St Helens v Hull: Team news
Leaders St Helens face in-form Hull at Knowsley Road on Friday.
By Andy Clarke
Last Updated: 03/08/07 6:55am
St Helens v Hull
Knowsley Road
Friday August 3, KO 8pm
Super League leaders St Helens will be without stand-off Leon Pryce for their clash with in-form Hull on Friday.
Pryce has been banned for three matches after being found guilty of ungentlemanly conduct by an RFL disciplinary panel.
Hull go to Knowsley Road on the back of a run of four successive victories which have lifted them to fourth in the table.
They are still without full-back Shaun Briscoe, but he is making strides in his recovery from a broken jaw and could return against Warrington next weekend.
Coach Peter Sharp has praised the recent performances of his back row which have lifted the Black and Whites into play-off contention.
"We knew it was an important month for us and we stepped up to the challenge," Sharp told the Hull Daily Mail.
"We played a little better against Rovers and that gave us a lot of confidence and we have grown in confidence in the last couple of weeks.
"Our back row is in particularly good form at the minute.
"Danny Tickle, Willie Manu and Lee Radford have played the house down and the rest of the side have jumped on the back of that."
St. Helens squad: Wellens, Gardner, Gidley, Talau, Meli, Pryce, Long, Fozzard, Cunningham, Gilmour, Wilkin, Roby, Bennett, Graham, Hargreaves, Smith, Clough, Fa'asavalu, Tyrer, Flannery.
Hull FC squad: Burnett, Dowes, G. Horne, R. Horne, Hall, Head, Houghton, King, Lee, Manu, Tony, Tickle, Sing, Raynor, Thackeray, Wheeldon, Washbrook, Whiting, Radford, Maiava.