St Helens vs. Leeds Betting Tips: World Champions can dismiss lacklustre Leeds

Proof of Championship material is often seen in the week after a big game, when a merely great side would potentially take their eye off the ball and lose to a less skilled rival. Just seven days after the greatest win in the club's history in the World Club Challenge in the backyard of Penrith Panthers, however, St Helens proved they were an absolutely elite sporting organisation by heading to Castleford and dismissing the Tigers.

Now back on home turf and with a much smoother preparation than last weekend's the Saints will receive a rapturous welcome as they walk out at the Totally Wicked Stadium world champions 2023 for the first time. They won't want to let the expectant crowd down and Billy Grimshaw is backing them to ease past old rivals Leeds..

If the favourites play anything like they did in Australia a fortnight ago, or even in West Yorkshire last weekend, then this could be a bloodbath. St Helens have looked every bit as good as the vintage of the last four seasons, all four squads that went on to claim Grand Final glory, and Paul Wellens seems to have kept changes to a minimum after replacing his former boss Kristian Woolf as head coach.

Saints are still reliant on iconic hooker James Roby but Joey Lussick is a worthy deputy, and their spine of Welsby, Lomax, Dodd and Roby is comfortably the best in Super League and arguably better than most NRL sides. There is definitely a case to be made that Jack Welsby, with an immense list of honours at 21 years of age, is the most exciting young player in rugby league right now and he has attracted plenty of attention from Down Under. He is already beginning to outgrow Super League and is more often than not the best player on the pitch for Saints, and now back in his favoured position of full back he can have another field day against a sloppy Leeds.

The Rhinos have started the season with an away humiliation at Warrington before losing at home to Hull last weekend, and both offensively and defensively the Rhinos look poor. Their pack has been dominated with and without the ball and their halves of Austin and Sezer look like they couldn't create an opening in an unopposed training session. If Leeds do not massively improve I can see Saints beginning the game strong, Alex Walmsley leading the pack in marching the Rhinos down the field before Dodd and Lomax begin pulling the strings and Welsby and Roby cause chaos. -16 is a big handicap for a game that used to be the clash of the titans in Super League, but this isn't fifteen years ago and Saints are now head and shoulders above Leeds. Back them -16 at evens.

For our second bet I am siding with the new flying hero of the Saints fans, Tee Ritson. Amazingly, Ritson is 27 yet this is his first season in the top flight. Who knows what scouts are being paid for, as this lad has been top tier quality for years now. He had a record of more than a try a game at Barrow in the Championship and is known for his blistering pace and flying finishes.

He has taken a spot on the Saints right wing so far as Tommy Makinson has headed to the left where he excelled internationally, and with Saints' ability to shift the ball wide combined with Leeds' weak left edge defence he looks a good price to open the scoring.

Inside Ritson, expect to see man mountain Konrad Hurrell attracting plenty of defensive attention against his former club. The Tongan cult hero is a much better player in a red vee than he was in blue and amber, and playing outside him for a full season should see Ritson bag plenty of tries.

Welsby of course could pop up anywhere on the field and is famous for his cut out passes to his winger, which is another route to points for Ritson. This could be especially successful against a Leeds side who are easily stretched and outnumbered before their wingers panic and fly in for miracle interception attempts.