ZEB WANTS A GRAND FINALE
ZEB TAIA knows all about end-of-season Super League fade out.
That’s why ‘Mr T’ is determined St Helens end the regular season with a bang, not a whimper.
Shelving friendships with former Catalans mates for 80 minutes at Langtree Park today is part of the bargain.
Guaranteed a shot at the Super 8s, Saints, however, must make the top four to stay on the road to an Old Trafford Grand Final.
They kick-off the final game of the penultimate round five points off fourth-placed Wakefield.
To avoid being cut further adrift Justin Holbrook’s side must beat relegation-threatened Dragons and then Trinity at Belle Vue next Sunday.
It is a scenario that second row powerhouse Taia, 32, knows too well.
He was one of only two overseas stars named in the 2015 Super League Dream Team but while individually it was a great campaign, Dragons were already on the decline.
“I had one season with Catalans under the current system,” said Taia.
“We were lucky to make the Super 8s. As a result we were playing for pretty much nothing because we knew where we stood.
“So we need to win these last couple of games to stay within touching distance of that top four.”
Taia was a member of the Dragons side that lost in the 2014 play-off semi-finals to Saints.
The following season, however, Dragons finished eighth after 23 rounds, eight points off fourth.
Seven Super 8s games later the gap had grown to 10 points and the flip-flops had been on weeks earlier.
“We dropped a couple of games we shouldn’t have this season,” said Taia.
“It’s important we don’t lose in these last two.”
Saints are bidding for an eighth successive home win, while Dragons could hand debuts to on-loan Wigan pair Lewis Tierney and Romain Naverette.