2009 St Helens RLFC season explained

Year:2009
Next Season:2010

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]

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 the 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]

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 F.C. 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 FC, 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 Thunder 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 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 F.C. 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 Kingston Rovers prop Nick Fozzard will re-join Saints after being released from the final year of his Rovers contract.[39]

Current squad

2009 transfers

Acquisitions

Acquisitions
Player Signed from When Signed
October 2008
Sydney City Roosters (for 2010 season) May 2009
Hull Kingston Rovers (for 2010 season) September 2009

Losses

Losses
Player Signed for When left
October 2008
October 2008
October 2008
October 2008
October 2008
Crusaders (loan) June 2009
Crusaders (loan) October 2008
Blackbrook ARLFC Contract terminated and player returned to amateur football
Huddersfield Giants (loan) October 2008
Hull F.C. (for 2010 season) June 2009
Huddersfield Giants (for 2010 season) July 2009

Fixtures and results

Competition Round Opponent Result Score Home/away Venue Attendance Date
N/A Widnes VikingsLoss 26 - 28 Home 4,128 27/12/2008
Friendly N/A Wakefield Trinity WildcatsWin 26 - 22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 3,549 18/01/2009
Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Win 54 - 6 Away 2,562 01/02/2009
1 Win 26-14 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 17,009 13/02/2009
Super League XIV 2 Win 6-23 Away 11,338 22/02/2009
Super League XIV 3 Loss 19-20 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,830 27/02/2009
Super League XIV 4 Win 0-4 Away 6,351 07/03/2009
Super League XIV 5 Win 38-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,723 13/03/2009
Super League XIV 6 Win 26-18 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,966 20/03/2009
Super League XIV 7 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 18-42 Away 6,038 29/03/2009
4 Leeds Rhinos Win 18-22 Away Headingley Stadium 17,689 05/04/2009
Super League XIV 8 Win 12-19 Away 22,232 09/04/2009
Super League XIV 9 Win 44-22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,684 13/04/2009
Super League XIV 10 Win 22-68Away 8,003 19/04/2009
Super League XIV 11 Loss 30-34 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,039 24/04/2009
Super League XIV 12 Wigan Warriors Loss 38-18 Neutral 29,687 02/05/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 5 Win 42-8 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 7,176 10/05/2009
Super League XIV 13 Catalans Dragons Win 28-32 Away 9,065 16/05/2009
Super League XIV 14 Win 22-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,359 22/05/2009
Challenge Cup 2009 QF Win 6-66 Away 4,325 30/05/2009
Super League XIV 15 Hull FC Win 6-30 Away 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 10,599 21/06/2009
Super League XIV 18 Celtic CrusadersWin 30-0 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,684 26/06/2009
Super League XIV 19 Salford City Reds Loss 20-10 Away 4,808 03/07/2009
Super League XIV 20 Warrington Wolves Win 26-40 Away 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 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 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 19,997 04/09/2009
Super League XIV 27 Catalans Dragons Loss 12-24 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,268 11/09/2009
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
Final Leeds Rhinos Loss 18-10 Neutral 63,259 17/10/2009

2009 Squad

As of 29 July 2009:

width=7%Numberwidth=7%Nationalitywidth=21%Player namewidth=10%Positionwidth=10%Weight (kg)width=10%Height (m)width=5%D.O.B.width=19%Previous Club
1Paul Wellens (VC)FB961.8527/02/80St Helens Academy
2Ade GardnerW941.8826/06/83Barrow Border Raiders
3Matthew GidleyC941.8601/07/77Newcastle Knights
4C
51Francis MeliW1001.8827/04/79New Zealand Warriors
62Leon PryceSO981.9109/10/81Bradford Bulls
7Sean Long (VC)SH851.7524/09/76Widnes Vikings
8Jason CaylessPR1061.9315/01/80Sydney Roosters
9Keiron Cunningham (C)HK1021.7528/10/76St Helens Academy
10James GrahamPR1061.8810/09/85St Helens Academy
11Lee GilmourSR991.8813/03/78Bradford Bulls
12Jon WilkinSR971.8501/11/83Hull Kingston Rovers
13Chris FlanneryLF1001.8605/06/80Sydney Roosters
14James RobyHK871.7822/11/85St Helens Academy
15Bryn HargreavesPR1031.8314/11/85Wigan Warriors
16 1Tony PuletuaSR1101.9225/06/78Penrith Panthers
17Paul CloughSR981.8327/09/87St Helens Academy
18Kyle EastmondSH751.6717/07/89St Helens Academy
19Chris DeanC861.8017/01/88St Helens Academy
20Gareth FrodshamPR1001.8918/12/89St Helens Academy
21Gary WheelerSO871.7930/09/89St Helens Academy
22Sean MagennissSR911.8202/12/89St Helens Academy
23 3Maurie Fa'asavaluPR1051.9112/01/80Samoan Rugby Union
24Andrew DixonLF941.8328/02/90St Helens Academy
25Jamie FosterC851.8727/07/90St Helens Academy
26Andy YatesPR981.8623/02/90St Helens Academy
27Jamie EllisSH851.7904/10/89St Helens Academy
28Matty AshurstSR901.8601/11/89St Helens Academy
29Tom ArmstrongW921.9012/09/89St Helens Academy
30Jonny LomaxFB821.7704/09/90St Helens Academy
31Jacob EmmittPR1021.8604/10/88St Helens Academy
32Paul JohnsonC881.8713/03/88St 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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: St Helens vs. Warrington match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  2. Web site: St Helens vs. Huddersfield match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  3. Web site: St Helens vs. Hull KR match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  4. Web site: St Helens vs. Celtic match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  5. Web site: St Helens vs. Salford match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  6. Web site: St Helens vs. Leeds match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  7. Web site: St Helens vs. Wakefield match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  8. Web site: St Helens vs. Wigan match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  9. Web site: St Helens vs. Hull match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  10. Web site: St Helens vs. Castleford match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  11. Web site: St Helens vs. Bradford match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  12. Web site: St Helens vs. Wigan match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  13. Web site: St Helens vs. Catalans match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090520015341/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3086334. 20 May 2009 . live.
  14. Web site: St Helens vs. Harlequins match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090601191929/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3086341. 1 June 2009 . live.
  15. Web site: St Helens vs. Hull match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  16. Web site: St Helens vs. Castleford match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090619130838/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3086354. 19 June 2009 . live.
  17. Web site: St Helens vs. Bradford match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090623062751/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3086367. 23 June 2009 . live.
  18. Web site: St Helens vs. Celtic match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-26. 2009-06-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20090628052706/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3086374. 28 June 2009 . live.
  19. Web site: St Helens vs. Salford match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-06. 2009-07-06.
  20. Web site: St Helens vs. Warrington match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-11. 2009-07-13.
  21. Web site: St Helens vs. Wakefield match report 2. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-11. 2009-07-19.
  22. Web site: St Helens vs. Harlequins match report 2. engagesuperleague.co.uk. 2009-07-25. 2009-07-26.
  23. Web site: St Helens vs. Wigan match report 3. superleague.co.uk. 2009-07-31. 2009-08-02.
  24. Web site: St Helens vs. Hull KR match report 2. superleague.co.uk. 2009-08-16. 2009-08-21.
  25. Web site: St Helens vs. Huddersfield match report 2. superleague.co.uk. 2009-08-21. 2009-08-22.
  26. Web site: St Helens vs. Leeds match report 2. superleague.co.uk. 2009-09-04. 2009-09-04.
  27. Web site: St Helens vs. Catalans match report 2. superleague.co.uk. 2009-09-11. 2009-09-19.
  28. Web site: St Helens vs. Leeds CC match report. saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  29. Web site: St Helens vs. Catalans CC match report. saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  30. Web site: St Helens vs. Gateshead CC match report. saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  31. Web site: St Helens vs. Huddersfield CC match report. saintsrlfc.com. 2009-08-09. 2009-08-10.
  32. Web site: St Helens vs. Huddersfield P-O match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  33. Web site: St Helens vs. Wigan P-O match report. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-10-03. 2009-10-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20091005065505/http://www.superleague.co.uk/report.php?id=3202308. 5 October 2009 . live.
  34. Web site: Soliola a Saint. saintsrlfc.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20090515024845/http://www.saintsrlfc.com/news/1773. 15 May 2009 . live.
  35. Web site: Hull Snare Long. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-06-22. 2009-06-22.
  36. Web site: Gilmour to join Giants. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-07-14. 2009-07-15.
  37. Web site: Smith Switches to Reds. engagesuperleague.com. 2009-09-04. 2009-09-04.
  38. Web site: Cayless quits Saints. skysports.com. 2009-09-19. 2009-09-19.
  39. Web site: Fozzard returns to Saints . superleague.com . 2009-09-20 . 2009-09-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090923200751/http://www.superleague.co.uk/article.php?id=15387 . 2009-09-23 .