2009 St Helens RLFC season

St Helens entered their 137th year in 2009, and were in contention for of rugby league's Super League and Carnegie Challenge Cup competitions.

2009 season

Super League XIV

Round 1

Saints come back from a 14-nil deficit early in the second half to beat Warrington Wolves 26-14.[1]

Matt Gidley scored twice against Warrington.

Round 2

Saints turn over the much improved from last season Huddersfield Giants 23-6.[2]

Round 3

Hull Kingston Rovers inflict Saints' first defeat of the season, with Michael Dobson scoring a late penalty goal to give the Robins a 20-19 win.[3]

Round 4

Saints scrape past newly promoted Crusaders in the lowest scoring game in Super League; Tom Armstrong scoring the only try in a 4-nil win.[4]

Round 5

Saints brush aside the Salford City Reds by 38 points to 12.[5]

Round 6

Saints edge a heated epic with Leeds Rhinos - winning 26-18 at Knowsley Road.[6]

Chris Flannery was man-of-the-match against Leeds.

Round 7

Saints hammer Wakefield Trinity Wildcats by 42-18. The Wildcats are in mourning for reserve player Leon Walker, who died in a reserve game.[7]

Round 8

Saints scrape past a fired up Wigan Warriors outfit, winning 19-12 after being 6-nil and 12-6 down.[8]

Round 9

Saints bounce Hull in the second game of the Easter period by 44-22.[9]

Round 10

Saints become the first team in Super League XIV to surpass 60 points, winning 68-22 at Castleford. Tony Puletua scores 4 tries but the game is halted for 30 minutes as Joe Westerman suffers a serious head injury.[10]

Round 11

Saints suffer only their second defeat of the season as Bradford come back to win 34-30.[11]

Round 12

Saints produce arguably their worst display of the campaign, losing 38-18 to arch rivals Wigan at the Magic Weekend.[12]

Round 13

Saints defeat Catalans Dragons for the second time in a week, by coming back from 22-10 down to win 32-28 to move them back to the top of the table.[13]

Round 14

Saints survive a second-half rally from Harlequins RL to win 22-12.[14]

Round 15

Saints ease past the challenge of Hull, winning 30-6.[15]

Round 16

Saints thrash Castleford for a second time this season in a 50 points to 10 success.[16]

Round 17

Saints set a new record of 16 consecutive away wins in Super League after cantering to a 44-18 success over Bradford Bulls.[17]

Round 18

Saints nil the Celtic Crusaders for a second time in the season - in a 30-0 win.[18]

Round 19

Saints lose their fourth game of the season in a shock 20-10 loss to Salford.[19]

Round 20

Saints beat neighbours Warrington for the second time in the league, in another fantastic game, this time by a margin of 40-26. [20]

Round 21

Despite outscoring their opponents Wakefield by 5 tries to four, Saints crash to their second defeat in three games, losing 22-20.[21]

Round 22

Saints bounce back from two defeats in three games with a convincing 44-24 win at Harlequins to take them back to two points clear at the top of the table.[22]

Round 23

Saints edge a third game of the season against Wigan, with Kyle Eastmond scoring a late try to secure a 10-6 victory.[23]

Round 24

Saints lost their third game in six as they crashed to a 26-10 loss at Hull KR.[24]

Round 25

Another below-par performance saw Saints scrape past a youthful Huddersfield outfit by 12 points to 10, after being 10 points down.[25]

Round 26

In a much improved performance, Saints are edged out by bitter rivals Leeds 18-10 in a third superb encounter of the season to all but end their hopes of a fifth consecutive League Leader's Shield.[26]

Round 27

Saints are beaten by Catalans in the last game of the regular season to finish second in the league ladder behind Leeds.[27]

Challenge Cup 2009

Round 4

Saints just edge past a second epic in two weeks against Leeds in a bruising encounter - pulling through 22-18.[28]

Round 5

Saints thrash Catalans Dragons 42-8 to reach the Quarter Finals.[29]

Quarter-Finals

Saints trounce a spirited Gateshead side 66-6 to advance to a record ninth consecutive Semi-Final.[30]

Semi-Finals

Despite a Francis Meli hat-trick of tries, holders Saints were beaten 24-14 by Huddersfield.[31]

Play-Off Series

Week 1

Saints beat Huddersfield in Week One to progress to the qualifying round in a 15-2 success.[32]

Week 3

Saints reached a fourth consecutive Super League Grand Final after beating Wigan in a thrilling 14-10 win.[33] They will take on Leeds for a third consecutive time at Old Trafford.

