St Helens vs Salford Red Devils Predictions: Saints to build on confidence-boosting victory

| Wednesday 7th August 2024, 8:54am

Wednesday 7th August 2024, 8:54am

It's been a difficult Betfred Super League campaign for St Helens, but they broke a five-game losing streak in style last weekend and will be hoping to use that to kick on into the business stage of the season.

Saints legend Paul Sculthorpe is certainly expecting so, as per his St Helens vs Salford Red Devils predictions.

St Helens vs Salford Red Devils Predictions

St Helens by 1-12 points @ 9/5

I'm sure it was a huge relief not only for Paul Wellens but the entire Saints faithful when the team ended a five-game losing streak with an emphatic 46-6 success at Hull FC last weekend.

In doing that, they also retained the prestigious Steve Prescott MBE Trophy which is played out every year between the two clubs my good friend represented with such distinction.

It’s great that this homage to Steve is withheld every year - and with his ties to the Man Of Steel Award also his name will forever be associated with our great game. It was lovely to see his wife Linzi present to award the trophy to Saints' returning skipper Morgan Knowles.

Saturday's display was clinical and Wello was clearly relieved in his post-match interview. Albeit, he’s certainly not getting carried away with the victory as just like his Saints side, Hull have a large number of first-choice players missing and ultimate sit 11th in the Betfred Super League table.

That being said, Saints controlled what they could control. Over 90% completion with the ball is a vast improvement on previous performances and it was no surprise that standards improved with the return of Morgan following a 12-week absence.

Joe Batchelor also added some much-needed experience and confidence to the team. Also, credit to Lewis Dodd who was given the number seven shirt back after impressing in training. He crossed for two of St Helens' first-half tries following great work from Daryl Clark and Curtis Sironen respectively.

Another player who crossed the whitewash in the first 40 to set a personal milestone was Tommy Makinson. He scored in the 34th minute for his 186th career try, thus elevating him to seventh on the all-time Super League scoring charts. I don’t need to wax lyrical about Tommy, as people know he’s one of the players of the Super League era that I admire most.

A special mention also goes out to Jake Burns, who after his introduction in the second half ignited more spark into the Saints attack - and did indeed cross for two tries himself. In only his second appearance for the first time, he showed exactly why Paul Wellens gave him the opportunity in the first place. I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.

Next up for Saints is Salford at the Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday evening. Per Super League title sponsors Betfred, the St Helens vs Salford Red Devils Odds are as follows: St Helens 1/4, Salford 16/5, Draw 20/1.

The Red Devils come to town also looking to secure a top-six place and they will fancy their chances of taking home both points having beaten Castleford and Leeds in the last fortnight.

Two of the visitors' pack - Oli Partington and the rejuvenated Kallum Watkins - are in smashing form and Saints must control them, along with Mark Sneyd who often pulls the strings.

One big loss for Salford is Tim Lafai, who for me is one of the most potent attacking players in the competition. He has been handed a one-match suspension following the win against the Rhinos on Saturday and will miss Thursday's clash.

I’m going for a narrow Saints win - by 1-12 points.