Super League: St Helens 48-16 Hull KR

Fifth-placed St Helens are now eight points behind leaders Hull FC

Adam Swift scored four tries as St Helens thrashed Hull KR to keep apace with Super League's top four.

Shaun Lunt and Chris Clarkson crossed as Rovers took an early 12-point lead.

But Swift's tries and further scores from Shannon McDonnell, Mark Percival, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Dominque Peyroux and Alex Walmsley saw Saints ease to victory.

Hull KR stay ninth but are one point off the bottom after 12th-placed Leeds and 11th-placed Huddersfield both won.

Swift crossed twice just before half-time to reduce the deficit to four points at the break.

Hull KR then collapsed in the second half as Swift added his third and fourth tries either side of McDonnell scoring after Peyroux's fine break.

Thomas Minns crossed for the visitors but Percival, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Peyroux and Walmsley's tries inflicted a heavy defeat on Rovers, who have now lost four of their last five matches.

However, victory saw Saints end their run of four straight losses.

St Helens head coach Keiron Cunningham:

"We started like a really nervous team which you could appreciate. We've played the top teams in the last three weeks and had a tough month, but we've come out of it with a bit of pride.

"Tonight we didn't start that great, but I thought for the final 50 minutes we looked side a side that could go on and do some special things.

"I'm really pleased for the players, they've been through the mill a little bit. There's lots of positives, to regain momentum takes a lot when you're in bit of freefall, but that's what we did around the 30-minute mark.

"Swifty did a great job. I had a conversation with him during the week because he's been in a sticky patch, a bit up and down. We talked through some stuff and he's got his mojo back, I knew he was going to play well tonight."

Hull KR interim coach James Webster:

"We came into the game busted and bruised. We didn't have one player available that didn't play tonight.

"I was trying to find people at 12 o'clock today and we had to pull a kid out of academy on the way here to warm up in case someone got hurt. The boys tried really, but the weight of possession killed us.

"From the 30th minute I reckon we probably made 90 more tackles than them, which is a massive amount of energy. They had 60-odd more play-the-balls than us.

"They were too big and too strong against a team that physically was very tired side due to amount of possession."

St Helens: Lomax, McDonnell, Fleming, Percival, Swift, Turner, Wilkin, Walmsley, Roby, Tasi, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Peyroux, Knowles.

Replacements: Amor, Richards, Thompson, Greenwood.

Hull KR: Minns, Wadill, Horne, Thornley, Dixon, Blair, Kelly, Tilse, Lunt, Allgood, Greenwood, Donaldson, Clarkson.

Replacements: Walker, Larroyer, Green, Lawler.

Referee: J Smith