How do you stop St Helens?

Saturday night's Grand Final saw St Helens sweep aside Leeds Rhinos by 24-12, in a match where Saints never looked in serious danger of losing. This was their fourth consecutive title, an achievement only accomplished once before by the all-conquering Wigan sides of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

The worry for the other 11 sides in Super League is that St Helens are not limping their way to sucess but storming there. They were top of the table for 26 of the 27 weekly rounds and this Grand Final victory was possibly the most comfortable of the last four. So who is going to stop them in 2023?

St Helens have reversed their fortunes in recent years. Between 2009 and 2018, St Helens lost five Challenge Cup semi finals and won zero. They also lost four consecutive Super League semi finals between 2015 and 2018. And a Challenge Cup Final in 2019 where they entered as overwhelming favourites against a Warrington side missing both first choice half backs.

On that sweltering August day in 2019, St Helens fans wondered why they could play so well in the regular season, yet when knockout competition came, so did their worst performances.

That all seems a long time ago now. Since then, St Helens have only lost two knockout matches, both in the Challenge Cup against Warrington in 2020 and Wigan in 2022. No side has managed to defeat them in a play off since 2018. 

I am not sure what has changed but since the back end of 2019, the St Helens side that enters major finals is one that looks unencumbered by nerves and looks at home on the biggest of stages.

In Grand Finals since 2019, they have faced four different opponents. This is proof that it's not easy to reach a Grand Final, let alone win one.

Looking forward to 2023 and it's hard to see this juggernaut being brought to a halt. On the field, there is only Regan Grace who is leaving the club (in terms of regular first team players). He has barely played in 2022 anyway, meaning that the task of replacing him may not seem as big as it once could have.

Lewis Dodd looked magnificent in the first 10 rounds of the season and he will be like a new signing. Jack Welsby is a year more experienced. Jonny Lomax is in the form of his life. Matty Lees is beginning to realise his potential. James Roby's class remains timeless. Will Hopoate may have better luck with injuries. This side isn't going away.

A coach who has achieved what Kristian Woolf has achieved will be tough to replace. It will be interesting to see how Paul Wellens manages in his first head coach role, a move that is an open secret in Rugby League circles.

The Challengers

What of their challengers? I was impressed by Leeds on Saturday. They were missing 7 first team players and were not disgraced. The scoreline showed just a two-try defeat.

But for a poor defensive lapse to allow Konrad Hurrell to score, the Grand Final may have had a nervy finish. St Helens' defence was typically excellent and the two tries that Leeds scored were of the highest skill.

A pre-season with Rohan Smith will help Leeds improve further. You feel they need a replacement centre and another prop forward though if they want to push on in 2023.

Wigan have shown an ability to get the better of St Helens in 2022 and re-signing of Bevan French is a major boost. It didn't quite work out in the play offs for Wigan, but there's no question they will still be near the top in 2023.

Warrington had a disastrous 2022 but have recruited heavily for 2023. It could go one way or the other though I expect a much-improved Wire next year, with Matt Dufty a very exciting player as he gets more used to Super League.

Catalans and Huddersfield had, overall, good seasons this year. The nature of our play off system and recency bias may lead some to conclude that they in fact disappointed. I don't think that it is that case but I must confess, I don't see these two sides as ones who are major challengers yet.

And what of Salford? Their start to the season was very poor but they got better and better under Paul Rowley. Simply because you end a season well doesn't mean that will carry on into the next one. Saying that, when you play a style of rugby as entertaining as Salford, combined with a much undervalued defensive steel, you've got a side to watch.

A lot could change between now and February. As things stand though, St Helens still look to be the side to beat and favourites to do the unthinkable and win five Grand Finals in a row. There won't be a shortage of challengers looking to prevent that though.