LOUIE McCarthy-Scarsbrook is once again looking forward to locking horns with Wigan Warriors.
The prop forward was Saints’ stand out performer last time the two sides met but the result was anything but.
“We’re going into this game in good form, we’ve had a good couple of wins and are fired up,” he said. “We were in a similar position last season; we couldn’t beat Wigan but went into the playoffs and won twice. We want to finish on a high and put a damper on their final game.
“We know if we don’t win then we will have to go back there a week later – but in any case we’d face Warrington away. Both tasks aren’t easy. This is more about us finishing as high as we can.
“These games are usually played in electric atmospheres and big crowds and we’re looking forward to that. Both sides will want to win. They don’t want to lose at home and I don’t see any side wanting to rest any players.”
Last time out Louie locked horns with Gareth Hock and the two had an ‘altercation’ in the scrum.
“We had a cuddle that’s all,” Louie laughed, “we were tired and he wanted one so I obliged. From there it was handbags really. Looking back at the video the three sending offs were harsh, but that’s what it was and it was dealt with. I didn’t do anything really; I was tying up my shoelaces at the time. Gareth’s a good bloke.”
In the second half of the season Louie has become an impact player off the bench and has produced the sort of form that led him to join the club in the first place.
“Think I have done well and improved,” he said. “It’s difficult not to do that at a great club when you have TP, Sia, Boof and Perry alongside you. I have been picking up little bits from them and then you have Roby who just puts you in a hole and says go on, run.
“Coming off the bench has been good for me too. I’m getting the same game time as if I was starting.”
He continues: “We’re under the radar at the moment and sneaking around. We need to go about our business on and off the field and we know what we need to do to get to the Grand Final. I think we will be there and know what we have to do.
“We were lying in tenth at one point and now we are third, which is a great achievement. It shows the character of the squad and how we come through that adversity. We know when we lose those performances will not get us to a Grand Final. We want to set the record straight there. To show so much character to keep going back is amazing really, but we have to make one count.”
Tickets for the game are on sale from the Ticket Office at Langtree Park until 12pm today. Limited tickets will be on sale at Wigan tonight with cash turnstiles on the North Stand.
