2022 St Helens RLFC season
This article details St Helens rugby league football club's 2022 season. This is the Saints' 26th consecutive season in the Super League.
| 2022 St Helens RLFC season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super League XXVII Rank | 1st | |||
| Play-off result | Grand Final | |||
| Challenge Cup | Semi-final | |||
| 2022 record | Wins: 23; draws: 0; losses: 7 | |||
| Points scored | For: 674; against: 374 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| Chairman | Eamonn McManus | |||
| Head coach | Kristian Woolf | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Langtree Park | |||
| Avg. attendance | 11,861 | |||
| High attendance | 17,980 | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Tommy Makinson (22) | |||
| Goals | Tommy Makinson (87) | |||
| Points | Tommy Makinson (262) | |||
| ||||
Season review
On 10 February, St Helens began their Super League campaign against Catalans Dragons. In a rematch of the 2021 Grand Final they repeated their success, this time with a 28–8 win.[1] This was followed with a 38–6 win Hull F.C. that saw St Helens move to top of the table on points difference.[2] Their good form continued as they won their opening five games[3] before suffering an unexpected 22–20 away loss to Toulouse Olympique.[4] In April, St Helens faced Catalans Dragons in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and progressed with a 36–20 win.[5] They then reinforced their position at the top of the league with wins over Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants.[6] In the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup, St Helens lost to Wigan.[7] Meanwhile they continued to perform well in the league and a 13–12 win over Wakefield Trinity in July moved them six points clear at the top of the table.[8]
At the end of August, St Helens suffered their only home loss of the season, 34–18 to Wakefield, but despite this were confirmed as league leaders' as Wigan also lost.[9] The final round of the regular season was a top against bottom clash in which St Helens won 36–16 over an already relegated Toulouse.[10] As league leaders', St Helens began their play-off campaign at the semi-finals stage with a 19–12 home win over Salford Red Devils.[11] At the 2022 Super League Awards on 20 September, Jack Welsby was named the Young Player of the Year.[12] On 24 September, St Helens won 24–12 against Leeds Rhinos to become the first club to win four consecutive Super League Grand Finals. Jonny Lomax was named as the man of the match.[13]
Results
Pre-season friendlies
W Win L Loss
| Date | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 January | Leigh Centurions | H | Totally Wicked Stadium | W | 16–6 | Bell, Makinson, Simm | Dodd, Walmsley | [lower-alpha 1][14] |
- Alex Walmsley Testimonial
Super League
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St Helens (C, L) | 27 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 674 | 374 | +300 | 42 | Advance to Semi-finals |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 27 | 19 | 0 | 8 | 818 | 483 | +335 | 38 | |
| 3 | Huddersfield Giants | 27 | 17 | 1 | 9 | 613 | 497 | +116 | 35 | Advance to Elimination Finals |
| 4 | Catalans Dragons | 27 | 16 | 0 | 11 | 539 | 513 | +26 | 32 | |
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 27 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 577 | 528 | +49 | 29 | |
| 6 | Salford Red Devils | 27 | 14 | 0 | 13 | 700 | 602 | +98 | 28 | |
| 7 | Castleford Tigers | 27 | 13 | 0 | 14 | 544 | 620 | −76 | 26 | |
| 8 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 27 | 12 | 0 | 15 | 498 | 608 | −110 | 24 | |
| 9 | Hull FC | 27 | 11 | 0 | 16 | 508 | 675 | −167 | 22 | |
| 10 | Wakefield Trinity | 27 | 10 | 0 | 17 | 497 | 648 | −151 | 20 | |
| 11 | Warrington Wolves | 27 | 9 | 0 | 18 | 568 | 664 | −96 | 18 | |
| 12 | Toulouse Olympique (R) | 27 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 421 | 745 | −324 | 10 | Relegated to the Championship |
Super League results
W Win D Draw L Loss
Play-offs
| Date | Round | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September | Semi-finals | Salford Red Devils | H | Totally Wicked Stadium | W | 19–12 | Batchelor (2), Bennison | Makinson (3), Lomax (FG) | 12,357 | RLP |
