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With St Helens flexing their muscles in the second round of Super League, thrashing the Salford Red Devils 52-6, Souths coach Michael Maguire may be seriously reconsidering the merits of not travelling to England earlier.
If Saint Helens look hot in the English winter, Souths looked pretty cold in their Charity Shield draw with the Dragons at ANZ Stadium.
With concerns now being raised about the problems in Arizona and despite the win at the Nines, Souths’ season is not heading for the ideal start we had expected a few weeks ago.
Flying to England after the return to Redfern carnival this weekend and then travelling to the cold north to play a match in front of a sold-out home crowd in less than a week is starting to look like a big challenge.
The Dragons are already settled into their hotel and gym in Manchester with their 20-man squad (minus George Rose and Trent Merrin, who are still travelling after the All Stars game) and will be well acclimatised when they face the Warrington Wolves on Friday.
The Warrington Wolves defeated the Salford Red Devils 22-8 in Round 1 and have a match this weekend, which the Dragons will be able to attend in preparation for Friday’s match. The Dragons, who are well prepared and have close to their best side available, should be too strong for Warrington.
The Broncos are also in England with an 18-man squad for their game with the Wigan Warriors in the World Club Series match at DW Stadium on Saturday February 21. The Warriors won this weekend 24-16 against Huddersfield, and with the Broncos squad not their top side due to injuries and their coach still travelling after the All Stars game they look likely to struggle in a close game.
Souths have apparently even left naming a squad to go to England to the last minute, so I will have to update you when this comes through, but their preparation for this game looks far from ideal and with scandal following the trip to Arizona not doubt Souths will be keen to keep a tight rein on the players.
St Helens are confident and Souths will need to take their best squad with them and hit the field running if they are to win this cup.
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