The Saints are going to the home of Leeds United for The Derby against Wigan Warriors on Saturday in the second match of MAGIC WKND 2024,
🪄 MAGIC WKND 2024 SCHEDULE
Saturday, 17th August
Hull FC vs London Broncos – 2:30pm
Wigan Warriors vs St.Helens – 5:00pm
Warrington Wolves vs Leeds Rhinos – 7:30pm
Sunday, 18th August
Leigh Leopards vs Salford Red Devils – 1:30pm
Catalans Dragons vs Hull KR – 4:00pm
Huddersfield Giants vs Castleford Tigers – 6:30pm
Take a look at how the Betfred Super League table looks ahead of Round 22 by clicking here.
â„ą SPECTATOR GUIDE
Are you heading Leeds to enjoy MAGIC WKND? All you need to know for your visit to Elland Road, whether you’re there for the day or the whole weekend!
- Ticket and entry information
- Getting to the venue
- Fan Zone
- Plus a lot more information for you to make the most of your time in the City of Leeds!
đź“° SQUAD NEWS
Head Coach Wellens makes four changes to the squad that got the two league points against Salford. Unfortunately, injuries picked up in that win over the Red Devils will keep Mark Percival, Lewis Dodd, and Daryl Clark out of selection for a few weeks, whilst Morgan Knowles begins his two-match suspension.
Four of our younger Saints step in with prop George Delaney, centre/back-rower Jonny Vaughan, half-back Will Roberts and forward Leon Cowen named in the team. If either Roberts or Cowen are selected to play at Elland Road they would make their official St.Helens and Super League debuts.
Click or tap on the image below to read more about our MAGIC WKND squad news.
Matt Peet takes two changes to his squad that lost out to Leeds last week, with their headline change being Harry Smith who received a three-match ban for a Grade E Striking charge from the defeat to the Rhinos. Ryan Hampshire is the Warriors’ other player who steps out.
Youngsters Tom Forber and Taylor Kerr are the two Wigan men who come into the side, with Forber a hooker coming back from injury and Kerr is a forward.
Wigan Warriors’s 21-man squad vs St.Helens
1. Jai Field, 2. Abbas Miski, 3. Adam Keighran, 4. Jake Wardle, 5. Liam Marshall, 8. Ethan Havard, 10. Liam Byrne, 12. Liam Farrell, 13. Kaide Ellis, 15. Patrick Mago, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Kruise Leeming, 19. Tyler Dupree, 20. Harvie Hill, 21. Junior Nsemba, 22. Sam Walters, 26. Zach Eckersley, 27. Tom Forber, 28. Jacob Douglas, 30. Jack Farrimond, 36. Taylor Kerr.
đź’™ WHAT KIT WILL SAINTS BE WEARING?
St.Helens mid-blue kit has been designed to highlight the remarkable work that all community clubs in our local area have done for so many years, and continue to do so.
Blackbrook Royals, Thatto Heath Crusaders, Pilkington Recs, Portico Vine, Liverpool Lions, Newton Storm, Haresfinch, Garswood Stags, Clock Face Miners, Haydock Warriors, and St Helens Rugby League Referees Society all feature within the fabric of the stylish Saints kit.
Take a look at our film – The Fabric Of Our Club – narrated by the Saints’ greatest ever player – James Roby…
Match-worn shirts auction
The Saints will be auctioning off each of the match-worn shirts from our MAGIC WKND fixture against Wigan Warriors, with all proceeds going towards the Saints Development Foundation.
Full details of the auction will be formally confirmed in the coming days, so keep an eye on our website and social media pages.
™️ MAKINSON WANTS MORE MAGIC MEMORIES
Makinson talks about how the team mood has been lifted after getting back-to-back wins in the last two weeks, and he pays credit to the community clubs St.Helens will be representing in our new mid-blue kit, and the fans who are going to be in the stands cheering our team on this Saturday evening.
Watch the full player preview with T-Mak on Saints TV!
❤ LDSL SAINTS IN ACTION
Our Learning Disability Super League team are taking part in this year’s Magic Weekend!
A popular festival with the team, our LDSL team are ready to take part in another great festival, and continue to showcase the brilliant inclusivity within Rugby League!
With the excitement brewing ahead of the weekend, our LDSL team would also like to pay homage to Tom Blanthorne, one of the first members of the team who sadly passed away earlier this year. Tom was a much loved figure of the group, who loved the Magic Weekend Festival.
We would like to with the best of luck to our 3o players taking to the field, who will be playing with plenty smiles on their faces, and showcase their skill, passion and energy!
đź”» @LDSuperLeague action at Magic Weekend!
30 of our LDSL players will take to Elland Road this Saturday to take part in another Festival!
Best of luck to all our players involved, you’ll smash it ❤#Saintsandproud | @ComIntCare
— Saints Community Development Foundation (@CommunitySaints) August 16, 2024
 HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE GAMES?Â
Saints will be covering the match in full across our Live Match Centre where you can find out the team news, follow live game updates, get behind the scenes photos and catch up on all the stories of the game.
Fans can tune in and watch the games on Sky Sports Action from 4:30pm, and every match from MAGIC WKND is also live on Sky Sports. Supporters around the globe can also watch live on SuperLeague+.
The Club’s social media accounts will also keep supporters updated on the First Team fixture against the Warriors. Follow us on: X/Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Highlights and the full match replay will be available for Saints TV subscribers too, alongside a whole archive of exclusive club content!
