Combined Team: St Helens and Warrington

Anyone excited for Friday? Like really, really excited? Yeah, me too. This game is special - Warrington travel to the Totally Wicked Stadium as league leaders, to take on 2nd placed St Helens. The teams are level on points and have been by far and away the best two sides in the league so far. Both have a wonderful pool of talent in their squads, but what would happen if the two teams were combined? Have a read of this and find out...

First of all, I need to give a few credits. I'd like to say a massive thank you to the What Would Brian Bevan Say? Podcast, who came up with the original idea of doing a combined Saints/Wire squad and then kindly gave me their blessing to do an article on the same topic. WWBBS is a brilliant podcast with great insight and humour, I always enjoy listening to the guys' take on things after the games - so make sure you give them a follow on Twitter (click here) and give their latest shows a listen - particularly their own Saints/Wire combined team, which you can listen to here.

I'm going to extend my thanks to a few Saints fans I spoke to on Twitter too, just for a bit of perspective from the other side of the coin. That Saints Blog You Quite Like gave me a more educated view of the quality of the individuals the Saints pack, which was useful. If you want a fan's perspective on everything that happens at the Totally Wicked Stadium through the year, give them a follow too.

So, onto my team. I've taken a few factors into account and in order to produce the best team possible, I've remained open to the possibility of players playing in different positions to their usual ones - this happens twice - though have ensured that the are in positions they have some experience in. Without any further ado, let's get on with it...

Full Back - Lachlan Coote

The first decision to make was actually the hardest one of the lot. Coote has been very impressive since joining St Helens from the North Queensland Cowboys at the start of 2019. The Scotland international has been arguably Saints' best player so far this season, with a particularly brilliant performance in their demolition of Castleford a few weeks ago. The fact that Saints haven't really missed Ben Barba - who was absolutely instrumental in them finishing top last season and whatever you think of him, is one of the most gifted players I've ever seen grace the league - is testament to how good Coote has been so far. It feels harsh not picking Stefan Ratchford at full back - our number one has been one of our best players for a good number of years and has been outstanding this season. However, for someone to come in to the league and replace Ben Barba and their team look more balanced as a result, they have to be some player. Coote and Ratchford are both top players though and along with Sam Tomkins are the best full backs in the league. (More on Ratch later)

Winger - Tommy Makinson

The 27-year-old has scored 111 tries for St Helens since making his debut in 2011 and is a consistent scorer. The winger's all-round play is very good too, he is not just a scorer. In terms of this team, he was up against Tom Lineham or Jake Mamo. Because neither have been able to nail down a starting place all season, Makinson is a fairly simple choice for this right winger role. With so much of Saints' play coming down the left, Makinson would arguably have scored plenty more tries had he been regularly deployed down the other flank.

Centre - Stefan Ratchford

Right centre is an area of slight weakness for both sides. Centre is arguably Wire's weakest position, with Atkins, Mamo and Goodwin all drifting in and out of the team. While Toby King has been good lately, his lack of experience counts against him. For Saints, their new signing Kevin Naiqama was very good in his first game, but has flattered to deceive since. Because of this, I opted to play Ratchford at centre. While this isn't his current position for Wire, he has had plenty of games in the centre for both Salford and ourselves. His versatility is a strength of his, with his career starting at stand off before moving to full back. Ratchford was simply too good a player to leave out of this team, particularly when centre isn't a great area for either team.

Centre - Mark Percival

This was one of the easiest decisions of the whole team. As discussed in the previous selection, centre is an average area for Saints and Wire, though Percival is the exception. He is one of the best centres in the country, and with 80 tries for the Saints, he is a regular scorer. Percival was picked in the Super League Dream Team last season and is a key member of the Saints back line. I personally think Percival is one of the four best centres in the league, along with Wakefield's Bill Tupou, Leeds' Konrad Hurrell and Wigan's Oliver Gildart.

