ESL Preview - Round 10 - St Helens
V London Broncos

St Helens coach Ian Millward has ignored London Broncos? 64-6 humiliation at Leeds as he prepares to take on Super League?s Jekyll and Hyde team at Brentford on Saturday.

The Londoners have lost all four away games so far, including one at bottom-of-the-table Leigh and last Saturday?s rout at Headingley, but have been beaten just once in five matches at Griffin Park.

?They might have had some debacles away from home but it?s been debacles for opposing teams when they go there,? said Millward. ?Their home form has been very good.

?They look a lot more confident and enterprising at home. If they play like they did against Wigan, we?re in for a really tough time.

?I haven?t done any video analysis on their last game. I?ve done it on the games they?ve played well in because I think that?s their true form. At the moment there?s two different teams.?

The Broncos are the third highest scorers in Super League, behind Leeds and St Helens, and easily accounted for Wigan at Griffin Park.

Little-known stand-off Luke Dorn, who has scored eight tries in nine matches so far, has caught the eye in his partnership with Thomas Leuluai, the 19-year-old New Zealand scrum-half who was one of 11 close-season signings.

Leuluai, who will fly out to Brisbane after the match to prepare for next week?s Anzac Test, admits the new-look Londoners are still getting to know each other.

?Everybody tries to work out why we?re so inconsistent,? he said. ?We?re a new team and we?re getting to know each other still. Once we get that worked out, we should be on our way.

?Everybody is talking about our home form but it shouldn?t matter where we?re playing.

?We didn?t turn up for Leeds. The enthusiasm wasn?t there and we got blown off the park. If we do the same this week, we are going to get smashed again. We?re just going to have to front up and, if we do that, I reckon we will cause St Helens some problems.

?The likes of Luke Dorn and Mark McLinden have so much skill. We?ve got some class players that can match the St Helens team.?

Leuluai is looking forward to meeting up with fellow countryman Vinnie Anderson, who initially signed for the Broncos before the move fell through because of the club?s financial difficulties.

The international second rower has been an immediate success with Saints and Leuluai knows London will have to close down his penetrative running and slick handling if they are to end their three-match losing run.

?Vinnie was staying with me when he was supposed to be coming to us but things didn?t work out,? said Leuluai. ?I still keep in touch with him.

?He?s a terrific player. He wasn?t going to get a crack at the Warriors so he had to come over here.

?He?s good for them and he would have been good for us but things didn?t work out. He?s been playing well but he?s in a good team with a lot of class players around him.?

Leuluai will be up against a fellow teenager in James Roby, who steps in to fill the boots of Sean Long, who is out for a month after undergoing knee surgery.

Roby will link up with Australian Jason Hooper in the sixth different half-back partnership for the club so far this season.

Saints are also without Paul Sculthorpe, Jamie Lyon and Ade Gardner but Millward has been delighted with the way his side has coped with adversity so far this season.

?We?ve had a lot of injuries but the difference between this year and last year is that we?ve coped with it,? he said.

?I?m very happy with where we?re running. We?ve only had two losses and they could have gone either way. There were controversial decisions in both games.?

In contrast to Wigan, who travelled down to the capital on the day of the game, St Helens have planned an overnight stay.

?It?s an important game and we?ll treat it that way,? said Millward.

With the exception of London?s 40-6 win over Millward?s men at Griffin Park in 2002, there has not been more than 14 points between the two sides in London in the past four seasons.

London v St Helens, Griffin Park. Saturday April 16

London 18-man: Bradley-Qalilawa, Dorn, Greenwood, Haumono, Highton, Hopkins, Kirkpatrick, Leuluai, Lolohea, Lucky Luisi, McLinden, O'Halloran, Purdham, Stephenson, Sykes, Tookey, Trindall, Williams. St Helens 18-man: Wellens, Albert, Talau, Gilmour, Hardman, Hooper, Roby, Fozzard, Cunningham, P. Anderson, V. Anderson, Bennett, Wilkin, Fa'asavalu, Higham, Edmondson, Mason, Moore.

Referee: I Smith

Thanks to: http://www.superleague.co.uk for another excellent article.