Super League Grand Final

Saints lose the grand final to Leeds Rhinos 18-10, this being the third consecutive Grand Final they lose to Leeds.

Upcoming Fixture(s)

Saints will round off their Super League XIV campaign against Leeds Rhinos at the 2009 Super League Grand Final.

News

It has been announced that, for the 2010 Super League Season, Saints have signed New Zealand World Cup winning centre Iosia Soliola from the Sydney City Roosters on a three-year deal.[34] Additionally, Scrum-Half Sean Long will be leaving Knowsley Road after a 12-year stint. He is joining Hull on a two-year contract.[35] Lee Gilmour is also on his way out of St Helens. The second-row has agreed a two year deal with Huddersfield Giants for the 2010 season.[36] Young half-back Matty Smith will join Salford City Reds for the 2010 season in a loan agreement.[37] Prop-forward Jason Cayless will be leaving Saints too after 4 seasons with the club owing to a shoulder injury. He will return to Australia.[38] Hull KR prop Nick Fozzard will re-join Saints after being released from the final year of his Rovers contract.[39]

Iosia Soliola will be on board at the GPW next season.

Current squad

No. Position Player

2009 Transfers

Acquisitions

Acquisitions
Player Signed from When Signed
Tony Puletua Penrith Panthers October 2008
Iosia Soliola Sydney City Roosters (for 2010 season) May 2009
Nick Fozzard Hull KR (for 2010 season) September 2009

Losses

Losses
Player Signed for When left
Paul Sculthorpe Retired October 2008
Mike Bennett Retired October 2008
Willie Talau Salford City Reds October 2008
Dean McGilvray Salford City Reds October 2008
Nick Fozzard Hull KR October 2008
Steve Tyrer Crusaders (loan) June 2009
Matty Smith Crusaders (loan) October 2008
Sam Thompson Blackbrook ARLFC Contract terminated and player returned to amateur football
Scott Moore Huddersfield Giants (loan) October 2008
Sean Long Hull (for 2010 season) June 2009
Lee Gilmour Huddersfield Giants (for 2010 season) July 2009
Steve Tyrer was loaned to Crusaders for the 2009 season.

Fixtures and results

Competition Round Opponent Result Score Home/Away Venue Attendance Date
Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Loss 26–28 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 4,128 27/12/2008
Friendly N/A Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 26–22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 3,549 18/01/2009
Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Win 54–6 Away Stobart Stadium Halton 2,562 01/02/2009
Super League XIV 1 Warrington Wolves Win 26-14 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 17,009 13/02/2009
Super League XIV 2 Huddersfield Giants Win 6-23 Away Galpharm Stadium 11,338 22/02/2009
Super League XIV 3 Hull Kingston Rovers Loss 19-20 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,830 27/02/2009
Super League XIV 4 Crusaders Win 0-4 Away Brewery Field 6,351 07/03/2009
Super League XIV 5 Salford City Reds Win 38-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,723 13/03/2009
Super League XIV 6 Leeds Rhinos Win 26-18 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,966 20/03/2009
Super League XIV 7 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 18-42 Away Belle Vue 6,038 29/03/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 4 Leeds Rhinos Win 18-22 Away Headingley Stadium 17,689 05/04/2009
Super League XIV 8 Wigan Warriors Win 12-19 Away JJB Stadium 22,232 09/04/2009
Super League XIV 9 Hull Win 44-22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,684 13/04/2009
Super League XIV 10 Castleford Tigers Win 22-68 Away The Jungle 8,003 19/04/2009
Super League XIV 11 Bradford Bulls Loss 30-34 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,039 24/04/2009
Super League XIV 12 Wigan Warriors Loss 38-18 Neutral Murrayfield Stadium 29,687 02/05/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 5 Catalans Dragons Win 42-8 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 7,176 10/05/2009
Super League XIV 13 Catalans Dragons Win 28-32 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,065 16/05/2009
Super League XIV 14 Harlequins RL Win 22-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,359 22/05/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 QF Gateshead Thunder Win 6-66 Away Gateshead International Stadium 4,325 30/05/2009
Super League XIV 15 Hull FC Win 6-30 Away KC Stadium 12,009 05/06/2009
Super League XIV 16 Castleford Tigers Win 50-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,680 12/06/2009
Super League XIV 17 Bradford Bulls Win 18-44 Away Grattan Stadium 10,599 21/06/2009
Super League XIV 18 Celtic Crusaders Win 30-0 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,684 26/06/2009
Super League XIV 19 Salford City Reds Loss 20-10 Away The Willows 4,808 03/07/2009
Super League XIV 20 Warrington Wolves Win 26-40 Away Halliwell Jones Stadium 12,075 11/07/2009
Super League XIV 21 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Loss 20-22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,651 17/07/2009
Super League XIV 22 Harlequins RL Win 24-42 Away Twickenham Stoop Stadium 4,258 25/07/2009
Super League XIV 23 Wigan Warriors Win 10-6 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 15,563 31/07/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 SF Huddersfield Giants Loss 14-24 Neutral Halliwell Jones Stadium 10,638 09/08/2009
Super League XIV 24 Hull Kingston Rovers Loss 26-10 Away New Craven Park 8,976 16/08/2009
Super League XIV 25 Huddersfield Giants Win 12-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,708 21/08/2009
Super League XIV 26 Leeds Rhinos Loss 18-10 Away Headingley Carnegie 19,997 04/09/2009
Super League XIV 27 Catalans Dragons Loss 12-24 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,268 11/09/2009
Super League XIV Play-offs Qualifier Huddersfield Giants Win 15-2 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 6,157 19/09/2009
Super League XIV Play-offs Semi-final Wigan Warriors Win 14-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,087 10/10/2009
Super League Grand Final Final Leeds Rhinos Loss 18-10 Neutral Old Trafford 63,259 17/10/2009

