Super League: St Helens 34-12 Catalans Dragons - Saints beat Dragons to close gap at top

Lewis Dodd collected his own clever kick to score St Helens' second try

St Helens closed the gap on Super League leaders Catalans Dragons with a crushing win in slippery conditions.

A blistering start saw Tommy Makinson and Lewis Dodd cross before Regan Grace danced through against a Catalans side who had won 12 league games in a row.

Mathieu Laguerre's classy score got the French side on the board but Joe Batchelor replied after the break.

Mickael Goudemand's try gave hope, but Lachlan Coote crossed to seal an emphatic win for the champions.

Catalans had won of 15 of their 16 league games, but a sloppy opening on a soaked surface following relentless rain cost them dear at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

They remain top on win percentage with 15 victories from 17, compared to 12 from 14 for Challenge Cup winners St Helens.

Early home pressure told when Jonny Lomax's looped pass was perfectly timed for Makinson to scoot over in the corner for his fourth try of the season.

The dominance continued and Dodd kicked a loose ball forward and gathered to touch down before Grace jinked inside and then out to cross for his 16th try in 15 games. The third of three Coote conversions earned an 18-0 lead inside 20 minutes.

But an outclassed and an inexperienced visiting side, missing the creativity of Josh Drinkwater and Sam Tomkins, managed to respond through Laguerre, who scored after a stylish dummy earned him space.

Dragons were further depleted when Joel Tomkins was forced off with an elbow injury and Saints stretched their lead after the break when Batchelor ran on to a delightful Lomax kick to slide in and touch down.

And although Goudemand's simple close-range score rewarded commendable Catalans spirit, Coote made sure there was to be no sensational comeback with a try and kick that brought his personal points tally to 18.

St Helens coach Kristian Woolf: "I'm happy that we did what we had to do. Once we got out to 18-0, we dropped our intensity a bit.

"It was a real stop-start, slow game but the positives are we found 34 points in terrible conditions.

"I'm really happy with how Lewis Dodd is coming along. He's got terrific confidence and we've got terrific confidence in him and you can see why.

"He's doing a lot of good things and he's only going to get better.

"He came up with a couple of really big plays. He has a terrific step off both feet and can play with instinct. Where he is going to learn is in his game management."

Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara: "I couldn't be happier. The young players were great. They've dipped their toe in the water and know what it feels like at the highest level.

"It was very difficult for them all to come in at once but I thought they did a tremendous job.

"We had 18 standing before kick-off and we lost our bench completely before the end but we still found a way to keep moving.

"It was important with the young team we had out there that we started well but James Maloney missed an early kick to touch and we didn't see much of the ball after that. But I wanted the team to show their character regardless and they did that in abundance.

"I would have loved to have come here and got the win but ultimately that character and effort just wasn't enough."

St Helens: Coote, Makinson, Naiqama, Percival, Grace, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Thompson, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Mata'utia, Amor, Pa'asi, Welsby.

Catalans: Mourgue, Franco, Whare, Laguerre, Yaha, Maloney, Rouge, Goudemand, Da Costa, Dudson, Jullien, McMeeken, J. Tomkins.

Interchanges: Seguier, Le Cam, Chan, Dezaria.

Referee: Liam Moore (RFL).

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