NATHAN Brown is expecting a tough forward battle when Saints lock horns with Catalan Dragons this Thursday.
The two sides meet for the third time this season in a ‘winner takes all’ clash at Langtree Park; the prize a trip to Old Trafford next Saturday.
“The battle will be won in the pack,” Brown said. “We have taken a lot of pride in what our middle blokes have done this season and we will need them to be as good again.
“Catalan have done a great job and have beaten three of the top six sides in their last three matches. That shows what a good side they are.
“You don’t get to this stage of the season if your roster isn’t good.
“They have hung on in there and got two victories to come into this semi-final. They will come here feeling confident.”
Saints progressed into the semi-finals courtesy of a 41-0 win over Castleford.
Whilst that scoreline was obviously emphatic and impressive, it was more down to solid tackling and never say die defence.
“Good defence is important, if you don’t do it well you put pressure on your attack and vice versa,” he continued. “We will need to do as well as we did in the Castleford match if we are to give ourselves the best chance.
“We know what works for us and we have to do that well. We also know what doesn’t work for us, so it’s important not to do that. We need compete well and work hard.
“We have had a week off and got through a good bit of training. We planned a week that has worked before when we have had a few games off. We have generally come off periods like that with a good performance and we feel it has been a productive week.”
Tickets for the match remain on sale from the Ticket Office at Langtree Park, by calling 01744 455 052 or by logging on here.
