Taia Backs Saints To Bounce Back

Zeb Taia says Saints are ready to bounce back when they take on Leeds this Friday.

A disappointing 8-6 loss last week to Hull FC was the club’s first in five games and the second rower admits it’s something they need to address at Headingley.

“It was a tough one to swallow because we played so well against Castleford,” he said. “We came back home after a good win but dished up football like that. We were pretty disappointed but the boys are ready to bounce back against Leeds.

“Whoever held the ball in those tough conditions would take home the win and in the end Hull played a lot smarter than us. We’re dirty about that but we are definitely moving on now and preparing for Leeds the best we can.

“It is a big game on Friday for both teams. They need a big game as well as they came up with a disappointing performance against Wakefield.

“Then you add in the event around the South Stand too. It might play on their minds a little bit as they need to put on a good performance.”

He continued: “We will just go over and do what we have been doing in the last few weeks. If the weather isn’t good then hopefully we will play the conditions a lot better than the opposition.

“I think we have the perfect gameplan and if we execute it right we can hopefully get the win.

“They’re a team who don’t play a lot structured footy; they offload and have a lot of passing in their game. It’s one of those matches where we need to trust in each other and defensively tie in.”

Taia will line up against his former Newcastle teammate Adam Cuthbertson – and he picks him out as one to watch.

“I played with Adam at the Knights so know what to expect,” he added. “If he gets that arm free the offload is coming so it is important we stay up, don’t knock off or retreat too early. We have to make sure we defend that stuff as they have a lot of players who have that second ball play.

“We can make the four and reach Old Trafford for sure. We are only one point away at the moment but we know we cannot afford to drop many more games.

“We are going to Leeds to get the win and kick on after that.”

Tickets for our trip to Leeds and our home blockbuster with Wigan on September 1 are on sale from the Ticket Office, by calling 01744 455 052 or online here.

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