| 24 September | Grand Final | Leeds Rhinos | N | Old Trafford | W | 24–12 | Bennison, Hurrell, Lees, Percival | Makinson (4) | 60,783 | RLP |
Team bracket
| Eliminators | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Catalans Dragons | 10 | 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 20 | |||||||||
| 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 20 | 5 | Leeds Rhinos | 12 | |||||||||
| 1 | St Helens | 24 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | St Helens | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Huddersfield Giants | 0 | 6 | Salford Red Devils | 12 | |||||||||
| 6 | Salford Red Devils | 28 | ||||||||||||
- Source:Rugby League Project
Challenge Cup
W Win L Loss
| Date | Round | Versus | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 March | 6 | Whitehaven | A | Recreation Ground | W | 46–4 | Amor, Batchelor, Dodd, Lussick, Norman, Percival, Roby, Sironen | Makinson (7) | 4,869 | RLP |
| 9 April | Quarter-final | Catalans Dragons | A | Stade Gilbert Brutus | W | 36–20 | Batchelor, Dodd, Knowles, Norman, Percival, Welsby | Makinson (6) | 8,624 | RLP |
| 7 May | Semi-final | Wigan Warriors | N | Elland Road | L | 18–20 | Hurrell, Lomax, Roby | Makinson (3) | 22,141 | RLP |
Players
Squad
Gains
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will Hopoate | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2 Years | August 2021[15] |
| Curtis Sironen | Manly Sea Eagles | 2 Years | September 2021[16] |
| Joey Lussick | Parramatta Eels | 3 Years | September 2021[17] |
| James Bell | Leigh Centurions | 2 Years | September 2021 [18] |
| Konrad Hurrell | Leeds Rhinos | 1 Year | October 2021[19] |
Losses
| Player | Club | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Bentley | Leeds Rhinos | 2 Years | June 2021[20] |
| Joel Thompson | Retired | — | June 2021[21] |
| Lachlan Coote | Hull KR | 2 Years | July 2021[22] |
| Theo Fages | Huddersfield Giants | 3 Years | October 2021[23] |
| Kevin Naiqama | Sydney Roosters | 1 Year | December 2021 [24] |
References
- "Betfred Super League Round-Up | Round 1". RFL. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round-Up | Round 2". RFL. 20 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round Five Round-Up". RFL. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round Six Round-Up". RFL. 20 March 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Challenge Cup quarter-final round-up". RFL. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round-Up | Easter Monday". RFL. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Wigan fight back to clinch Challenge Cup final spot in Elland Road classic". RFL. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round 20 Round-Up". RFL. 24 July 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round-Up |publisher=RFL". 30 August 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Betfred Super League Round-Up | Round 27". RFL. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Leeds and St Helens to meet in Betfred Super League Grand Final". RFL. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Brodie Croft named Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel for 2022". RFL. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "Saints make history by completing four-peat". RFL. 24 September 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- "St Helens win Alex Walmsley's Testimonial Match against Leigh". RFL. 22 January 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- "St Helens clinch signing of Will Hopoate". Sky Sports. 10 August 2021.
- "St Helens seal signing of Curtis Sironen". Sky Sports. 2 September 2021.
- "St Helens sign Joey Lussick on 3 year deal". LoveRugbyLeague. 15 September 2021.
- "St Helens sign James Bell from Leigh Centurions". LoveRugbyLeague. 23 September 2021.
- "St Helens confirm signing of Konrad Hurrell from Leeds Rhinos". Sky Sports. 23 October 2021.
- "Leeds Rhinos sign James Bentley on 2 Year deal". Sky Sports. 18 June 2021.
- "Joel Thompson announces he will retire at the end of 2021". BBC Sport. 22 June 2021.
- "Hull KR confirm signing of Lachlan Coote from St Helens". Sky Sports. 7 July 2021.
- "Huddersfield sign Theo Fages on 3 year deal". Sky Sports. 14 October 2021.
- "Kevin Naiqama signs for Sydney Roosters after abandoning retirement plans". Sky Sports. 8 December 2021.