Saints go top with win at Wakefield

Betfred Super League

Wakefield (6) 6

Try: Jowitt, Vagana Goal

St. Helens (14) 26

With a wretched victory over Wakefield, St. Helens maintained their 100% record to take the top spot in the Super League.

Saints’ first two rounds of free-scoring were at their best, with 128 points already secured, but Salford and Castleford, who were promoted, held on to a tougher opponent, who held on well into the second half.

At half-time, the visitors had some breathing room thanks to Isaiah Vagana’s strike to keep Trinity within sight, but it was Harry Robertson’s fifth in three games and Jack Welsby’s and Harry Robertson’s.

After romping through the Championship last season, Trinity showed they can compete in the Super League by beating Leeds on the opening day and beating title hopeful Hull KR close last week.

In this regard, Saints also had possession, territory, and work-rate, but ultimately the away side’s back line’s class made the difference.

When faced with an early penalty in front of the posts, Saints showed plenty of respect for Trinity, choosing to take the two points through Percival.

And they advanced even further when Welsby was the first to touch down with the loose ball after Jon Bennison did well to keep the ball alive out wide, Curtis Sironen fortuitously toed it forward as he attempted to pick it up.

Robertson spilled the ball deep into his own half before Wakefield returned and used Vagana’s strength to forcefully crash into a tackle and spin over the line.

The 19-year-old Saints back continued their impressive start to the season by running 70 meters and making amends shortly after Tom Johnstone had juggled and dropped a pass.

After the break, Trinity put together their best performance of the game, when Percival scored a second penalty late in the half, which looked wise.

After making a crucial tackle that saw Corey Hall forced to knock him off in a dangerous attacking position, Saints broke the hosts’ stern resistance.

Daryl Powell, a Wakefield coach, told BBC Radio Leeds:

“We simply didn’t play well enough,” I said. You can’t start poorly against St. Helens because they have an excellent defensive line, too many errors in good attacking positions, and too much lateral play.

“We didn’t get to the game’s speed, and we had too many players making too many errors,” he said, adding that a team like Saints is never going to be good enough.

“Some important things to learn from a few things. We must ensure that we take away from the games we play.

I thought they had just let us out of the game in the second half.

Paul Wellens, the coach of St. Helens, told BBC Radio Merseyside:

It was a fantastic test, they said. That team is not going to struggle this year; they are a really good side with strong foundations both on and off the field.

“Aside from the one try that we conceded, we had some defensive resilience,” according to the report.

We felt more at ease once we reached daylight because the game was in the balance for a while.

Changes: Croft, Atoni, Doyle, and Russell

St. Helens: A. Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, Wingfield, Welsby, Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Bennison, Sailor, Lomax, A. Walmsley, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Batchelor, and Percival.

Bell, Whitley, Paasi, and Delaney are exchanges.