St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has spoken about the state of his squad ahead of their top of the table clash against Hull KR.
Hull KR will travel to face St Helens on Friday night as first hosts second in a game where both sides put their unbeaten record on the line. Both sides have faced the same three opponents so far but St Helens have managed to win far more comfortably, at least on the scoreboard.
The Robins confirmed that they will be without Rhyse Martin with the second-rower set for four months on the sideline whilst Niall Evalds failed a HIA so will also miss the game. There will be question marks over Mikey Lewis and Tyrone May as well, whereas Saints have almost everyone to select from.
With Morgan Knowles confirmed to be returning from his HIA, Paul Wellens will have an embarrassment of riches to select from and he was asked about that when he spoke to the media at his pre-match presser.
Wellens responded: “It’s a relatively healthy squad at this moment in time. Obviously you’ve got Lewis Murphy on the wing who is missing but yeah, it’s not an easy team to pick at the moment.
“There’s always a number of disappointed players because like most rugby league players you want to reward the guys that are playing well and doing a good job.”
St Helens boss discusses selection and facing injury-hit Hull KR
Wellens spoke further on the state of his squad to confirmed that there are no current injuries, just issues to oversee having only played as recently as Saturday.
The St Helens boss said: “We’ve got a relatively strong squad to pick. Obviously, we only played on Saturday afternoon so there’s still a few players carrying a few bumps and bruises that we need to manage over the next couple of days but we don’t envisage any major problems.”
He was also asked about the sort of Hull KR side he expects based on their well-documented injury issues, however, he underlined that whoever plays will be a talented individual.
“(We’re preparing) for them at their best. I think what they’ve built their recent success on is their work ethic and how hard they work on each other regardless of who’s playing.
“Like most teams, they’ve got some key individuals that can be very threatening on the day but like most good teams, they’re more effective as a collective.”
Almost as if to underline the strength that the Robins have, Wellens noted the impressive performance by last week’s stand-in for Lewis as ex-St Helens man Danny Richardson picked up the Man of the Match medal.
The Saints boss argued: “Danny Richardson stepped into the ring last week and he’s a player that we know really well, he’s a really competent footballer. Whilst he doesn’t do what Mikey Lewis does, he’s got what Danny Rich does to the best of his ability. Whoever plays, they’ll be more than competitive.”
