THERE are many things that Daniel Anderson will take with him when the St Helens head coach and his family begin their journey back to Australia after this week’s Super League Grand Final: the admiration and gratitude of everybody at a club against which, during his three years in charge, every other has been forced to measure itself; the respect of everyone with an interest in British rugby league for what he has achieved; and an expanded vocabulary.

“Mythering,” says the Australian in his unpretentious office at Knowsley Road. “They use it around here a lot — it means annoying, bothering, irritating. When my five-year-old told me to stop mythering him the other day, I realised that we would always have something with us that would remind us of St Helens.”

Typically, the modest Anderson makes no reference to his collection of winners’ medals. Having amassed three from Challenge Cup finals, one from a World Club Challenge and one from a Grand Final, victory over Leeds at Old Trafford on Saturday would mean his period in charge has been one of the most successful in the modern history of the sport, and not only as far as statistics are concerned. Under Anderson’s guidance, Saints play a brand of rugby league th at is as exciting as it is relentlessly physical, as brave as it is skilled.

“A coach is mainly a facilitator; you can’t create something that isn’t there,” he says. “We’ve tinkered with systems, tried to evolve the team a little, but basically you try and get players receiving the ball in the position which is their strength.”

At the same time, he acknowledges that Saints have played some extraordinary, and extraordinarily consistent, rugby this season. Last year, going into the Grand Final in a position to win the domestic treble, they were well beaten by Leeds Rhinos. This season, after taking a few games to hit their straps, they are unbeaten in an astonishing run of 24 matches. The manner of that defeat by Leeds 12 months ago, says Anderson, was the key to taking the step forward.

“We were absolutely trounced,” he says. “It prompted a

candid self-assessment. Everyone agreed that if we did the same work we would probably be beaten again, so we outlined a strategy to improve and took a little bit of risk to gain those improvements.

“First, we made a concerted effort to work very, very hard in the off-season. The players had never worked as hard as they have. We took some weight off our senior players, our old hard heads — Keiron Cunningham dropped 10kg in weight — and that has been significant. I’m thankful that my strength and conditioning coach, Apollo Perelini, is so good at his job, but the players had to buy into it.

“Also, we strengthened the medical department and I brought in a second physiotherapist. Luck with injuries matters, but there’s no doubt that we are keeping out players on the field longer or getting them back into the side quicker when they do pick up a knock. Extra fitness benefits in every respect. When you’re fatigued your technique drops and that’s when you get injured, because you put an arm where you shouldn’t or your head goes in the wrong place. Fitness means better technical decisions and that helps you stay away from the rehabilitation room.”

Anderson and all his staff went through a similar process of self-examination, talking to coaches in other sports, reading widely, attending new courses, anything to “find a new edge”, as he puts it. He acknowledges that the length of time the team has been together is another factor in its collective improvement.

“When I say they’re like mates playing in the back garden, it’s a reference to the camaraderie. They all know each other so well, they know where the ball is going, they know they can trust the person next to them to give them everything they can. They are aware that doesn’t guarantee anything, but knowing that everyone will be giving their best means you can stand with them pretty comfortably.”

The final ingredient, Anderson believes, is the town of St Helens itself. “The qualities of the people in the town are engrained in the fabric of the team,” he says. “It’s a tough, no-nonsense place, and in general the people are genuine and honest. You have to have a large quorum of local boys in your team because that’s where your soul is.”

Having guided New Zealand Warriors to an NRL Grand Final, how does he think Saints would fare in the competition? “With their international commitments, the players here get only a month to prepare for a nine or 10-month season. NRL the players get three months. If Saints players got three months to prepare, they would be in even better shape and they’d easily compete in the top four. Leeds, too.”

The Saints players won’t lack motivation on Saturday. Such is their form, they are likely to send Anderson off with the sort of tribute he would most appreciate.

FINAL FACTS
Leeds and St Helens have met four times this season, with St Helens winning the three most recent games

The teams met in last year’s Grand Final, won by Leeds 33-6

The side that won the league (St Helens in 2008) have won five of the past seven finals