Simon Grix has previewed Saturday’s Round 20 fixture against the Saints at the MKM Stadium…
The Black & Whites will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins on home soil for the first time this season after victory over reigning champions, Wigan Warriors, last time out.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Grix said: “We’ll see the team lists, and both sides will have a lot missing. It’s not wide open, but it could give you anything this game; I don’t know how it will go.
“I know we’re going to try and play how we’ve been practicing despite the changes. We want to play our way and be smarter than last week. We gave away 8 or 9 turnovers in our half, and against a big team, we’ll get punished again if we do that. I want to see us learn our lessons from last week.
“We need to make smart choices. Again, the team is going to be changed, so the route I want to go down is playing how we’ve practiced, obviously, but just sticking together. There will be tough periods within the game, and we’ll have to drag each other along.
“Communication goes off sometimes when you have multiple swaps and changes in your team, so it’s about not getting flustered by that and staying in the fight. With both teams depleted, if we can get too late in the game, when energies are low for both sides, we’ll see where we are at. We want to give ourselves the best chance we can.”
It was the Saints who were FC oppositions during Grix’s first game in interim charge of the first-team squad, and he believes he has seen the squad progress since that match in April.
“At that time, it was a youthful team that went and played over there, and there’s been lots of change since. There’s been a lot of improvement in a lot of areas across the group. Getting senior players back on the field has helped that, but we’ve lost a lot again now, so we’ll be back to looking youthful. Hopefully, we’ve learned some lessons during that time.
“We’re up against it again, and it’s a challenge. It’s been a steep learning curve for our young lads, but we find ourselves in a position where the team is almost picking itself. They’re going to have to be tough and show some togetherness this week.
“We’ve got some tough fixtures in the coming weeks, and our job is to coach and prepare with what we’ve got the best we can. We won’t sweep the negative away, but we need to be upbeat. We’re concentrating on ourselves and keeping smiles on our faces no matter what is thrown at us.”
On this weekend’s opposition, he added: “They’ve got a heap of injuries as well, bad injuries, to a lot of front-line players who would be playing. There’s a lot of pressure over at St Helens, and the noise will be pretty loud over there because of what they’ve been able to achieve in the last few seasons. People expect a lot of them.
“I’ve seen calls for Paul Wellens, and there’s a little bit of context needed around that club at the moment. They’ve got a lot missing and some further bans this week. There’s a lot going on. They’re dark horses; in essence, if they get those blokes back towards the end, then they’ll be in the mix. I wouldn’t write them off just yet.
“We know how it feels, I suppose, but I’m not sure they’ll be too worried about us or sympathetic towards our plight. No one is. Everyone is just getting on with their own stuff.”
And Grix also praised the Black & White Amy for their continued support, with almost 1,500 supporters backing the side in the South of France last weekend.
“It’s certainly appreciated when they’re behind you. France was unbelievable, really; it took me back to my playing days when Warrington used to have a big following over there. The fans have been good, but I think they’ve been anchored as well with what’s gone on at the club.
“They’ve come to terms with where we are on our journey towards getting back. That’s definitely helped us. They’re going to see some youth now who are really proud to play for this club, along with everyone else who is proud to wear the jersey. They will give everything between now and the end of the year. It doesn’t matter who is on the pitch; they will give it their all, and hopefully we get a little bit of luck along the way, and then we might get some wins as well.”
Simon Grix is proudly sponsored by Rowe Freight.
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