There is one match in the Super League on Saturday which on paper at least looks like it could be something of a mismatch as the winless new boys of the Toronto Wolfpack take on the champions St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
The Wolfpack are not being helped by having to play their home matches in the UK at the minute and Saints will be looking to take advantage of that as they look to put their World Club Challenge defeat behind them.
Toronto Wolfpack
There was a lot of hype around the Toronto Wolfpack going into the season, as there has been for the last 2-3 campaigns to be fair. When you acquire the services of Sonny Bill Williams a lot of scrutiny and expectation comes with it and the Wolfpack have certainly not missed out in that regard. We should note though that this is their first Super League campaign, and while they have looked out of their depth thus far, it is a long season.
Toronto did look a little more competitive in this environment against Warrington Wolves last week, although that form was done no favours on Friday night when the Wolves got humped by Leeds Rhinos. They were more competitive than the score suggested against the Wigan Warriors prior to that too, so there are signs of them making the necessary improvements, they now need to start putting competition points on the board.
St Helens
You would think the champions have a point to prove on a couple of fronts here. Firstly they will want to show their worth after being made to look inadequate by the Sydney Roosters last weekend, and secondly they will want to show that their thrashing by the Warrington Wolves earlier in the season was a one-off and not something that is going to occur regularly. We saw all of last season that a fired up St Helens is a dangerous one.
Injuries are just beginning to niggle away at the champions heading into this match. You often see it at this stage of a season when teams have competed in that World Club Challenge because the intensity of everything a side does leading into that match is much higher than it normally would be. That has affected their defensive play but it should have no major bearing on their attacking output. Even last week they created a lot of openings but baulked when the line was in sight.
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Team News
Toronto Wolfpack have been hit with the news that Brad Singleton could be out for four months with ligament damage so the newly acquired loan pair of Ben Kilner and Jack Wells go straight into the squad.
Saints welcome back winger Regan Grace after he was forced to miss the World Club Challenge with a concussion last week. He will replace Mark Percival who has finally had surgery on a shoulder issue which keeps him out for the foreseeable future.
Betting
I think you would have to go with St Helens winning the match but I have to say I’m a little uncomfortable taking them to cover three scores. Wigan Warriors only just did that against the Toronto Wolfpack a couple of weeks ago and Warrington Wolves failed to do it. If the new boys continue to improve I’m not so certain this is the landslide win that many expect it to be, even though I have Saints winning the game.
Conditions might be tougher than either side would like here but I’ve a feeling that may not cap the point scoring in the contest though. Both teams like to play with power and go at the opposition line, and to be fair both have shown vulnerabilities in their own defensive play this season. That being in mind, the 40.5 point line for this match looks a touch on the low side. If Saints are on a going night they could challenge this total themselves but I fancy the Wolfpack will keep them honest. I’ll play the over there.
Tips
Back Over 40.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Coral
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