League Record – Regular Season:
Played: 23 Won: 14 Lost: 9 Draw: 0 For: 573 Against: 536 Points: 28
League Record – Super 8’s
Played: 7 Won: 6 Lost: 1 Draw: 0 For: 183 Against: 105 Points: 12
League Position:
After regular season: 4th
After Super 8’s: 4th
Player of the Year:
Kyle Amor
The big Cumbrian front-rower took home the award for Player of the Year, as selected by head coach Keiron Cunningham at the club’s end of season awards night. Amor has been a stand out performer for Saints since making his move from Wakefield in 2013 and is a pivotal member of their forward pack which is so dominant when at its best. The 29-year-old managed to crash over for six tries in 2016, taking his tally to 13 for the club.
Season Summary
It was a season of ifs, buts and maybes for Saints as they fell at the semi-final hurdle of the play-offs despite a strong end of season run which saw them close the gap on the top three. They secured four home games in the Super 8’s by winning their final five regular season games, sneaking past Catalans Dragons, with their 23-4 win away to Wigan Warriors in round 23 the stand-out. They lost just once in the Super 8’s in a game where the Warriors gained their revenge before Warrington Wolves put an end to their campaign with an 18-10 victory to move on to Old Trafford.
Talking Points
Inconsistent halves
Saints played most of the season without a consistent pairing in the halves, as they relied on backrower Jon Wilkin and centre Jordan Turner far too often. In fact, Turner was arguably their best in the position and was key to their strong finish to the season, earning himself a move to NRL club Canberra Raiders.
Punching power
With a forward pack as big as the on Saints are lucky to have it makes them a tough team to beat, however they struggled to assert their dominance mid-way through the season. They couldn’t put together consistent performances and too often their threat in the middle was nullified, until they sparked into life at the back end of the season.
Knockout blow
Saints always knew they would be two wins from the Super League trophy after a run of 11 wins from 12 games, but when it came down to knockout football they couldn’t rise to the occasion. The visitors led 10-8 at the break thanks to a Luke Walsh penalty, after Jonny Lomax cancelled out Kurt Gidley’s effort, but second-half efforts from Tom Lineham and Stefan Ratchford saw Warrington advance to the Grand Final.
2017 Ins and Outs
Ins
Luke Douglas (Gold Coast Titans), Tommy Lee (Salford Red Devils), Ryan Morgan (Melbourne Storm), Matty Smith (Wigan Warriors), Adam Walker (Hull Kingston Rovers)
Outs
Matty Dawson (Leigh Centurions), Andre Savelio (Warrington Wolves), Lam Tasi (Salford Red Devils), Jordan Turner (Canberra Raiders), Atelea Vea (Leigh Centurions), Luke Walsh (Catalans Dragons)
