REIGNING champions Saints begin a jam-packed fixture card on Friday night which will give them - should they qualify - little respite until Grand Final day on November 28.
Friday's game at home to last weekend's Challenge Cup winners Leeds Rhinos will be the start of a spell of three games in eight days.
Let's take a look at the six teams Saints must face before the end of the campaign.
In this run-in the coach will have to weigh up the need to secure enough points to secure a top four berth, whilst rotating the squad to keep them fresh enough for the knockout games.
It is a mission that is slightly complicated by the percentage system which means that not all teams may play the same number of games. Teams must pass the 15-match threshold to have a chance of making the top four.
Leeds Rhinos Friday 23 October (At Saints)
Leeds dropped four points before the Challenge Cup Final, which means they are currently out of the top four.
Saturday's absorbing Wembley final will have drained the tank - but they will get a bounce from that piece of silverware and a taste for more...We can discount the old school days of cup winners still seeing corks popping the week after Wembley.
Leeds will be coming to play....and they will be better that when Saints handed them a 48-0 drubbing two weeks in from lockdown.
Salford, Monday, 26 October at Leeds.
Last year's Super League Grand Finalists continue to surprise everyone - and Ian Watson's men will have won many more followers from their gutsy run to the Challenge Cup final and the heartbreaking manner of the defeat.
Their league position means they are playing for pride.....but they will not be rolling over. As this season shows, they seem to relish playing the big boys.
But what does Saints coach Kristian Woolf do here? Three days after the Leeds game and four days before Wigan, does he try and bank the points or refresh and rotate ahead of the big 'four-pointer' derby.
Wigan Warriors, Friday 30 October 7.45pm. (At Saints).
Saints beat a youthful Wigan side the week before the Warriors semi-final.
They are on a bit of a winning streak against Wigan.
But this is a huge game with regards to the league table as Adrian Lam's side is just one win behind Saints.
Psychologically, do Saints need to make sure they get this one in the bank ahead of a possible meeting in the play-offs?
Catalans Dragons, Thursday 5 November (Perpignan).
The Dragons have been the competition's dark horses - but with eight games still to play it seems unlikely that they will fit all of those postponed games in.
They are currently ahead of Leeds on percentages.
They do entertain Saints on Bonfire Night - and will have the benefit of a crowd.
Saints pulverised the Dragons on the opening game after lockdown, but they will expect them to be breathing a bit more fire next time around.
Hull FC (8/9 November TBC)
Still under Andy Last, Hull FC have battled their way up to a 50 per cent record. By the time this game is played their already very slim chances of making top four could be over with.
Could this be another game Saints could use to make full use of their squad - particularly straight after Perpignan - and give extra chances to those starlets pressing for longer minutes and more responsibility.
Warrington (12/13 November TBC.)
The 2020 final league table could go to the Wire - but let's hope not in the literal sense.
This is technically a home game - and having played at Warrington in the reverse fixture - there is a strong case for this being at TWS.
Wolves are the only team to have beaten Saints since lockdown, in the Challenge Cup. So having been nilled by them in the Super League fixture earlier on the piece, this is definitely a run that needs ending before we enter the play-offs.
But all will depend on what points Saints have in the bank for this one.....If Saints are home and hosed, and Warrington for that matter, then this could be a bit of a phony war game before the following weekend's semi-final.
All fixtures and venues subject to change given the circumstances of dealing with Covid as the competition battles to a finale.
This year there will be a reversion to the 1 v 4, 2 v 3 semi final with the final set for Saturday, 28 November.
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