 WHO WILL BE THE MATCH OFFICIALS?Â
Jack Smith will be the Referee for Saturday evening’s fixture, and he will be supported by Touch Judges Jonny Roberts and Mark Craven, and as with all Super League fixtures in 2024 there will also be the Video Referee Liam Moore based at Rugby League’s remote refereeing base.
đź’¬ WELLENS AHEAD OF WIGAN AT MAGIC
The Saints will take on our old foes at Elland Road in the second match on Day One of MAGIC WKND 2024, and Paul Wellens talks about the latest surrounding his squad including injury updates.
As a man who has played in many editions of The Derby, Paul Wellens knows how much the intensity rises for Saints versus Wigan, and wants his men to manage that well to come away from the home of Leeds United with a positive result.
Saints TV subscribers can watch the full Coach Preview with Paul Wellens!
THE RECORD AGAINST THE WARRIORS
MAGIC WKND summary
The Saints and the Warriors have faced one another at Super League’s summer festival six times, with St.Helens edging the head-to-head score three victories against two, with honours shared once.
Our most recent meeting at MAGIC was in 2022, with Jonny Lomax scoring a late try thanks to some an outstanding break and dummy by Joe Batchelor to set up the winner.
- 2007 – St.Helens 34-18 Wigan Warriors – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- 2008 – St.Helens 57-16 Wigan Warriors – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- 2009 – Wigan Warriors 38-18 St.Helens – Murrayfield, Edinburgh
- 2011 – St.Helens 16-16 Wigan Warriors – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
- 2012 – St.Helens 16-42 Wigan Warriors – Etihad Stadium, Manchester
- 2022 – St.Helens 20-18 Wigan Warriors – St. James’ Park, Newcastle
Super League summary
St Helens and Wigan have met 104 times across all competitions in the Super League (Summer) era, and in the competition itself Saints have the lead in the head-to-head scores.
The Red V have won 48 Super League matches, including victories in the 2000, 2004 and 2020 Grand Finals, plus play-off wins in 2000, 2002, 2009, 2011 and 2019. The Cherry & Whites have got the victory 41 times in the league, and the honours have been shared in a draw just four times.
Our highest scoring Super League game against Wigan came at the Millennium Stadium for Magic Weekend back in 2008, where we put the Warriors to the sword in a 57-16 victory. Our widest ever margin of victory over Wigan in Super League was a 42-0 win in 2020 in a behind closed doors game at Salford’s AJ Bell Stadium during the Covid pandemic.
Last ten meetings – First Team
Wigan 16, St Helens 12 (SLR17, 12/7/24)
St Helens 12, Wigan 4 (SLR6, 29/3/24)
St Helens 34, Wigan 16 (SLR15, 9/6/23)
Wigan 14, St Helens 6 (SLR8, 7/4/23)
Wigan 30, St Helens 10 (SLR25, 26/8/22)
St Helens 20, Wigan 18 (SLR18, 9/7/22) (at St James’ Park, Newcastle)
St Helens 18, Wigan 20 (CCSF, 7/5/22) (at Elland Road, Leeds)
St Helens 22, Wigan 4 (SLR8, 15/4/22)
Wigan 2, St Helens 26 (SLR20, 20/8/21)
St Helens 24, Wigan 6 (SLR13, 4/7/21)
🔍 A LOOK AT WIGAN
Proudly boasting that they currently hold all four trophies, Wigan are the ones being hunted now after St.Helens’ four-year straight reign as Super League champions came to an end. Spirits at Wigan are high as they look to establish their own dominant period of success.
Head Coach Matt Peet has overseen Wigan win; the Challenge Cup in 2022, followed by the League Leaders’ Shield and Grand Final in 2023. 2024 began in similar fashion with the World Club Challenge victory over Penrith Panthers in February at the DW Stadium, a game that went right down to the wire. Then in June, they secured the Challenge Cup trophy to complete the set and have all trophies in their possession at the same time.
Wigan boast a strong squad in 2024 with a number of high profile recruits this season such as; Kruise Leeming, Adam Keighran and Sam Walters, as well as former Saint Luke Thompson who has returned to these shores following a stint with NRL side Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
Add these new men into a side that has the likes of Bevan French, Jai Field and Harry Smith already in their ranks – it’s not hard to see why many backed the Warriors to do well again in 2024.
Wigan have only tasted defeat five times in 2024 so far, the first of those was to St.Helens on Good Friday to end their winning run of matches which stretched back to July of 2023. However, they built up another winning run and picked up a Wembley victory over Warrington for the Challenge Cup trophy in June.
Staying mostly at the top of the table, Wigan’s spot has come under more pressure in recent weeks with one of the shocks of the season when they lost to Hull FC away, followed by a big defeat to Warrington at home. Catching up on their game hand they have had a busy period in the last fortnight, which ended last Saturday with a big loss to Leeds Rhinos.
The Robins are currently on the top of the ladder heading into MAGIC WKND but Wigan are right on their tails, behind only on points difference. With that loss to Leeds in their memory, this being The Derby against their rivals Saints, and with the race for the top tight, Peet’s men will be eager to perform.
THREE TO WATCH
- Zach Eckersley – like Saints’ Harry Robertson, their young stand-in outside back has shone when given the opportunity to play, scoring a try at Wembley and in The Derby at Wigan’s stadium in July
- Jai Field– incredibly quick, he does not need a second invitation to strike in space, and his evading runs
- Junior Msemba – a rising star in the Warriors’ ranks, the tall and powerful back-rower has made himself very much at home in their pack and is a tough man to tackle
⏠NEXT UP AT HOME: SATURDAY SIZZLER 🔥
