On Friday night, SAINTS will take on the Catalans Dragons, a team they haven’t defeated since the Challenge Cup match in April 2022. It will be a difficult test.
There have been five losses in a row, but four of those losses have been by a score of just one, demonstrating how close and fierce these matches are.
The Saints were the architects of their own demise the last time they played in Perpignan in April, losing 14-8 in a game that could have been different if Lewis Dodd hadn’t been stopped by a spectacular tackle.
Wellens acknowledges that they lost the early spring game due to mistakes, but he believes they have moved on.
We gave a very good side far too many opportunities and made way too many mistakes, he said.
“I think we’ve definitely been a lot better in that area in the last few weeks, and hopefully we can continue to be so. We definitely needed to learn from that.”
The Saints’ thin lineup will have to deal with the physical nature of the Catalans on Friday night at TWS (8pm).
“I believe that they play with a certain identity, and that identity is partially derived from their physical style.
“Not only do they have formidable forwards and backs, but they also have some very large and powerful players. This physical style of play is something we will need to bring to the table if we are to get the outcome and performance we require.
“You always present a challenge when you play Catalans, and that is where we will be tested.
“Obviously, it presents a different challenge for us because several of our key middle forwards are out of the picture.
But in my opinion, there are times during the year when you have to call on that squad if you want to succeed in the long run and reach our goals, and that’s where we are at the moment.
“I have a lot of faith and confidence in a lot of these players who haven’t been playing as much, but they have proven in the past that they can do more than hold their hand up when given the chance.”
“Every time we play against him, he comes up in conversations in team meetings because he’s a big body and very tough to handle,” Wellens said specifically referring to Dragons prop Chris Satae. He’s not alone there, though.
“They have plenty in the forward pack and then the likes and Tom Johnson, Tom Davies and Matt Ikuvalu in the outside backs – there’s a lot of players that need handling and we are going to have to be good at doing that.”
