Winning smiles: Saints players enjoy a drink in The Griffin after Challenge Cup glory sthelensstar.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sthelensstar.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Morgan Knowles could lift rugby league s Challenge Cup at Wembley Stadium this afternoon when St Helens face Castleford Tigers. The Barrovian has been included in Saints 21-man squad for the Wembley showpiece, which is set to kick off at 3pm. Coach Kristian Woolf has also kept a place for Matty Lees, who returned to action last week following a three-month absence with a broken ankle, while Sione Mata utia is suspended after picking up a ban against Wakefield. Speaking to the
St Helens Star, Woolf said: “This is a Grand Final week – it is different because it is in the middle of the season and in the back of our minds we know when we finish on Saturday we will have to re-focus for the rest of Super League and a lot if games over a short period.
Joel Thompson, playing against Leeds at the weekend, will get to play against Wakefield for the first time on Friday as his maiden season in Super League continues. Picture: Bernard Platt KRISTIAN Woolf wants his Saints players to be wary of the last clash with Wakefield as the two sides prepare to meet with fresh injuries on Friday night. Woolf feels that ‘Wakey’ become a more dangerous opposition with every game that passes as they seek their first win of the season, having so far lost to Leeds, Wigan and Catalans. And he is eager for his side, albeit with some pack injuries, to make improvements on their weekend’s showing when injury-ravaged 12-man Leeds were finally defeated 26-18 in the Challenge Cup.
SAINTS will be forced into two changes in their starting pack when they return to Super League action against Wakefield Trinity at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Friday. Neither Matty Lees or Sioni Mata utia are to figure following the injuries they sustained against Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup third-round win against Leeds Rhinos on Saturday. Both left the field in the opening 10 minutes, with Lees ankle injury leaving him sidelined for a spell. “Matty Lees is going to be out for a few weeks,| said Saints head coack Kristian Woolf. We’ve got to get a few more scans to figure out exactly what we’re doing going forward, but he’s definitely going to be out for a little while.