SIX weeks ago, when they trudged off the pitch in Perpignan after their fourth loss in a row, Saints were not the only ones staring into the abyss.

Barely two years into the concept, the whole system of Super 8s and its slogan of every minute matters looked as though it was going to have a pretty hollow ring to it.

It very much looked like the top four of Hull, Wigan, Warrington and Catalans had racked up an unassailable lead that it was essentially going to condemn those finishing below to seven weeks of dead rubbers.

No matter how much spin and marketing would have been put on this between now and October, it would have been deeply embarrassing for rugby league.

Sport is sport – there are winners and losers and the possibility of this sort of scenario happening, despite attempts to regulate the competition, is always high.

Thankfully that script, for the time being, has been ripped up.

If only we had listened to former skipper Chris Joynt, who once famously declared at Old Trafford in 2000, that you should never write off the Saints.

It is as true now, as it was in 2000, or in 2014 when Saints defied the odds, overcame plenty of criticism and made those who sought to ridicule them eat their words,

That Keiron Cunningham’s have slowly built their confidence back up and strung together five wins on the spin is only part of the picture.

Who would have predicted Catalans, who had looked the real deal for large parts of this year with their team stacked with NRL stars, would slump to five losses on the trot?

It has made it pretty tight, going into the Super 8s with Saints on 28 while Catalans are on 26. Just what the organisers will have wanted, really.

With the points for and against still in the Dragons favour, it is worth just being more than a little cautious.

The feeling that Saints have overtaken the Dragons on the bend and are now buoyantly bouncing down the home straight while the Dragons tie up, looking behind them instead of ahead is prevalent among the pundits and fans alike.

But in a year that has twisted and turned Cunningham is right to urge caution about the team ‘not falling in love with itself’.

Saints’ convalescence after their four-game losing run was helped by playing teams below them, Hull KR, Wakefield, Widnes and Huddersfield.

That is why it was so important to nail Wigan – a top four side – in a year that has seen little in the way of big scalps hanging from the Langtree Park totem pole.

What should be sobering is that Saints kick off their Super 8s by facing the four teams above and around them, on the bounce – Warrington, Catalans, Wigan and then Hull.

With the finishing line so close all eyes will be on that four-pointer at Langtree Park – a place where the Dragons have a remarkably good record.

Sure, it’s not been a vintage year so far – and there’s not been a great deal to cheer up to now, but things are getting better on the pitch.

If we could bottle the atmosphere from the away end at DW Stadium, or from Huddersfield the previous week for that matter, and transport it to Langtree Park for that Dragons game then it may just provide that crucial lift and, without getting too carried away, who knows where this year could still take us.