Paul Sculthorpe insists a confident St Helens will not underestimate Leeds in Saturday's Super League Grand Final.
Former Great Britain captain backing team-mates to win this weekend
Paul Sculthorpe believes St Helens will not be underestimating Leeds in Saturday's Grand Final after being shocked by the Rhinos last year.
For the second successive year Saints go into the Super League finale as strong favourites having not been beaten since April.
Leeds will not mind starting as underdogs though having stunned their opponents with a 33-6 win at Old Trafford last year to deny Daniel Anderson's side back-to-back trebles.
But Sculthorpe feels a highly-confident Saints side will not let history repeat itself, even if they are up against an impressive outfit in the Rhinos.
Confidence
"Obviously we're going into this with a great amount of confidence but Leeds are a quality side," he told
Sky Sports News.
"We've got to turn up and play, as last year proved. They can blow you away if they get a good start, then you are playing on the back foot.
"But there's certainly a lot of confidence in the club at the moment but we won't be cocky going into the game. We will have 100 percent respect for Leeds.
"It's important that we go in and do what we have been doing that have won us the games that we have won."
Watching brief
For Sculthorpe this weekend will be a bitter-sweet occasion, the former Great Britain captain hoping his former team-mates can finish the campaign in style.
However, the 31-year-old will be watching on from the stands having decided to hang up his boots having suffered yet another injury setback.
Despite no longer being a member of the playing squad the club's record signing from Warrington will still travel with the rest of the team and be involved in the dressing room prior to kick-off.
Twice named Super League's Man of Steel, Sculthorpe's last game came at Wembley when he was injured in the opening minutes of the Challenge Cup final success against Hull FC.
