St George Illawarra Dragons v St Helens pre season warm up game (Live Sky Sports Mix 9am UK)

[Jughead]

Very happy with that for game two of the year. Some rustiness for sure but also some real good play and real good performances from the likes of Walmsley, Sironen, Lees, Makinson and Welsby. 

Kept at it in the second half even with numerous changes and we completed well. Some poor decisions from some of the younger lads but that’s a given. 

[Damien]

A pretty good performance from Saints and they will be all the better next week for this game. Sure some passes didn't quite stick from the halves but that's to be expected at this stage but there are far more positives than negatives.

On the whole they again look very fit, fast and strong and will certainly be the team to beat again this year.

[Gerrumonside ref]

2 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

A lot being mentioned about St George not being at full strength so it isn't particularly impressive from Saints but let's not forget that Saints were playing thousands of miles away from home in 20+ degrees higher than they'd be used to. 

I agree with that and although I get the ‘reality check’ from the Aussie pundits on what Saints just beat, it was a useful exercise.

 

[sam4731]

4 minutes ago, Damien said:

A pretty good performance from Saints and they will be all the better next week for this game. Sure some passes didn't quite stick from the halves but that's to be expected at this stage but there are far more positives than negatives.

On the whole they again look very fit, fast and strong and will certainly be the team to beat again this year.

I have to say though, that performance harks back to the Holbrook days. Completely opposite to Woolf's style of play where set completion isn't valued above everything else. Much more entertaining to see ball going through hands again.

[sam4731]

8 minutes ago, Damien said:

 

Sorry DP

Edited February 11, 2023 by sam4731

[EastLondonMike]

Only caught the last 30mins or so but some nice touches from Saints.

Some of the Fox league team tried their hardest to completely dismiss Saints chances against the Panthers without actually saying it, though others were quite complimentary.

Though Saints obvs do have quite the tough task against the Panthers next week.

Should be fun though. Always love a WCC.

[Magic Superbeetle]

5 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I agree with that and although I get the ‘reality check’ from the Aussie pundits on what Saints just beat, it was a useful exercise.

 

If not for 2 very marginal calls, Saints would have put 40 on the St George team. Bush league or not, there’s plenty to be heartened about. 
 

if (and I accept it’s a big if) they can play with the same intensity as they did in the first 20 for the full game, it’s going to be closer than the Aussies think.

PS thought Welsby ran the show whilst he was on.

[dkw]

1 minute ago, Magic Superbeetle said:

If not for 2 very marginal calls, Saints would have put 40 on the St George team. Bush league or not, there’s plenty to be heartened about. 
 

if (and I accept it’s a big if) they can play with the same intensity as they did in the first 20 for the full game, it’s going to be closer than the Aussies think.

PS thought Welsby ran the show whilst he was on.

Welsby was outstanding in the first half, he controlled well and got into the line with excellent timing and positioning. No surprise to hear the commentary praise him.

[Balmainboy]

Yeah, st George didn’t field a strong team but still a very solid performance from St. Helens. Look like the team to beat yet again. 
 

very interested to see at Helen’s v panthers next week. 

[fighting irish]

Great news.

It'll mean far more interest amongst the partisan Aussie fan-base (and media) than if St's had lost.

It sets up next weeks game just right. 

C'mon St's!

[Eddie]

Didn’t see it as I was watching my lad play football, but this thread is missing the most important issue - what was the attendance? 

[koli]

1 minute ago, Eddie said:

Didn’t see it as I was watching my lad play football, but this thread is missing the most important issue - what was the attendance? 

6450 .

[The storm]

40 minutes ago, Balmainboy said:

Yeah, st George didn’t field a strong team but still a very solid performance from St. Helens. Look like the team to beat yet again. 
 

very interested to see at Helen’s v panthers next week. 

Ive looked at the st george team and there were some very seasoned NRL professionals in their team 

 

This was therefore an outstanding saints victory

[JohnM]

From what I saw, maybe 20 mins of each half, twas a good game.  Saints must in my view continue to keep the ptb fast with the acting halfback moving very quickly forward rather than just tossing the ball to next player from a static  position.    Won't be easy at the WCC but Saints are in with a shout.

[WN83]

The big question for next week will be if Saints can replicate the pace and intensity of that first 15-20 minutes across the game. There will be the odd dip here and there but they’ll need to be at that level for much longer to go close. I’m reasonably confident they can but what gives you nagging doubts, is that they can play like that in Superleague, against much lesser teams and blow them away (or at least tire them out for the back end) and then ease off but there will be no let up next week and only one of the teams is challenged in that way reasonably often (although not as often as some NRL lovers would like you to believe). 
 

 

[Odsal Outlaw]

Enjoyed that, great to watch a game of RL and great to see a win over an Aussie team in their own backyard - let’s not forget the calamitous performances of British teams over there in the past so any victory is worth taking!

[Chris22]

Possibly a difference between NRL and Super League that when we dipped and made errors, we were immediately punished and fell behind.

Good hit out, we looked good for a first semi-competitive hit out of the season and good to see the whole squad get a run out. Delighted for Ritson to get his first try for us.

Next week will be a different game entirely but the chance to test yourself against the best doesn't come along too often!

[Futtocks]

 

[Oxford]

2 hours ago, dkw said:

Bloody great to be watching live RL again isn't it.

Bloody magic dkw

I also wanted to say great from Vossy and the co presenter today if only for no other reason than not going down the predictable Oz media route of "NRL Goood! SL Bad!"

[Wigan Riversider]

Strong performance from the Saints.

They must be in with a good chance of winning the WCC next week

If the Aussies are not taking it seriously I hope Saints win convincingly.

[MrPosh]

I don't think Saints beat Penrith, but it will be more competitive than 80-90% of the NRL teams manage.

 

[Bostik Bailey]

3 hours ago, Old Frightful said:

The Barrow flier looking good.

The Barra Arra, to join that other saints great signed from Barrow Les Quirk 

[Wigan Riversider]

11 minutes ago, Bostik Bailey said:

The Barra Arra, to join that other saints great signed from Barrow Les Quirk 

Les Quirk was a fine winger back when I was 21!!

[Butch]

15 minutes ago, Bostik Bailey said:

The Barra Arra, to join that other saints great signed from Barrow Les Quirk 

Saint’s do seem to like barra wingers. Les Ade and now tee 

[GeordieSaint]

58 minutes ago, MrPosh said:

I don't think Saints beat Penrith, but it will be more competitive than 80-90% of the NRL teams manage.

 

I don’t think we’ll win either. We’ll give a good account of ourselves though. Knowles in the middle will make us much stronger. We really lack pace in the centres though…