SPOTLIGHT ON: St Helens vs Wigan

St Helens and Wigan faced off yesterday evening in a battle which may decide the League Leaders Shield. In his pre-match programme notes, St Helens head coach Kristian Woolf described the season as 'compromised' and urged for the regular season to be drawn to a close with an expanded five-team play off system brought in.

This is a decision which is looking more likely, especially with increased restrictions on liberty set to be introduced nationally as early as today. If Woolf gets his way, then this game was a direct shoot-out for the League Leaders Shield. As it was, we simply do not know whether that is the case. Although, if as a league, we had taken that decision early, then even more would have been known to have been riding on such a ferocious encounter.

In the first 20 minutes, what struck me was the patience of the two sides. The first-quarter was penalty and error free until Bevan French through a slack pass to the touchjudge. Neither side had a meaningful opportunity to score until the half hour mark, when Jonny Lomax exploited an over-committed Wigan defence to scythe through, with the ever-dependable Lachlan Coote backing up to finish.

It did not take long for Wigan to hit back, Joe Greenwood making a break to put Wigan in position with Hardaker and Bibby combining to take advantage of a scrambling St Helens defence. Just two points separated the sides at the break.

Come the second half, Wigan hit top gear and St Helens had no answer. Wigan's forwards drove St Helens into submission, in a similar way to the Leeds Rhinos did to Wigan in the Challenge Cup Semi Final. St Helens struggled to get out of their own 30 and were kicking from deep. Bevan French's speedy kick returns were putting Wigan in an attacking position.

St Helens' defence has been magnificent all year, but in the face of such dominance, there is only so long any team can hold out. It was Tommy Leuluai who rolled back the years by stepping through to put Wigan in front.

The lead was soon extended by Bevan French, who skimmed his opposite number Lachlan Coote to put Wigan in control. The pass in the build up was forward, but as Kristian Woolf pointed out in his post match interview, this proved immaterial to the result. Hastings finished the match and secured victory with 10 minutes to spare.

Bevan French was the man of the match, but I suspect that Joe Greenwood would have collected the award, but for a moment of madness at the end of the match. His high tackle on Matty Lees was awful. How he was not sent off defies reason. Greenwood was a thorn in the St Helens side all evening. His offload game, sidesteps and dominant runs were reminiscent of a Greenwood that we saw in around 2015 in the St Helens jumper. A player with huge potential, thought a certainty to fill it.

Injuries and an unsuccessful NRL stint hindered that. Even at Wigan, he was on the outer, loaned to Leeds in March 2020. He never played a game. Since the return of the season, he has earned his spot in the Wigan team and on yesterday's evidence, can play a key role. That is all the more reason he will be angered by his actions which will surely see him serve a lengthy suspension. If the play offs start next week, his season may even be over.

Wigan have had little luck with prop forwards this year. The signing of George Burgess was an expensive disaster. Mitch Clark a less-expensive disaster. Lam made in third time lucky with Brad Singleton, who has settled in well and got under the skin of the St Helens team.

What of St Helens? In 2019, they beat Wigan four times and their forward pack put their opponents in a world of pain. Shorn of Luke Thompson, there was a suspicion of an over-reliance on Alex Walmsley. Last night turned those suspicions into reality. Graham and Lees are fine starting prop forwards, but are without doubt a step down on Walmsley and Thompson.

If opposing packs neutralise Walmsley, they will have a reinvigorated confidence that they can stop St Helens. Under Justin Holbrook, that would not have been enough. St Helens would still have had the enterprise and flair to strike out wide. Woolf has adopted a more conservative style. Warrington and now Wigan have proved that if you can stop St Helens go forward, you can stop the team.

Where St Helens have improved under Woolf is their defence. Their goal line scramble is excellent. Last night, it could not handle the relentless pressure that Wigan applied. But if they match a side in the pack, which they will more than do with Walmsley in the team, they will do less goal line defence. They say defence wins finals. If St Helens are to retain their crown, that is how they will do it. A stark contrast to their devastating attack, which comfortably disposed of Wigan and Salford in last year's play-offs.

This season is now very open. Wigan have not lost to Warrington or St Helens this year (save for when they played a reserve team in September) and look set to finish top of the table. They must now be the favourites. If we move to a top 5 system, that will bring a greater advantage than if we stick with straight semi-finals.

A convoluted season, more suited to a WWE storyline that a rugby league season is drawing to a close. Wigan lay down a marker last night. St Helens have a point to prove. Warrington are on the periphery, waiting to strike. Catalans are an unknown quantity, with so few fixtures in recent weeks and Leeds are looking for a double.

Realistically, I see only the first three of those sides as capable of winning the Grand Final next month. But if you were asking me to put my chips on a team, I would be splitting them several ways at the minute.