Phil Clarke has massive say on St Helens after shocking defeat to Leeds Rhinos

St Helens may have lost last night to a resurgent Leeds Rhinos side in a game full of controversy but Phil Clarke still thinks they will make the Grand Final.

This was despite the fact the Sky Sports pundit said that the Saints were “over aggressive” and looked like they had never played in a Grand Final but he felt that the Saints still showed enough against Leeds to make them the most likely side to make it back to the Grand Final as they chase a fifth consecutive title.

He said: “I think they’ll make the Grand Final this year. They’re that good. They will be in the top two places, top three at worst. They’re squad and ability to develop players, junior side up into the first team. They’re better than anyone else at that and consistently do it.

“They buy players from the Championship and are better at getting them to a high level.

“They missed James Roby tonight. We spoke about Shaun Edwards. He was a different person to Roby but he drove the competitive standards.

“He has the similar ability and that means they’re still the team to beat.”

He then suggested that the reason for their over aggressive display last night was the effect of jet lag.

He said:

“Jet leg is a funny thing and it can do funny things to some people and it seems to have made St Helens overly aggressive. I don’t know if that’s down to being emotional or tired.”