Quote: Stu M "I think the Lomax injury and potential Percival ban has massively changed the landscape.
I’m nowhere near as confident as I was and feel that Wigan could edge a close one this time. I know that they are missing 3 starters too but you could argue that Smith has improved them in attack and his goal kicking is worth it’s weight in gold.
Defensively he is weaker of course. We still have the pack to win but no halves changes the way we will play no doubt and I can imagine we’ll play a simple game plan, look to complete well and let the forwards win the game.
We won’t have a FB if Welsby plays 6 so that may mean Makinson playing there. It’s a lot of disruption at a crucial stage of the season so we may well get found out on Saturday.'"
I think Powell is the bigger loss. I've liked the look of O'Neill in the minutes that he's played, but there have been one or two occasions where his defence has been exposed in such a key position and the game on Saturday is only going to be more intense.
The loss of the two halves for Saints (and possibly Percival) is obviously massive for them and evens out the contest a bit, but if anything it incentivises them even more to make the most of their pack to overpower us down the middle, and really testing how well the likes of O'Neill and others can stand up to that sort of challenge.
If Saints complete their sets well I still think we might struggle to deal with the physicality of their pack, but I'd give us a decent chance with their issues at half back.