St Helens pulled off an emphatic 18-4 victory over Leeds Rhinos in Round 15 of Super League at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
Saints had an 8-0 lead at half-time thanks to two Kyle Feldt penalty conversions which were added to by Deon Cross sliding over.
Leeds hit back early through an unconverted Riley Lumb effort but then Saints came back again, Owen Dagnall and Tristan Sailor going over to secure the 18-4 win.
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Harry Robertson stopped Leeds Rhinos’ Ryan Hall from scoring with a massive last ditch tackle
The victory for the injury-ravaged Saints ends Leeds Rhinos’ five-match winning streak, earning St Helens arguably their biggest win of the season.
Meanwhile, Wakefield Trinity pulled off a massive 16-10 win over Wigan Warriors, increasing Hull KR’s lead at the top of the table to four points.
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Jon Wilkins and Jodie Cunningham questioned Leeds Rhinos’ attitude in their loss to St Helens
Saints show steel and grit to pull off win over in-form Leeds
In the sweltering St Helens summer heat, the encounter started with both sides going set for set.
The home side were completing well and got the first points on the board on the ninth minute as Harry Newman was pinged for a high shot on Sailor, Feldt sending over the conversion for the 2-0 lead.
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Deon Cross got St Helens first try against Leeds Rhinos by using a great piece of skill to fool the defence
With 20 minutes gone, there was nothing separating the two teams, a low scoring match seeming to ensue but St Helens winning the territory battle.
Just four minutes later, St Helens were afforded another penalty as James Bentley broke out early from the scrum, Feldt taking another two points to put his side 4-0 up.
The moment of the half then arrived as Ryan Hall looked certain to score as he intercepted and raced 90 metres downfield but not for a sensational Harry Robertson tackle that held him up over the line, his team-mates helping to send the prolific winger into touch.
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Riley Lumb scored Leeds Rhinos first try against St Helens to get them back in the game
That was the catalyst for both sets of fans to raise the noise levels inside the ground, but handling errors continued to cost Leeds and give Saints territory.
After toiling and toiling on Leeds’ line, Saints finally crossed the whitewash on the stroke of half-time, some silky handling ending with Cross dummying and sliding over to give his side the 8-0 lead at the break.
Leeds needed a response in the second half and they made sure to provide it in quick time, a Miller break from back-to-back sets ending with hands to send Lumb over in the corner, Jake Connor’s conversion attempt bouncing off the post as the score was brought to 8-4.
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Owen Dagnall put St Helens firmly in the lead after finishing a fine attacking move against Leeds Rhinos
However, St Helens held firm and hit back again on the 63rd minute through Dagnall on just his second Super League appearance, a delayed pass allowing him to use his footwork to power over, Feldt converting for a 14-4 advantage.
From there, handling errors crept back in for Leeds so every opportunity they had was quickly nullified, the visitors chancing their arm but to no avail as the clock ticked down.
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Tristan Sailor powered through the Leeds Rhinos’ defence to extend St Helens’ lead.
Saints then firmly rubbed salt in the wound as Sailor finished off some silky hands and carried two with him to go over with just seconds left on the clock, wrapping up what could be a season-defining 18-4 win.
Wakefield stun Wigan and give Hull KR advantage in process
Wakefield dealt a major blow to Wigan’s hopes of clinging onto the coat-tails of Super League leaders Hull KR as they battled to a stirring 16-10 win over the defending champions at the DIY Kitchens Stadium.
Lung-busting prop Caius Faatili was the chief architect of Trinity’s third straight home win over Matt Peet’s men, a result that sees them rebound from two straight defeats and rise back into the play-off places in their first season back in the big time.
The hosts richly deserved the points against opponents who, despite being boosted by the respective returns of Bevan French and Luke Thompson, failed to summon the desired response to last week’s close shave against Huddersfield, and slid to a costly third defeat of the campaign.
Wellens: We were exceptional in defence | Arthur: We had a bad attitude
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St Helens head coach Paul Wellens praised his team’s grit and toughness inn their win over Leeds Rhinos
St Helens head coach Paul Wellens…
“That was a really good win.
“We were really tough tonight, really gritty and we needed to be.
“I think to keep a team as potent as Leeds to four points on a night like this on the back of a short turnaround is exceptional.
“We said moments tonight were going to matter and Harry Robertson’s bit of desperation epitomised what the team is about.
“Across the board defensively tonight we were really strong.”
“Talent doesn’t win you the big games, it is endeavour that does.”
Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur…
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Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur believes his team took their game against St Helens too lightly.
“There is too many things to talk about that went wrong.
“We didn’t do the simple things right and often when there is too many things you get wrong, it affects your attitude.
“They had a great attitude, they turned up, we took the game too lightly.
“It is a good kick up the backside and we need to respond from it.
“Our response is going to be really important moving forward.
“Maybe we think we are going better than we are.”
Sky Sports will again show every game of Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
