Brown puts faith in St Helens pack

St Helens coach Nathan Brown knows that his middle unit forwards are going to have to be in good form if they want to beat Catalan Dragons this Thursday.

The two sides clash in a play-off semi-final at Langtree Park, and Brown has been impressed by the form the Dragons have shown in recent matches.

“Forwards win big games,” said Brown.

“Outside backs decide the margin [of victory]. That’s been the same for a hundred years, and it will be the same for the next hundred years.

“I’m proud of what our middle blokes have been doing, they’ve done a great job.

“This week we’ll need them to be good again. Catalan have been doing a great job against Leeds and Huddersfield.

“Their middle has been very good, and ours is going to have be exceptional if we’re going to get the result.”

One player who has impressed Brown is not a forward, but the Catalans’ livewire full-back Morgan Escare.

Escare had a quiet game, at least by his standards, in his team’s win over Huddersfield last week, but Brown knows that he is still a considerable threat.

“A lot of people said that [he was quiet], but he’s had a great year,” Brown said.

“Everyone has a game where they’re a little quieter than normal, and sometimes people look in to it too deeply.

“At the end of the day, though, maybe it’s what Huddersfield did to him that made him keep quiet.

“He’s had a brilliant year, and we know that if we don’t mark up on him well, then he’ll appear in the right areas and he’s a terrific player.

“It’s great that he’s a homegrown player for the French, and he’s great for the competition. He’s an exciting player, but we’d just like him to have a quiet week this week.”

Brown believes that the Dragons have threats all over the park, however, and is urging his players to make sure they respect the French team.

“You don’t get to this stage of the year if your roster’s not good,” he added.

“You don’t get there by luck. To finish seventh and beat Leeds and Huddersfield – you don’t fluke those victories.

“They’ll be coming here feeling good, but we’ll be on our home track feeling good too.”