Rightly or wrongly, the spotlight in the Betfred Super League Grand Final is on someone who, given Alex Walmsley isn't playing, is now St Helens' most important player: Morgan Knowles.
He's crucial to making this Saints team the dominant side it has been over the last four seasons. He’s integral to them: he’s a real players’ player, who knows how to work hard. In defence he’s good at covering up other peoples’ mistakes, in attack he’s great at getting down and doing things which sometimes are small actions but, married up over a period of time, those small actions help winning teams. You need players like Morgan Knowles who are prepared to do unselfish acts.
But the loose forward is also highly skilful and is a great link between the forwards and backs: he's good at making sure the ball gets out, either to someone else in their pack or to their exciting backline. There would, then, have been a huge, collective sigh of relief in St Helens when they managed to get the Teflon jacket out for him at the disciplinary and he got off that ban this week.
I feel, given Walmsley is injured, that made it almost a needs-must to try everything possible to make sure Knowles gets to play at Old Trafford. And he will. But he will now be under a lot of pressure and we’re going to find out if he can handle it. Like it or not, because of what’s gone on with the disciplinary and how it's unfolded this week, all eyes are on him.
Pressure either makes you or breaks you. As much as pressure can crack and destroy things you also require it to make diamonds. It will be up to Morgan what he allows this extra pressure to do to him. Outstanding players absorb pressure and use it to have outstanding performances. That will be the biggest test for him. The key for Leeds, if they are going to win, is the ‘everybody, everywhere, all at once’ type of defence that was pivotal to beat Catalans and Wigan. They’ll have to buy into that again on Saturday.
BETFRED - PASSIONATE ABOUT SUPER LEAGUE