League table

    		 Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
    1 Leeds Rhinos 27 21 0 6 805 453 +352 42
    2 St Helens 27 19 0 8 733 466 +267 38
    3 Huddersfield Giants 27 18 0 9 690 416 +274 36
    4 Hull KR 27 17 1 9 650 516 +134 35
    5 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 27 16 0 11 685 609 +76 32
    6 Wigan Warriors 27 15 0 12 659 551 +108 30
    7 Castleford Tigers 27 14 0 13 645 702 –57 28
    8 Catalans Dragons 27 13 0 14 613 660 –47 26
    9 Bradford Bulls 27 12 1 14 653 668 –15 25
    10 Warrington Wolves 27 12 0 15 649 705 –56 24
    11 Harlequins RL 27 11 0 16 591 691 –100 22
    12 Hull FC 27 10 0 17 502 623 –121 20
    13 Salford City Reds 27 7 0 20 456 754 –298 14
    14 Celtic Crusaders 27 3 0 24 357 874 –517 6
      Teams qualifying for the Play-offs

    Source: superleague.co.uk.
    Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
    Competition points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

    2009 Squad

    As of 29 July 2009:

    Number Nationality Player Name Position Weight (kg) Height (m) D.O.B. Previous Club
    1 England Paul Wellens (VC) FB 96 1.85 27/02/80 St Helens Academy
    2 England Ade Gardner W 94 1.88 26/06/83 Barrow Border Raiders
    3 Australia Matthew Gidley C 94 1.86 01/07/77 Newcastle Knights
    4 C
    5 SamoaNew Zealand1 Francis Meli W 100 1.88 27/04/79 New Zealand Warriors
    6 EnglandJamaica2 Leon Pryce SO 98 1.91 09/10/81 Bradford Bulls
    7 England Sean Long (VC) SH 85 1.75 24/09/76 Widnes Vikings
    8 New Zealand Jason Cayless PR 106 1.93 15/01/80 Sydney Roosters
    9 Wales Keiron Cunningham (C) HK 102 1.75 28/10/76 St Helens Academy
    10 England James Graham PR 106 1.88 10/09/85 St Helens Academy
    11 Scotland Lee Gilmour SR 99 1.88 13/03/78 Bradford Bulls
    12 England Jon Wilkin SR 97 1.85 01/11/83 Hull Kingston Rovers
    13 Australia Chris Flannery LF 100 1.86 05/06/80 Sydney Roosters
    14 England James Roby HK 87 1.78 22/11/85 St Helens Academy
    15 Wales Bryn Hargreaves PR 103 1.83 14/11/85 Wigan Warriors
    16 SamoaNew Zealand 1 Tony Puletua SR 110 1.92 25/06/78 Penrith Panthers
    17 England Paul Clough SR 98 1.83 27/09/87 St Helens Academy
    18 England Kyle Eastmond SH 75 1.67 17/07/89 St Helens Academy
    19 England Chris Dean C 86 1.80 17/01/88 St Helens Academy
    20 England Gareth Frodsham PR 100 1.89 18/12/89 St Helens Academy
    21 England Gary Wheeler SO 87 1.79 30/09/89 St Helens Academy
    22 England Sean Magenniss SR 91 1.82 02/12/89 St Helens Academy
    23 EnglandSamoa 3 Maurie Fa'asavalu PR 105 1.91 12/01/80 Samoan Rugby Union
    24 England Andrew Dixon LF 94 1.83 28/02/90 St Helens Academy
    25 England Jamie Foster C 85 1.87 27/07/90 St Helens Academy
    26 England Andy Yates PR 98 1.86 23/02/90 St Helens Academy
    27 England Jamie Ellis SH 85 1.79 04/10/89 St Helens Academy
    28 England Matty Ashurst SR 90 1.86 01/11/89 St Helens Academy
    29 England Tom Armstrong W 92 1.90 12/09/89 St Helens Academy
    30 England Jonny Lomax FB 82 1.77 04/09/90 St Helens Academy
    31 England Jacob Emmitt PR 102 1.86 04/10/88 St Helens Academy
    32 England Paul Johnson C 88 1.87 13/03/88 St Helens Academy

    1 - Meli and Puletua won caps for New Zealand before switching to Samoa

    2 - Pryce is of Jamaican origin

    3 - Fa'asavalu switched his allegiance to England under the residency rule

    External links

    References

