St Helens face Catalans Dragons in the semi-final of the Betfred Super League, with head coach Kristian Woolf describing his team as the “healthiest we’ve been all year”.
The Saints have enjoyed a two-week break ahead of this Friday’s semi-final play-off clash.
Woolf said: “It’s a big occasion for us and were certainly going to be at our best for it.”
The hectic schedule imposed on Rugby League teams led to short turnarounds between games.
This meant most players were nott playing consecutive games.
The Saints squad, apart from Mark Percival who is out for the season, is available for selection on Friday.
And the players and coaching staff are heading into the game excited, said Woolf today.
“There is that real excitement, there’s a real energy about wanting to be here, a real concentration around training.
“That’s how I know we’re ready to go, our blokes are well prepared for what’s coming up.”
Saints go into this game off the back of a loss against Wigan Warriors, who play their semi-final on Thursday.
Should both Saints and Wigan win their respective games they will face each other in the final a week later.
The prospect of a derby day final is exciting for both fans and players.
But Woolf’s current and only focus is on Friday’s game.
He said: “It’s the time of the year [where] you get your best games, everything’s on a bit more of a knife edge.
“I’ll certainly watch [Wigan’s game] with interest but our focus will be fully on Friday night that’s for sure.”
Dragons are known for their physicality, especially in the first quarter of the match, something Woolf knows will be important to overcome.
He added: “We’ve got to match that [physicality]. It’s something that really excites our blokes.
“It’s important we use our skill sets and our attributes because we’ve got plenty to our game on top of that.”
The full press conference is below:
The game is live on Sky Sports Mix at 7.45pm this Friday.
