Rugby League: Saints chief hands the Warriors favourites tag

Jul 20 2007 by Ian Laybourn, Liverpool Daily Post

ST HELENS coach Daniel Anderson has cranked up the pressure ahead of tonight’s Super League clash with Wigan by insisting the Warriors are clear favourites to end their losing streak in derby matches.

The champions have won the last seven meetings with their arch rivals, including two this season and a 75-0 Challenge Cup rout at Knowsley Road in 2005, and Wigan have not won at St Helens since September 2003.

However, whereas Wigan go to Knowsley Road buoyed by back-to-back victories over Yorkshire big guns Leeds and Bradford, the league leaders are seeking to avoid losing three successive rounds of Super League for the first time since 2004.

“Dare I say they’re the favourites,” said Anderson. “They’ve beaten Leeds and Bradford in consecutive weeks and we’ve lost to Leeds and Bradford in consecutive weeks. If you do the maths, we’re going in as underdogs.

“They’re in good nick – they hardly ever play poorly, espec-ially against us. Every team has been up for us this year and Wigan always are. Leeds, Bradford, St Helens and Wigan – there is almost nothing between them all on a given night.”

St Helens will lose top spot if they go down to a third home defeat of the season and Leeds beat Wakefield at Headingley but Anderson concedes there is hardly talk of a crisis at Knowsley Road.

“I don’t think we’re in bad form,” he said. “I was really happy with the second half at Bradford. I gave them a couple of hard words at half-time and I thought they responded brilliantly. I have an expectation that we’re going to start tomorrow’s game energetically.”

Warriors coach Brian Noble, who has yet to taste victory in a Wigan-Saints derby, admits it is time for his side to halt their depressing run.

“It’s a great opportunity to show our true worth, which we’ve not done against Saints this year,” he said.

“We have managed to cross each hurdle week by week but we know it’s a formidable task tomorrow. We’re really looking forward to it and we’re excited by the prospect.

“Confidence is high but you’ve got to transfer that into a performance and that’s what we’re looking to do.

“Their last two performances have probably not been up to scratch and they’ll be very determined.”

Saints will welcome back scrum-half Sean Long, who has not played a league match for 10 weeks because of a nagging calf injury, and give a debut to new signing Chris Flannery, the former South Sydney forward who is making his comeback from a broken leg.

Flannery, who will fill the gap created by the suspension of Jon Wilkin, could not have chosen a bigger match in which to make his English bow but Anderson has every confidence in the experienced Australian.

“It’s a big game but he’s been in State of Origins and Grand Finals,” said Anderson.

“He’ll know how to handle himself.”