St Helens vs Bradford Bulls Prediction: Scully backing another dominant display from Saints

It was far from a vintage performance from the Saints, particularly in the first half. But, the team showed great resolve, especially in defence. Barring one poor defensive play by the Saints right edge in the 68th minute leading to the Dragons' only try, it was a pretty dominant display.

The first 40 minutes were definitely a forgettable half of rugby from both sides.

Only a Daryl Clark-converted try on 10 minutes separated the two teams at half time. Clarky was making his 350th career appearance in the south of France. His vision and pace from dummy half still makes him one of the best hookers in the league despite being in twilight years of his career.

Errors with the ball and indiscipline without it, led to a very stop-start first half, something I’m sure both Paul Rowley and Joel Tomkins spoke about at the break.

If so, it was Rowls’ words that stuck. It was a completely different Saints display in the second half.

They played more direct with the ball, with far less opportunity for error, until they’d earned the right to shift the ball when on.

Helping that dominance of possession and field position was a clinical 40 minutes of kicking by Jackson Hastings. His field kicking was pinpoint, be it long exit kicks or precision attacking touches.

This is something we saw in the final try of the game, the impressive Kyle Feldt climbing above the French defenders to score his second try of the game.

Off the tee too, Jacko kicked six-for-six, which could be priceless come the business end of the season.

I thought the Saints half-back looked a lot more comfortable with ball in-hand too. Touching the ball three or four times a set and taking it into the heart of the Catalan defensive line. This giving the likes on Shane Wright and Curtis Sironen momentum to play ‘to and through’ and get the visitors on the front foot.

This week sees the visit of the Bradford Bulls, the first Betfred Super League match between these two iconic clubs since July 2014.

The Bulls have certainly come out swinging in their return to the top flight, beating both Catalan and Toulouse, and a narrow 27-20 defeat to a much-fancied Hull FC side in the opening three weeks.

Back at the BrewDog Stadium I expect St Helens to come out of the blocks fast, and continue where they left off in Perpignan, which is why I'm backing another big Saints win on the handicap. The St Helens vs Bradford Bulls Odds has Saints as 1/9 favourites with title sponsors Betfred, the draw is 20/1 and Bradford 6/1.

In other news, the Betfred Super League definitely did itself proud in the annual Rugby League showcase in Las Vegas, which hosted a triple-header including two opening rounds of the 2026 NRL season.

Circa 12,000 UK fans headed to Sin City to also watch newly crowned World Club Champions Hull KR be brought brutally back down to earth by a very good Leeds side.

I’ve had my reservations of the Rhinos over the past decade, but that performance was as good as I’ve seen from them in the past 10 to 15 years.

You can clearly see Brad Arthur’s disciplined influence of his team, along with some very good individual performances.

None other than Maika Siva, who crossed for four tries. Former NRL favourite Sivo missed the entirety of the 2025 season having ruptured an ACL during a pre-season friendly.

As much as the opposing fans won’t want to see him in this form, the Betfred Super League is the winner with superstars like this lighting up our premier competition.

Current Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel Jake Connor also stood out, controlling the game from start to finish. I’ve been quite critical of Connor over the years, having absolutely no doubts about his abilities, but his attitude and actions on-field at times letting him down. Again, Arthur’s stern coaching seems to be paying dividends for both Jake and his teammates.

Noisy neighbours Wigan Warriors also made their statement of intent last weekend, with a 54-0 demolition of the Leigh Leopards.

We all know the strike powers of the likes of Bevan French and Jai Field, who were both on top form, but I thought they looked like a team who’d decided they wanted to dominate their opponents physically first. They looked both powerful, as well as athletic.

There’s definitely going to be some huge battles this season in the Betfred Super League. Bring it on!