DANIEL ANDERSON'S SIX APPEAL

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ST HELENS are itching to give coach Daniel Anderson the perfect send-off by landing the sixth trophy of his three-year reign — even after suffering the dreaded ‘coathanger’.

Three Challenge Cup wins, one Grand Final success and a World Club Challenge triumph have made the 41-year-old Aussie a superhero.

But he is not always so popular with the players, who plan their own special send-off after Saturday’s Grand Final showdown with Leeds — despite their recent experience.

Anderson took the lads off for a well-earned break in Madrid after the play-off win over the Rhinos but landed a nasty surprise on them on their return.

Second-rower Jon Wilkin said: “We expected something quite physical after a trip away but nothing like what actually happened.

“It was the ‘coathanger’. We had to run from the halfway line, through the sticks at one end, all the way to the other end of the pitch and back to the middle of the pitch. As many times as we could.

“Don’t ask me how many times we did it. It was pretty horrendous. Daniel flogged us to the ground and plenty of us felt really sick.”

Luckily, Saints have fully recovered from their trauma and in the mood to avenge last year’s surprise Old Trafford defeat to Leeds.

The thought of that is enough to knock any complacency out of the system.

Wilkin admitted: “It was a shocker — I don’t think we’d even been behind in a final before under Daniel.

“Now, even though we are 23 games unbeaten, we consistently review own own performances and don’t want any mistakes this time.

Respect

“I can’t wait. The intensity of this game at Old Trafford under the lights is what all sportsmen play for and just walking out there is very special.

“We want to give Daniel the right send-off. He has been fantastic, a coach who always lets you play to your strengths.

“Most of all, he is a good bloke and a man to respect.”

But Saints are warned they will not have it all their own way.

Leeds full-back Brent Webb said: “It just wasn’t the usual Rhinos that played against St Helens. It was probably the worst game we’ve played all season but we’ve turned it around.”