St Helens coach Paul Wellens provides injury update on trio after gritty win at Leeds Rhinos
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has given an update on three of his players following Friday night's Challenge Cup victory at Leeds Rhinos. The Saints ensured back-to-back wins at Headingley with a 20-6 triumph, following on from last week's 18-8 success in Super League.
And in many respects, the games followed a similar pattern, with Leeds taking an early lead and St Helens scoring a crucial try before half-time. That was the case again here, with Daryl Clark, who was sin-binned in the second half, adding the crucial blow.
The Saints, who last won the cup competition in 2021, were at their gritty best, with Alex Walmsley leading the way, scoring their final try. They also did it without two of their key players, Lewis Dodd, who has a groin injury, and Tommy Makinson, who missed both games against Leeds with a hamstring injury.
That saw Moses Mbye switch to half-back and Waqa Blake deployed on the wing. Saints also lost Morgan Knowles to a knock to his arm in the first half, with Wellens updating the media ahead of Good Friday's battle against Wigan Warriors.
"Lewis is doing okay," Wellens said. "He had no chance to play this week, but there is a chance he could play next week, and we're hopeful. We will have to assess him again during the week. It's an injury where you don't want to push it, and you don't want to take unnecessary risks.
"I'll lean more on the physios because that's their area of expertise, and obviously, as a coach, I am hoping that Lewis will be back playing because he's been playing so well for us. But if he's not, then Moses Mbye has shown tonight that he can do a really good job for us.
"Tommy is also a chance. We’ll monitor him during the week. That tight back issue didn’t seem to go away during the week and you don’t want to take unnecessary risks. With Jon Bennison doing such a good job, it would have been a risk. We’re hopeful he comes through."
On Knowles, Wellens added: "We'd envisage it being not too serious. The doctor seems to think it was a bang on a nerve so he couldn't keep his hands still. His hand was shaking in a really bizarre manner. But it's something that will get checked out.
"Morgan, being Morgan, was saying, ‘Look, my hand’s not great, but I'll go back out on the field if you need me.' But again, that's what I love about the players.
"Morgan is as tough as they come, but sometimes as a coach I have got to make sensible decisions and I think saving Morgan from having to go back out on the field with hand not being quite in the right way is probably the sensible thing to do tonight."
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As for the victory, with Saints now safely into Monday's quarter-final draw, Wellens said: "I’m really pleased with the players because there was a psychological challenge attached to that, coming back to the place where we won last week.
"Add onto it that it’s a knockout competition, and if you don’t perform, there are some pretty severe consequences, but the way the players handled it was first class."