Winger - Josh Charnley

Another fairly easy choice here. Charnley is Super League's top scorer this season with 11 tries in 8 games - a rip-roaring record. The ex-Wigan star has been a phenomenal signing since joining the Wire in 2018, scoring 36 tries in 37 appearances. For me, Charnley is the best winger in the country, certainly the best finisher. His defensive work is good too. No doubts about this one. 

Stand Off - Blake Austin

Another absolute no-brainer. Austin is possibly the most talented player I've ever seen play for Warrington, and if he continues his form from the last three games, will have a similar effect on the league to that of Ben Barba last season. His passing is very good, as we saw on Friday night with his assist for Charnley's try, and he's a good runner too, with notable breaks made in wins over Wigan, Wakefield and Hull FC. As well as his skill and flair, Austin is a crucial player to our team. This was perhaps most obvious in the win over Wigan, where the former Canberra halfback left the field with an injury and the team's organisation and structure temporarily fell apart until he returned. Nine tries in nine games is superb, too. Austin (and maybe Charnley) is the one Wire player who would be an easy choice in a Super League XIII. A technically wonderful player.

Scrum Half - Theo Fages

Another one that might raise some eyebrows, because Fages has played more often than not as a stand off, which is where I have selected Austin. However, halfbacks can usually play in either of the two positions with ease, and Fages has some experience at scrum half for both Salford and Saints. The Frenchman is a lovely player to watch and is key to Saints' attacking game. It's very telling that in their last two games the Saints could only scrap a 36-24 win against KR when they were 16-0 up until Fages left the field injured after 20 minutes, and lost their only game of the season at Catalans, when he didn't make the trip to Perpignan. Jonny Lomax was a consideration but I honestly think Fages is more important to Saints - and with NRL teams sniffing around the Frenchman, they'll do well to hold on to him for much longer. From a Wire perspective, Dec Patton has had a decent season but needs to develop more before he is considered in the bracket of Austin and Fages. 

Prop - Luke Thompson

I consider Luke Thompson to be the best prop in the whole of Super League (along with David Fifita at Wakefield), so this wasn't a difficult decision. He is a great tackler and always makes up a high number of metres. For this position, it was Thompson up against Chris Hill. Hill is still a top player, though has been guilty of conceding a lot of daft penalties this season (which, to his credit, he has cut out a bit in the last few games) and doesn't quite have the pace that Thompson has. Thompson was given Saints' player of the season last year (which surely was influenced by Barba's impending departure) and at just 23, should have a very bright future ahead of him.

Hooker - James Roby

This was so hard. I had to choose between Saints hero James Roby and Warrington hero Daryl Clark. They are easily the two best hookers in the league and are both monumental rugby league players. In the end, I plumped for Roby because he is probably biggest legend in Super League along with Super Bennie Westwood. Despite being 33 he is still producing phenomenal rugby league and arguably had the best season of his career in 2018, performing at levels similar to those when he won Man of Steel in 2007. He is currently leading the 2019 Man of Steel standings too, after a typically great start to the season. Listen to these stats though - in his first four games of the season he made 54, 44, 42 and 50 tackles, and then 61 at Catalans on Saturday. Utterly ridiculous. A Super League great.

Prop - Mike Cooper

This was another tricky one. It was Mike Cooper up against Alex Walmsley and Chris Hill. For the reasons mentioned in the Thompson section, I (reluctantly) discounted Hill, which left me with Cooper and Walmsley. I have long thought that Cooper is our most under-rated player. His forward game is very good, and he has added a great amount of skill to his game this season, with an impressive number of offloads that have led to tries. He is a crucial member of this Wire team and we perhaps saw the biggest sign of that last week against London, when Steve Price rested him entirely from the squad ahead of the St Helens game this week. Cooper won the Warrington Player of the Year award last year, which was richly deserved. Walmsley has struggled to get back to the level he was at before his bad injury, so I went for Cooper.

