Super League play-offs: St Helens v Salford Red Devils - Kristian Woolf happy with Saints' week off
- Published
St Helens finished top of the Super League table to secure the League Leaders' Shield
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf has said his side have benefited from their week off before their Super League play-off semi-final against Salford.
Woolf led his side to this season's League Leaders' Shield, meaning they go straight into the semi-final stage.
Saints are looking to become the first side to win four successive Super League Grand Finals.
"We've played over 30 games this year, we're as battle-hardened as we can be," he told BBC Radio Merseyside.
"A week off couldn't have been better because if we'd had to play last week we'd have had a lot of players out."
He added: "The break has been great for us and we're in a good position and ready to go."
Woolf wary of Salford threat as time with Saints ticks down
Salford Red Devils hammered St Helens 44-12 in July
Saints finished five places and 14 points above sixth-placed Salford in the Super League table.
Their meetings in the regular season both ended with home wins, with Woolf's men claiming a battling 14-10 win in April before Paul Rowley's side won 44-12 in July's return fixture.
Woolf does not believe those games will have a bearing on the outcome of Saturday's match, however.
"Certainly in the second game against them we weren't at the races that day, I think whoever we played that day, we were going to make them look good," he said.
"The first game against them was really tough because we lost some players to injury but we defended really well and we found a way to win.
"I don't think you can look at either of the two games too much. We haven't had an opportunity yet to play them when we haven't had to face adversity and chop and change through the game."
Having arrived at Saints ahead of the 2020 season, Woolf has led the club to successive Grand Final victories as well as the 2021 Challenge Cup.
He is wary of the threat posed by Salford, however, as he prepares to lead St Helens for possibly the final time before he leaves at the end of the season.
Woolf added: "They've played some really good footy this year and they're playing with confidence. They deserve to be in the semi-finals but we're confident as well and we come in knowing that we know how to win these sort of games."
Salford side providing fulfilment for Rowley
Prior to the start of the season, not many people would have tipped Salford to reach the top six, let alone nilling Huddersfield away from home to set up Saturday's tie.
However, since coming in, boss Paul Rowley has masterminded an impressive season with the Red Devils as they squeezed into the final play-off place.
"It's not the getting here that makes me proud, I'm proud because I've got a group that are all pulling in the same direction win or lose and whatever the result, on whatever week, however big a week," he told BBC Radio Manchester.
"That group knows the importance of acceptance and honesty. That's the main thing for me. The fulfilment comes from within the group and within the team.
"I'm very proud of everybody in the club to be featuring in a semi-final but it's another part of the journey and it's the everyday that counts to me, that's what I enjoy best."
Saturday's semi-final is a rematch of the 2019 Super League Grand Final, during which Saints overcame the Red Devils to win the first of their three titles in a row.
Rowley says that their opponents are to be respected and understands the task ahead of his side as they look to reach only their second Super League Grand Final in their history.
"That respect we've got comes from knowing that they're the champions and that anytime anyone plays them, it can go one of two ways," he added.
"We've wanted to put forward a good account of ourselves on both occasions. We got one over the line, which was pleasing, but we're under no illusions that with people like Mark Percival and Tommy Makinson back, they are a massive part of what they're about.
"They've been here before many times and we're going to see Saints at a different level of competition this Saturday, I've no doubts about it."
Squads
St Helens (from): Welsby, Makinson, Percival, Lomax, Roby, Lees, Mata'utia, Batchelor, Knowles, Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sironen, Paasi, Wingfield, Bell, Davies, Hurrell, Royle, Bennison, Pemberton.
Salford (from): Brierley, Sio, Watkins, Lafai, Burgess, Sneyd, Akauola, Ackers, Wright, Taylor, Vuniyayawa, Lannon, Livett, Atkin, Ormondroyd, Williams, Luckley, Bourouh, Cross, Gerrard, Dupree.
Referee: Chris Kendall.