St Helens head coach Paul Rowley has spoken to the media and explained a number of squad omissions, including Harry Robertson, ahead of tomorrow night’s game against Warrington Wolves.
After a loss last week to Leeds Rhinos, Saints are hoping to bounce back at home to Warrington, who themselves are on a strong run of form. The same can’t be said for St Helens who have lost their last two and slipped to fourth as a result.
They’ll be without Lewis Murphy and Harry Robertson this week with neither man named in their 21-man squad but outside back Deon Cross has been named in the squad, with Paul Rowley sharing an update on Cross and Muphy.
“Well, it’s the same answer really,” he said when speaking to the media on Wednesday, referencing his post-match update from Thursday.
“It’s a bit of wait and see, but Lewis, like I said before, he’s had a recurrence of the elbow injury, so he’ll be struggling with that for a few weeks. We won’t see Lewis for a few weeks now.
“Deon is in the squad, so he’s available for selection.”
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One man who isn’t in the squad is centre Harry Robertson and that’s been confirmed to be a recurrence of a quad injury.
Rowley explained: “It’s a very short term (injury) and we expect him back for the next fixture.”
That’s a welcome piece of news given how severe some of St Helens’ injuries have been so far this season, particularly among the forward pack with the likes of Matty Lees and Jacob Host both long-term injuries.
Those injuries saw the club head to market with NRL recruit Daniel Suluka-Fifita signed up and after being named in the squad, Paul Rowley confirmed the forward is expected to feature on Thursday night.
Asked about how the prop has fared so far, Rowley said: “Really good. He’s settled in nicely on and off the field. He’s quiet and unassuming, but he looks good in training and he’s settled in nicely, really pleased.”
