St Helens head to Catalans Dragons this evening with injuries beginning to pile up.
Paul Rowley lost Jonny Lomax last week to a dislocated wrist and Nene Macdonald picked up a knock, too, in the win over Leigh Leopards.
Fortunately for the Merseyside outfit, Macdonald has been named in this week’s extended squad, but it remains to be seen whether he will play.
The Saints haven’t been firing on all cylinders so far this season, but they’ll fancy their chances of kicking on in the south of France against a side who severely underwhelmed last week at Bradford Bulls.
Joel Tomkins’ side turned in a wretched performance in West Yorkshire last Friday and they’ll be itching to set the record straight.
Here’s how we think both sides will line up.
We’ll start with the home team, who have included new signing Matty Russell in their ranks after bringing the winger in from Oldham. However, it remains to be seen whether he will play over Josh Simm on the flank.
With Chris Satae dropping out, it seems as though Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui could step into the fold from the start, while Ben Garcia is almost guaranteed to come into the XIII too, after serving his suspension last week. The Dragons missed Garcia’s leadership enormously last week and he’ll be keen to get the Dragons back on the straight and narrow.
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That’s a change that will see Kruise Leeming, who struggled at Odsal, drop to the bench.
Rowley will have had plenty to ponder this week when it comes to his selection and much may depend on the fitness of Macdonald. The centre starts if he’s fit enough and that would prevent an overhaul of the starting XIII.
In fact, if that is to be the case, the only real change will come in the halves with either Harry Robertson or George Whitby set to play alongside Jackson Hastings.
Whitby hasn’t featured for the Saints yet this season and that might suggest that Robertson could be the preferred man in the halves for now at least. It would not be a surprise to see Whitby named on the bench, though, with Robertson also providing the centre cover for Macdonald.
Last week was far from perfect from St Helens, but in a bid to find some consistency in selection, Rowley could well be tempted to make that the only change.
Predicted Catalans Dragons v St Helens line-ups
Catalans Dragons: Charlie Staines; Tommy Makinson, Nick Cotric, Solomona Faataape, Josh Simm; Toby Sexton, Lewis Dodd; Romain Navarrete, Alrix Da Costa, Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui; Ben Condon, Zac Lipowicz; Ben Garcia,
Bench: Josh Allen, Kruise Leeming, Harvey Wilson, Tiaki Chan.
St Helens: Tristan Sailor; Kyle Feldt, Nene Macdonald, Deon Cross, Lewis Murphy; Harry Robertson, Jackson Hastings; Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, David Klemmer; Curtis Sironen, Shane Wright; Joe Shorrocks
Bench: Jacob Host, George Delaney, Matt Whitley, George Whitby
