Simmons awaits Saints reaction

St Helens coach Royce Simmons is looking for a response from his players as they prepare to welcome back Leon Pryce on Friday night.

Pryce’s Catalan are in town for a mouth-watering clash at Langtree Park, which will be televised live by SKY Sports.

Having lost their 100% start to the season courtesy of last weekend’s 36-36 draw at Hull KR, Simmons is expecting a reaction from his squad, in only their second competitive game at the new stadium.

He told the club’s official website: “I know Leon [Pryce] is coming here and a lot of people are talking about that but I am more worried about what we do ourselves. 

“The players here don’t need telling about their performance, they are upset and we have held a good positive meeting led by the senior players.

“We’ll see what the reaction is this week.”

Catalan have a good record at St Helens, having won on two of their last three visits to Merseyside, but they were heavily beaten 40-18 at the Stobart Stadium last season.

St Helens have won eight of the 13 Super League meetings between the two sides, and they also beat the Dragons 30-8 in the 2007 Challenge Cup final at Wembley.