    1. ↑ "St Helens vs. Warrington match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    2. ↑ "St Helens vs. Huddersfield match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    3. ↑ "St Helens vs. Hull KR match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    4. ↑ "St Helens vs. Celtic match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    5. ↑ "St Helens vs. Salford match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    6. ↑ "St Helens vs. Leeds match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    7. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wakefield match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    8. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wigan match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    9. ↑ "St Helens vs. Hull match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    10. ↑ "St Helens vs. Castleford match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    11. ↑ "St Helens vs. Bradford match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    12. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wigan match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    13. ↑ "St Helens vs. Catalans match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    14. ↑ "St Helens vs. Harlequins match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    15. ↑ "St Helens vs. Hull match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    16. ↑ "St Helens vs. Castleford match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 19 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    17. ↑ "St Helens vs. Bradford match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    18. ↑ "St Helens vs. Celtic match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-26. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-26.
    19. ↑ "St Helens vs. Salford match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
    20. ↑ "St Helens vs. Warrington match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
    21. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wakefield match report 2". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
    22. ↑ "St Helens vs. Harlequins match report 2". engagesuperleague.co.uk. 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
    23. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wigan match report 3". superleague.co.uk. 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
    24. ↑ "St Helens vs. Hull KR match report 2". superleague.co.uk. 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
    25. ↑ "St Helens vs. Huddersfield match report 2". superleague.co.uk. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2009-08-22.
    26. ↑ "St Helens vs. Leeds match report 2". superleague.co.uk. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
    27. ↑ "St Helens vs. Catalans match report 2". superleague.co.uk. 2009-09-11. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
    28. ↑ "St Helens vs. Leeds CC match report". saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    29. ↑ "St Helens vs. Catalans CC match report". saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    30. ↑ "St Helens vs. Gateshead CC match report". saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    31. ↑ "St Helens vs. Huddersfield CC match report". saintsrlfc.com. 2009-08-09. Retrieved 2009-08-10.
    32. ↑ "St Helens vs. Huddersfield P-O match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    33. ↑ "St Helens vs. Wigan P-O match report". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-10-03. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
    34. ↑ "Soliola a Saint". saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    35. ↑ "Hull Snare Long". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
    36. ↑ "Gilmour to join Giants". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
    37. ↑ "Smith Switches to Reds". engagesuperleague.com. 2009-09-04. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
    38. ↑ "Cayless quits Saints". skysports.com. 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
    39. ↑ "Fozzard returns to Saints". superleague.com. 2009-09-20. Retrieved 2009-09-20.