Jon Wilkin backs former club St Helens to fully fire in attack at Salford
Watch Salford v St Helens live on Sky Sports Arena from 7pm on Thursday
Thursday 28 February 2019 22:53, UK
Jon Wilkin believes St Helens are not yet fully firing in attack but thinks his former club will produce a big performance at Salford.
Wilkin will provide analysis for Sky Sports in Thursday's live match at the AJ Bell Stadium and expects St Helens to maintain their 100 per cent record this season.
His 16-year career at St Helens came to an end after last season and he has been impressed with the way Justin Holbrook's side have defended in the opening month of the campaign.
Wilkin said: "I just think they look very powerful and obviously the big headline last year was Ben Barba moving on and maybe the potential impact of that. I think people forgot that Alex Walmsley was coming back into the team.
"I think him, Luke Thompson and James Roby might be one of the best front rows in world rugby right now. I don't think there's many that can match the variety and skills those guys have got.
"I've been really impressed with them and also how St Helens have defended. They came through a tough game at Wakefield and defensively managed to hang on and win the game."
St Helens had to work hard for their 27-22 victory over Leeds last week, which was their third successive win, with the team still yet to reproduce their exhilarating attacking game from last season.
Wilkin said: "I thought defensively against Leeds they were super impressive and they'll need to be to when they face Salford with Jackson Hastings, Joey Lussick, Mark Flanagan and a few of those guys that can cause your defence problems if you're not on your money.
"I've been really impressed with St Helens and a development of what saw them win the League Leaders' Shield last season. Obviously I was involved but I think they've developed again. I think they've got a lot more to come with the ball. They're not fully firing at the moment but there are signs that could change."
Looking ahead to Thursday's game, Wilkin added: "I think St Helens will be too powerful and strong. I've got a feeling they've got a performance coming with the ball. Ultimately St Helens are a better team than Salford. If they both play at their very best St Helens win."
Salford have made a promising start to the campaign with their victory over Hull KR last weekend a third win in four matches this season.
"A couple of things need to happen for Salford to play well," Wilkin said. "Hastings needs to have a lot of involvement and feature heavily. If Salford are to win the game he will have to play well.
"I think it's a big night for the last three defenders and they have Flanagan, a loose forward through the middle of the field, so if he can get his hands on the ball, it could help their chances."
St Helens came up short last season despite winning the League Leaders' Shield after a semi-final defeat to Warrington. The Wolves also suffered heartbreak after losing in both the Super League final and the Challenge Cup final.
Wilkin believes both teams' hunger for success, after their near misses, will take them a long way and expects them to be competing for honours this season.
The former England back-rower said: "One thing you need as a club is hunger and there's no better way to go into a season hungry than performing well all year and not winning anything.
"Outperforming everyone week on week and not coming away with anything, there are two teams that fall into that category with St Helens and Warrington after losing both finals. Both teams come into this year full of hunger, a bit like Toronto. after losing in the last game.
"The teams that are most talented and hungry usually do well and in 2005 we topped the league by eight points. We were the best team by a mile but we got beaten in two big games and didn't win a trophy. But then in 2006 we won everything so I'd suggest Warrington or St Helens will do the same this year."
Wilkin is enjoying the challenge of trying to help Toronto reach the Super League and playing in the Championship has allowed the forward to take in much more rugby league this season.
The 35-year-old said: "We've got a game this Sunday at Dewsbury so I'm doing a nostalgic tour of grounds I thought I'd never see again. It's been good and an interesting time. What it's allowed me to do is watch more rugby because Thursday and Friday nights on Sky Sports I get to watch Super League games.
"I've been fortunate enough to cover a lot of the games with Sky and every dark cloud has a silver lining. Playing at Dewsbury on Sunday means I get to cover the game for Sky on Thursday night."