St Helens’ spine options for Wigan Warriors derby are thin on the ground for Paul Wellens

Drew Darbyshire 13 Aug 2024 1:56 PM

Harry Robertson, Moses Mbye, James Bell, Jake Burns St Helens Alamy — Harry Robertson, Moses Mbye, James Bell and Jake Burns in action for St Helens

St Helens will be forced to undergo another shuffle of their spine at Magic Weekend when they face rivals Wigan Warriors at Elland Road.

The old adage is ‘when it rains, it pours’ and that’s certainly the case for the Saints, who have welcomed back a few players from the treatment room in recent weeks: but have now lost a few more.

Paul Wellens’ side enjoyed a confidence-boosting 17-16 victory over Salford Red Devils last week, but have since been rocked by the news that hooker Daryl Clark (foot) and halfback Lewis Dodd (elbow) are facing at least a month on the sidelines. Mark Percival is also facing up to six weeks out with an Achilles injury, as per St Helens Star.

The trio join Jack Welsby (hamstring) in the casualty ward, whilst loose forward Morgan Knowles has been handed a two-match penalty notice by the match review panel for a Grade C head contact charge in their win over Salford.

Club captain Jonny Lomax still has two games to serve of his three-match suspension.

With the aforementioned injuries and suspensions in mind, Wellens is running thin on the ground when it comes to options in the spine. Here’s the primary ones at the St Helens coach’s disposal ahead of the trip across the Pennines to face Wigan at Elland Road on Saturday…

Harry Robertson to remain at fullback

The Saints have endured a – quite frankly – grim period with injuries over the last couple of months: but a positive to come from this rough patch is the emergence of Harry Robertson, who has taken to Super League like a duck to water.

The 18-year-old has made five appearances for Saints since making his first-team debut against Wigan last month. He has looked solid at the back in recent weeks, seamlessly playing with a wise head on young shoulders. He can play stand-off, but you’d wager he’d keep his place at fullback against Wigan at Magic.

The half-back dilemma

Moses Mbye applauds the St Helens supporters following a game in 2024

This is where it gets tricker for Wellens in terms of selection. With no Welsby, Lomax or Dodd available, the options are thin on the ground to say the least.

The experienced Moses Mbye, who kicked the match-winning drop goal against Salford last Thursday, is likely to be a shoo-in for No. 7 role.

But who will partner Mbye in the halves at Elland Road? There’s a few options for Wellens to consider. The most obvious one would be Ben Davies, you feel, given the fact he has played there several times before and has got a good boot on him, although it will probably be Mbye who takes on most of the in-game kicking.

Academy product Will Roberts has yet to make his first-team debut: but he has been named in Wellens’ 21 on several occasions this season. The 19-year-old has also played in the Championship and League 1 with Swinton Lions (dual-registration) and Rochdale Hornets (loan) this year.

And there’s also George Whitby, who is a highly-rated playmaker, but you feel it might be a bit too soon for him to be making a first-team debut in the biggest of games at Magic Weekend.

Who fills the void left by Daryl Clark?

As always, you suspect the Wigan-Saints derby this weekend to be high-octane and high-intensity. And so with that in mind, would Wellens be tempted to put someone like James Bell at hooker in the absence of Clark?

Scotland international Bell has been one of the senior players who has really stepped up to the plate for Saints in recent weeks: and he does a solid job wherever he plays. One of his key attributes is his tackling and work in defence, which could come to the fore if he plays at nine.

And let’s not forget there is Jake Burns, who like Robertson, has been a shining light for Wellens’ side during this injury-hit period. The former Halton Farnworth Hornets player has made a big impact when coming on from the bench in recent weeks. It’s all hypothetically speaking, obviously, but you feel with Bell starting and Burns adding an attacking spark from the bench could work well for Saints.

Or, should Wellens start Burns with Bell at 13 or in the back-row, then an option could come up for Roberts to make his debut as a utility player from the interchange.

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A prop at 13?

England international Knowles has been one of the premiere loose forwards in Super League for a number of years now, so his absence this weekend will no doubt come as a blow for Saints.

Bell is a natural 13, so he’d be the most obvious candidate to take up the role, but given we’ve tipped Bell to take on the hooking role, that leaves a gap at loose forward (in our predictions, anyway!).

With the derby set to be settled in a war of attrition through the middle, Wellens could be tempted to start a front-rower in the 13 role against Wigan, with Tongan powerhouse Agnatius Paasi having previously played there. Some clubs use the loose forward role for a ball-playing forward, utilising them as an extra half-back effectively, but other clubs prefer to use the position to field an extra prop for more power and size through the middle: and that’s an avenue that Wellens and his coaching staff could go down this weekend.