St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has made just one change to his 21-man squad to take on Leigh Leopards on Friday night. The Saints have all but secured their spot in the play-offs next week following last Friday’s win over Castleford Tigers.
However, they know that a win over Leigh Leopards at the Leigh Sports Village would give them a chance of securing a home tie going into the first week of the play-offs. Leigh still have plenty to play for, of course, with the Leopards currently sitting sixth and needing a win to make sure of their place.
Both Leeds Rhinos and Catalans Dragons will be looking to leapfrog Adrian Lam’s side and they’ll be keeping a keen eye on proceedings. They’ll be encouraged by the strong squad the Saints have named, too, with Moses Mbye coming straight back into the fold after serving his ban.
Tee Ritson is the man to drop out of the action for Wellens. Matt Moylan and Edwin Ipape have been named in the squad by Lam, much to the relief of the club’s support, no doubt.
Of course, Leeds are in action on Friday night, too, as they take on Hull KR and Brad Arthur has made one change to his squad. Luis Roberts comes into the squad in place of Mickael Goudemand.
Willie Peters has been forced into three changes, with Niall Evalds and Kelepi Tanginoa dropping out through injury, while Elliot Minchella serves the first game of his ban. Jai Whitbread is available once more, though, after his suspension, while Leo Tennison and Harvey Horne are included, too.
Elsewhere, Warrington Wolves, who host London Broncos on Friday night, have seen Stefan Ratchford named in the fold, with Rodrick Tai dropping out after picking up a minor ankle injury.
St Helens (to face Leigh): Jack Welsby, Tommy Makinson, Waqa Blake, Mark Percival, Jon Bennison, Jonny Lomax, Lewis Dodd, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles, Moses Mbye, Agnatius Paasi, Matt Whitley, George Delaney, Ben Davies, Jake Burns, Jonny Vaughan, Noah Stephens.
Leigh (to face St Helens): Gareth O’Brien, Zak Hardaker, Ricky Leutele, Josh Charnley, Matt Moylan, Lachlan Lam, Tom Amone, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Kai O’Donnell, Jack Hughes, Josh Asiata, Matt Davis, Frankie Halton, Owen Trout, Ollie Homes, Keanan Brand, Umyla Hanley, Brad Dwyer, Darnell McIntosh, Aaron Pene
Hull KR (to face Leeds): Peta Hiku, Tom Opacic, Oliver Gildart, Ryan Hall, Mikey Lewis, Sauaso Sue, Jez Litten, George King, Dean Hadley, James Batchelor, Matt Parcell, Sam Luckley, Jai Whitbread, Matty Storton, Tyrone May, Leo Tennison, Harvey Horne, Joe Burgess, Jack Broadbent, Jack Brown, Danny Richardson.
Leeds Rhinos (to face Hull KR): David Fusitu’a, Harry Newman, Paul Momirovski, Brodie Croft, Matt Frawley, Mikolaj Oledzki, Andy Ackers, James Bentley, Rhyse Martin, Cameron Smith, Jarrod O’Connor, Sam Lisone, James McDonnell, Justin Sangare, Jack Sinfield, Luis Roberts, James Donaldson, Alfie Edgell, Tom Nicholson-Watton, Ben Littlewood, Riley Lumb.
Warrington Wolves (to face London): Matty Ashton, John Bateman, Jordy Crowther, Ben Currie, Josh Drinkwater, Matt Dufty, James Harrison, Toby King, Aaron Lindop, Zane Musgrove, Matty Nicholson, Joe Philbin, Sam Powell, Stefan Ratchford, Cai Taylor-Wray, Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker, Tom Whitehead, George Williams, Max Wood, Luke Yates.
London Broncos (to face Warrington Wolves): Lee Kershaw, Jarred Bassett, Hakim Miloudi, Iliess Macani, Jack Campagnolo, James Meadoes, Rob Butler, Lewis Bienek, Will Lovell, Ethan Natoli, Marcus Stock, Sadiq Adebiyi, Emmanuel Waine, Rhys Kennedy, Oli Leyland, Robbie Storey, Josh Rourke, Jensen Monk, Dan Hoyes, Jacob Jones, Ugo Tison.
Castleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers announce nine departures including overseas playmaker
