review – for individuals and as a collective?

PW: It was tough in terms of we're all disappointed and we look at things in the game where if we had just handled things a little bit better we feel we could have got a result.

But not tough in terms of the group’s honesty. I'm not stood before than pointing out a lot of things that they could have done better.

They're actually telling me we could have done this better and should have done that better.

So it gives me huge confidence that I've got a group of players who know what the standards are. The challenge for them now is to learn from that and not allow those drops standards to happen again too often.

Throughout the course of the year, you're always going to be challenged in that way and you're always going to concede tries that you don't want to concede. That's only natural.

But making sure that we reflect honestly on that and do all that we can to drive the standards back up is really important.

MC: Is it easier to address when it's individual errors rather than the system failures that have led to the tries conceded?

PW: On some level, yes, and again I'm blessed there with the playing group being really honest there. So all individuals involved in things that they felt they could have been better already spoken to me about that and recognised that.

Within that as a team, there's things that we can do better.

So we've identified a number of things there which, if we have handled situations differently, we feel that we could have got a result in our favour.

But it's important to understand the result didn't go our way - Salford played the part and I don't want to take anything away from them - the result didn't go our way and the fact we went down to 12 men is not an excuse at all.

St Helens v Leeds Rhinos Preview

MC: Leeds at Headingley has been one of those fixtures this past 20, 30, 50 years - no matter where you are on the table – that people get excited about?

PW: Yes, absolutely. It is a game I used to love playing him myself. Two clubs who, if you think about their history since the inception of Super League have had a huge amount of success.

I think we are quite similar in a lot of respects in that there's an expectation around success when you represent both clubs and I think that that quite naturally makes for really competitive games.

So we're going be faced with another one on Friday night, another one the week after and it's a great challenge for us.

St Helens Star:

MC: Former Saint James Bentley will be back from suspension. He is player who can get under your skin a little bit?

PW: We have got a really healthy respect for James Bentley and in the time that he was here he was a huge part of the success that we had and you know player who I felt really fitted in with the with the way that we play.

Obviously he made the choice to go back home to Leeds, which he was well within his rights to do but obviously he's on the opposite team now and we will go head-to-head, but there's certainly no animosity towards James he. He's a great lad, someone that you know we loved having around here.

MC: Ash Handley on the wing seems to find tries against Saints - he knows his way to the try line doesn't he - from long range as well?

PW: Yes, it seems like it. I don't think it's just Saints, I think a number of teams in Super League are finding out about his ability to find the find the try line and obviously you need good players around you to create those opportunities.

But certainly when you look at Ash Handley, he's one of the premier finishers in the competition.

St Helens Star:

Lewis Dodd and the Saints goalkicking role.

MC: On goalkicking, Lewis Dodd took the last one on Friday - and it's probably a job you've not wanted to give him. Is that because of his responsibility in taking the team round or his return from injury? Are you more likely to give it him now than how he's settling in a little bit more ?

PW: It's something that Doddy could potentially do on the weekend.

I'm pretty relaxed about the situation, but I know a lot of people get caught up in it. It's probably from my own experience as a makeshift goal kicker I know how difficult it can be at times.

Doddy has always been a competent kicker of the ball than ever since he was a young player.

He did a lot of kicking and over the last 12 months, coming off the back of the injury, we protected him from that and the responsibility that he probably didn't need on his shoulders at that time.

But I'm delighted with the form he’s in at the moment and delighted with the way he's playing and the impact that he's having on the team.

And should he feel confident to take the kicking responsibilities I am more than happy for him to now take that.

Watch the interview with Saints coach Paul Wellens here:

MC: Was the weekend’s Reserves game a good experience for some of those lads who have not been playing?

PW: What it was good for was for the players to just get out there, put your kit on, carry the ball, make some tackles, defend within systems.

There's only so much training you can do but all players, no matter what level you are at, want to do is get out there and play. So it was a great opportunity for those guys to get that experience.

Regan Grace makes a return to playing with Bath Rugby

MC: We talk about Lewis Dodd coming back from an Achilles, but Regan Grace has had an even tougher road back. I know he's not a Saint anymore, but there will plenty at the club pleased to see him actually run out on the rugby field with Bath on Saturday after his hellish 18 months?

 

PW: Yes, delighted. I actually wasn't aware on the weekend that Regan was playing and someone sent me a picture of him in his kit out there on the field.

I was sat in the stands when he got injured in his in his last game for Saints against Salford at the back end of 2022, which was obviously a devastating injury for him.

It's been a long old road for Reagan. He's someone that everybody in the club still holds in the highest regard and a person we have still got a lot of time for and a lot of people still keep in contact with.

So it's great to see him back out there and hopefully there's a run of games for him there now because he's a great lad and deserves it.