Super League: Wakefield Trinity 16-20 St Helens - Saints fight back against spirited Trinity

St Helens full-back Lachlan Coote has scored seven tries this season and his fine kicking has seen him score 116 Super League points this season - the most of any Saints player

St Helens were forced to come from behind to beat Wakefield Trinity at Headingley as they won their eighth Super League game in a row.

Alex Walker sent Wakefield into an early lead which was swiftly extended when Craig Kopczak crossed over.

But Saints hit back and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Lachlan Coote cut Wakefield's lead to 12-10 by the break.

Regan Grace ran in, and Coote's second try sealed it for Saints before Matty Ashurst's late try for Trinity.

The win means St Helens remain top of Super League and pad their win percentage to 76.92% while Wakefield's miserable form continued.

Wakefield have struggled since the restart and have now lost nine consecutive Super League games.

A spirited first-half performance saw them take a shock lead into the break over a Saints side with a much different set of circumstances.

Their formidable 75% pre-match win percentage and seven-game winning streak looked like it may come to an end as Wakefield held onto their lead past the hour-mark.

St Helens, who welcomed back England international Tommy Makinson for the game after his five-game 'low grab' ban, took a while to get going.

However, Grace touched down his 10th try of the campaign to edge Saints ahead and Coote's second wrapped up the comeback for Kristian Woolf's side.

Wakefield Trinity head coach Chris Chester:

"We forced them into some uncharacteristic errors and defended real tough. We made only two errors and also created some opportunities but I thought the difference was they were more clinical with the ball.

"With everything we've gone through, I thought the effort was great. You saw a group of players that really care for the club. Adversity brings teams together and they showed a lot of character tonight.

"I thought the two tries before half-time knocked a fair bit of stuffing out of us but, even when we were down by eight points, I always felt confident we could pull something back."

St Helens head coach Kristian Woolf:

"We just didn't approach the game the way we needed to. Their heads were not where they needed to be.

"We weren't tough enough mentally and errors tend to happen when that occurs.

"Credit goes to Wakefield, who played out of their skins. They completed high and certainly made us work for it. They didn't go away.

"We were a lot better in the second half than the first."

Wakefield: Walker, Johnstone, Lyne, Ashurst, Westerman, Kopczak, Batchelor, Jowitt, Wood, Croft, Hampshire, Tanginoa, Senior.

Interchanges: Fifita, Tangata, Bailey, Battye.

St Helens: Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Grace, Lomax, Fages, Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Knowles, Lees, Bentley, Simm.

Interchanges: Taia, Peyroux, Amor, Welsby.

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