SAINTS take on Leeds Rhinos in the Fifth Round of the Tetley’s Challenge Cup this Saturday with another tight and titanic game expected.
Both sides have dished up some classics over recent seasons with last minute wins the order of the day.
Saints edged the first meeting this season with a late Tommy Makinson try securing a 14-10 victory.
“Every time we play Leeds it is a close game,” Nathan Brown said. “Since I have been at Saints we have won a couple and they’ve done the same. Every game has been a good game of footy and this one will be no different.
“The respect from club to club is high. Our away support has been brilliant and they will travel in numbers again. It is a big tie at a great place, on a great field and I have no doubt the winner would fancy themselves to push through and have a genuine chance of going to Wembley.”
Saints will welcome back a number of players on Saturday with Jonny Lomax, Luke Walsh, James Roby and Alex Walmsley all expected to return.
Anthony Laffranchi, Willie Manu and Gary Wheeler aren’t available though and Kyle Amor is rated as 50:50.
“We played two games of very different significance last weekend,” Brown continued. “We played a very good Wigan team and there wasn’t a great deal in game. It was three tries apiece in the first half and it was a good half to watch.
“They were a little bit better than us and that showed in the second half. They scored a nice try from a kick and a nice shift try too then it was pretty even after that. We weren’t far away but we weren’t good enough to beat a side of Wigan’s quality.
“On Monday we had 12 or 13 blokes out of the top 25 not playing and it was always going to be a tough game. It was one I would have liked us to do better in but there were a lot of positives. The young kids did well. The likes of Luke Thompson, Joe Greenwood and Andre Savelio really put their hands up and others contributed too.
“That is great for the squad moving forward and hopefully we will see the benefit down the line. A fresh Roby, Lomax and Walsh is a good thing for us and the time off will do them well.”
He continued: “Leeds are a good side who I predicted would be one of the teams to beat at the beginning of the season. They are in good form too.
“Over the weekend they bumped into a Bradford side who aren’t where they would like to be. Salford have a new coach and a talented squad so what Leeds did to them showed the quality they have.”
Tickets for the match remain on sale from the Ticket Office at Langtree Park, by calling 01744 455 052 or by logging on here.
