After losing their one-hundred percent start to the season in the south of France last weekend, St Helens had the perfect opportunity to get back on the proverbial horse as they took on the top of the table side, the Warrington Wolves, in a four-pointer.
Saints welcomed back Jonny Lomax to the starting line-up, and Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook on the bench. The Wolves made a couple of changes themselves ahead of the trip to the Totally Wicked Stadium with Mike Cooper and Jack Hughes both back in the starting thirteen.
Both sides had only recorded one loss in 2019, but only one side could win and go two points clear at the top of the table as Warrington’s best attack in the league was taking on Saints best defence.
After an end to end opening ten minutes the first points of the game came from the boot of Lachlan Coote as he kicked a thirty metre penalty.
The first four pointer was a cross between clumsy and freak. Jonny Lomax stripped the ball from Daryl Clarke on the Saints line and as the ball bounced right and Blake Austin picked up the loose ball to dive over. Stefan Ratchford kicked a simple conversion for a 6-2 lead.
Mark Percival levelled the score when, on eighteen, Saints kept the ball alive on the last tackle with Zeb Taia putting the inside ball for the centre to cross. Coote slid his ball wide of the H’s, all square at 6-6.
A second Coote penalty edged the Saints back into a two point lead on twenty-three.
A shocking Mike Cooper tackle on Danny Richardson saw the Wolves prop yellow-carded on twenty-seven and on thirty-seven Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook crashed the Wolves line from five metres out to ground on the line for Saints second of the night. Coote kicked the conversion, the Saints 14-6 ahead.
Three minutes later and the one-way traffic continued as Jony Lomax hit the Wolves line, stepped twice, and made it over fro a four pointer. Coote added the extras an in the nine minutes since Cooper was sin-binned the Saints had opened up a fourteen point lead, a lead that they held until the interval.
On forty-two McCarthy-Scarsbrook has a try turned down as he knocked on as he tries to ground a grubber kick.
Three minutes later Daryl Clark grasped a lifeline for the Wolves as he went right from dummy half before dropping the left shoulder, spinning in the tackle and dropping over the line. Ratchford added the conversion to narrow the margin to 12-20.
A Coote high kick caused mayhem in the Wolves defence as they allowed it to bounce, Matty Lees collecting the loose ball to bounce off two tacklers to score under the sticks. Coote added the extras to put Saints 26-12 ahead.
Regan Grace sealed Saints win when he broke for thirty metres to score. Tom Lineham jumped on Grace after he’d grounded the ball, making contact with the head, and the referee awarded a try, and a penalty, the ‘lesser spotted’ eight point try. Coote kicking both for 34-12.
Kevin Naiqama was provider, at the end of a six pass move, for Tommy Makinson to allow the winger to score a hallmark diving try to the corner to register Saints sixth try of the night, the Wolves now just passengers as they waited for the final hooter. Coote was unable to add the extras, Saints 38-12 ahead.
This was a comprehensive win for St Helens which see’s them jump ahead of the Warrington Wolves to regain the top spot which they reliquished last weekend. It was the perfect response to last weeks disappointment and sends out a message to the rest of Super League that they won’t easily be pushed off their path to the minor premiership. Wolves fans and coaching staff will be upset by the nature and size of the defeat and will look back to that ten minute spell at the end of the first half when they were a man down.
Both sides head into the Easter period looking for two wins to keep their challenges alive.
Saints: Coote (7G), Makinson (T), Percival, Naiqama, Grace (T), Lomax (T), Richardson, Walmsley, Roby, Thompson, Taia (T), Peyroux, Knowles. Subs: Paulo, Amor, Lees (T), McCarthy-Scarsbrook (T).
Wolves: Ratchford (2G), Lineham, King, Atkins, Charnley, Austin (T), Patton, Hill, Clark (T), Cooper (SB on 27), Currie, Hughes, Philbin. Subs: Murdoch-Masila, Clark, Tasi, Davis.
Referee: James Child.
Half-Time: 20-6.
Full-Time: 38-12.
Attendance: .
