Why St Helens Can Win the 2021 Grand Final

As St Helens romped to victory in Friday's semi final and Leeds fans realised defeat was inevitable, they took the chance to remind the Saints fans of the five consecutive Grand Final defeats suffered from 2007 to 2011, four of which were at the hands of Leeds.

In 2012, these chants wounded the St Helens players and fans. St Helens' current Assistant Coach Paul Wellens has previously described how he was 'haunted' by those losses. The St Helens fans previously had no riposte. The chants were cutting but true - they just could not get over the line.

These chants, whilst still sung, do not quite land the same blow that they once did. Of the current St Helens squad, only Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and James Roby know what it is like to lose a Grand Final. The remaining players only know success at the Super League showpiece. 

The fact that this is what Leeds fans chanted serves to highlight further the dominance that St Helens have enjoyed in recent times. The tongue-in-cheek chant refers to a series of events that begun when Saints' scrum half Lewis Dodd was five years old. 

Been There, Done That

In the early Super League years, St Helens were the dominant force. They won the inaugural title in 1996 and then won five Grand Finals from their first five attempts until 2006. Old Trafford was truly the Theatre of Dreams. In 2007, the bubble burst and five Grand Final defeats saw the dream turn to a nightmare. Old Trafford then brought haunting memories.

With the exception of a Grand Final win in 2014, St Helens continued to be hit by big game blues. They lost Challenge Cup semi finals in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015 and 2018. They also lost four consecutive play off semi finals from 2015. St Helens limped past part-time Halifax in the 2019 Challenge Cup semi final, before disappointing once more against Warrington in the final.

Only those within the club will know what changed but after that cup final defeat, it was like a switch was flicked. They destroyed rivals Wigan in the 2019 play offs and went on to win the Grand Final. They backed it up in 2020 and won the Challenge Cup in 2021.

All of a sudden, St Helens had turned into a club where big game defeat became routine, into a club where big game success seemed inevitable. This version of St Helens has done it all. It's not a surprise they enter Saturday's Grand Final as favourites.

The Machine

When Justin Holbrook arrived at St Helens, he brought with him a style of play that brought fans to the edge of their seats. St Helens could truly reclaim the title of 'the entertainers' and shed a favoured phrase of ex-coach Keiron Cunningham, 'the grind'.

Kristian Woolf has his own style. It is based on solid defence. Towards the end of last season and the start of this season, St Helens were averaging less than 4 points per game conceded. That could not last, but St Helens did concede only 299 points this season. For comparison, the second best defence was Warrington, who conceded 354 points in the same number of matches. 

Although it is interesting to note that Saints conceded 18 of those 299 points in just four minutes to Catalans in that incredible Magic Weekend match last month. Expressed another way, 6% of the total points that St Helens have conceded in Super League this year, came in those four minutes (and 10% of their total points conceded this season came in this game). These are mind-boggling statistics.

St Helens sets generally start with the outside backs taking up runs with greater force than any other side in Super League. Then Alex Walmsley is unleashed. We saw the havoc that he can create on Friday night. When they get on a role, they are incredibly difficult to stop.

Why St Helens Can Win

St Helens will draw inspiration from their Grand Final wins in 2019 and 2020. They know what it takes to win and how it feels to win. A champion side is not satisfied with past success and they will be determined to create a dynasty on Saturday night.

St Helens will also look at their Magic Weekend performance against Catalans. They were comfortably the better team for 75 minutes before collapsing in spectacular style (with due credit paid to Catalans magnificent fightback). However, a side like St Helens is unlikely to let such a lead slip on two occasions. If St Helens can dominate at the Grand Final as they did that night, then the three-peat is a very real prospect.

What is impressive about St Helens is their depth. Theo Fages suffered a season ending injury in July and Lewis Dodd slotted in seamlessly. Shortly after, Jonny Lomax suffered a four-week lay off. Jack Welsby stepped in and St Helens seemed no weaker despite losing both first choice half backs. You could make an argument that their attack got better.

St Helens have explosive outside backs, a full back with the qualities of a half back, exciting young talent, a big pack and experienced heads. Catalans will require a performance of the highest order to dethrone St Helens. But it is one that they are capable of as we have seen this year.

Whilst you're here...check out our other Grand Final preview blog post, looking at why Catalans can win the Grand Final