Hull KR boss Tony Smith has say on St Helens' standing in Super League era

Saints have had the Super League trophy under lock and key at the Totally Wicked Stadium since 2019 and are well placed to complete an unprecedented four-peat in September.

Kristian Woolf’s side have a healthy cushion at the top of the table with Catalans Dragons, Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants all trying to keep pace with the defending champions.

When asked whether the gap had closed this year, Smith replied: “Early season I would have said no. I thought they were miles ahead of everybody else.

“It’s difficult to say. As a club, they’re miles ahead across the board: depth, their set-up, production line and all that.

“They’re still well out there ahead of all of us but they’ve had a couple of near misses in recent times.

“They’re a good team and still the benchmark in the competition over here, there’s no doubt about that.

“Whether they can keep that up each and every week, that’s the battle.”

Saints are regarded by some as the greatest team of the summer era but Smith, who began coaching in Super League in 2000, does not hold the same view.

“I don’t know that I’d go that far - but they’re a good team,” he added.

“I’ve seen some very, very good teams over a period of 22 years, some pretty outstanding ones.

“I’m very respectful of them and what they do.”

While Saints’ position in the all-time standings is up for debate, beating Woolf’s men is no mean feat.

St Helens have lost only twice in Super League this year, including a defeat at Castleford Tigers with a second-string side.

Smith is hoping Hull KR catch the nine-time champions on an off day.

“It’s a tough fixture and it’s down to how well you execute on the day,” said Smith, whose side were put to the sword by Saints at Craven Park in March.

“It’s hard to be at your very best throughout the whole season. It’s tough for Saints as well. They’re a good team, a very good team, and we’ll have a healthy respect for them.

“They deserve all the accolades they’ve received so far but it all comes down to the day and performing well.

“If you do that against Saints, you give yourselves some sort of chance; if you don’t, you come out on the second end of it and in a bad way.

“You have to really produce a strong performance. Who knows what will happen in sport. We’re not going to rule ourselves out before we play.”

Rovers head into the game in good heart on the back of a resounding win over Salford Red Devils.

Smith felt the victory was his side’s reward for keeping their spirits high during a testing four-match losing run.

“The mood was good before as well,” said Smith. “That hasn’t been an issue.

“A little bit of confidence has been taken from executing a few plays and building a game.

“Morale has been good all the way through. We got a little frustrated at times that we weren’t producing some of our best but it was nice to perform in a solid way.”