Second Row - Ben Currie

Let's make no mistake about this: a fit and firing Ben Currie is the best second rower in the league and I don't think anyone comes really close. There have been signs in the last few games that Currie is getting back to his very best after a long injury lay-off, signs which were brighter than ever against London on Friday as he completed 47 tackles without missing a single one. Sensational stuff. I hope Currie is a part of our team for years and years to come. This could be the year that he replicates his feat of 2016 and makes the Super League Dream Team. I like Dominic Peyroux, but I don't think he's quite as good as our second row duo.

Second Row - Jack Hughes

How under-appreciated is Jack Hughes? Every single game he gets through an unbelievable amount of work and does pretty much the full 80 minutes every match. He's becoming a big game player too, with tries in the wins over Castleford and Wigan this season, the one against Cas being a particularly lovely effort involving a disguised pass to alude from two Tigers defenders and score. Like Cooper, we saw how important Steve Price considers Hughes to be when he was dropped from the squad for last week's win over London, in order to ensure he is fresh for the trip to the Totally Wicked Stadium on Friday.

Loose Forward - Morgan Knowles

So now we're onto the final pick in the starting XIII. It's hard to know who Wire's first-choice loose forward is - because Ben Westwood, Jason Clark, Lama Tasi and Joe Philbin have all started there this season, while Harvey Livett believes that this is his best position too. In the absence of a clear first-choice player in this role, it is very difficult to not go for Morgan Knowles, who has been excellent for St Helens this season. After getting Saints' Young Player of the Year award last year, he has really kicked on this season and established himself. I was extremely impressed with his performance against Hull KR recently, and it's telling that he has started every game this season, while former first-choice Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook is yet to start in 2019.

Interchange - Daryl Clark

In this task, Clark is a victim of circumstances in that Super League's two most consistent players play in the same position, meaning that one of him and Roby are always going to miss out on a starting place. The former Castleford man and 2014 Man of Steel always puts in a superhuman effort and would be a wonderful addition to any team.

Interchange - Dominique Peyroux

As I said earlier, I like Peyroux and I admire his work-rate. I picked Currie and Hughes in the starting XIII because I think they are slightly better, though the New Zealander is a very good option from the bench, and could do a stint at centre as well. 

Interchange - Alex Walmsley

Another one who it felt a little harsh to leave out. Walmsley was one of the best props in the game before his injury troubles, and sadly for Saints he hasn't quite reached that level since returning. Despite this, he is doing a solid job for Saints this season and would be a good option for the bench in this squad.

Interchange - Ben Murdoch-Masila

The only thing this side is missing is some brute force and size. Adding Murdoch-Masila to the bench more than makes up for this. When he's on it, he's a top-quality forward who can absolutely batter defences. Some of his driving runs are crazy - look at that try he scored against Castleford - just pure strength. 

Coach - Steve Price

This was an extremely difficult choice. Justin Holbrook has done a top job at St Helens and made them into the best team in the country last season - though the reliance on Ben Barba was a real factor in this and ultimately was costly in their defeats in the Challenge Cup and Play Off semi finals. Our ability to shut down Barba's game in that semi final was crucial. I think Price has proved himself to be very astute and took a Warrington side that finished 9th in 2017 to 4th place in 2018, along with the Grand Final and the Challenge Cup Final. Price's transfers have been largely successful too, and it was with a bit of bias and emotion that I selected him to be the coach for this team, because he has brought a real air of positivity and spirit to Warrington. I guess the answer to this is that both have improved their team's greatly, and the one who picks up major silverware first will be the one who is deemed to be the better coach outright, as right now it is too close to call.

There we are then, that's my combined XIII and Interchanges from the best two sides in the league. If I were naming a 19-man squad, I'd also include Chris Hill and Kevin Naiqama, for extra options in both the forwards and the backs.

Thank you very much for reading this piece, I hope you have enjoyed it. This has been the most challenging but fun piece to write so far on this blog, and once again I must thank the guys who helped me - remember to check their content out. In the next few days I'll have build-up to the Saints game with my Sweet 17 piece, detailing who I would like to see play the game - shame we can't put that combined team out, isn't it?! 

It's always our year.

Daniel (@aloosewire)