St Helens vs Hull KR Predictions: ‘Keep the faith’, says Sculthorpe

St Helens were beaten to-nil by arch rivals Wigan on Magic Weekend, so they will be out to prove a point when league leaders Hull KR come to town on Saturday afternoon (15:00, live on Sky Sports).

In his weekly column, rugby league legend Paul Sculthorpe's St Helens vs Hull KR prediction is a narrow victory for his beloved club.

Of all the weekends I was hoping my good mate and Saints coach Paul Wellens could celebrate his new contract extension, this was it. However, there was very little magic in that Saints performance at Elland Road in Leeds as we went down 20-0 to arch rivals Wigan.

Wello didn’t mince his words in his post-match press conference, praising the efforts of his players but admitting they didn’t have the quality or ‘football smarts’ to open up the Warriors defence and give themselves an opportunity to win the game.

He did speak about the obvious challenges ahead of the game, having so many first-choice players missing through injury or suspension, but he rightly stressed he expects the players given the shirts to deliver.

I’ve got so much sympathy for Paul, because this current situation regarding player unavailability is as bad as I've ever known - and to make things even worse, five minutes into the game he lost one of his top players, Curtis Sironen, with a calf injury.

The team is currently patched together with players out of position and youngsters who would normally be eased into the senior team alongside the more experienced crop. So I say to the fans, who are clearly and understandably disappointed at the current situation, keep the faith.

The biggest concern for me right now is the half-back situation and who is steering the ship out there on the field. Ben Davis filled in at six alongside Moses Mbye on Saturday, but neither are natural leaders and unfortunately it showed with our often failing attack.

The scary thing is, Wigan aren’t very good either at the moment, but their superior ball movement and strike on the edges - on top of Saints' defence lacking confidence and connectivity - was the difference.

On a more positive note, I applaud a man who yet again led from the front, as he has done since signing for the club as a youngster, Matty Lees.

Leesy was handed the captain's armband for  Magic Weekend and it couldn’t have been more deserved. He has continuously led the team with his own performances despite some tough defeats and disappointing team displays.

Harry Robertson can also hold his head high after producing some more moments of individual brilliance. As tough as this current run is, there’s no doubt it will help the development of youngsters like him for years to come.

Things don’t get any easier on Saturday when the Saints host the current best team in the league, Hull KR. As such, the visitors are 8/13 favourites to claim both points according to Betfred's St Helens vs Hull KR Odds.

Rovers, who sit atop the table having battered the out-of-sorts Catalans on the second day of Magic Weekend, have by far the best attack in the competition and are a team enjoying themselves at the moment.

Mikey Lewis is their conductor and playing the best rugby of his young career. Elliott Minchella and Kelepi Tanginoa are for me the best two back-rowers in the division, while Niall Evalds at full-back and the maverick half-back Tyrone May pose even more threat to the Saints defence, which simply has to improve.

It's not all doom and gloom for Saints, though. We welcome back skipper Jonny Lomax and potentially Sione Mata’utia, who I must say has been a huge loss.

With that in mind, and with the squad out to put that Wigan defeat behind them, I'm expecting a much-improved performance. I suggest a narrow victory, by 1-12 points.

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