Super League: Huddersfield Giants 12-24 St Helens - Leaders battle to hard-fought win
- Published
Champions St Helens have now won eight of their nine Super League games this season
Betfred Super League |
|---|
Huddersfield (8) 12 |
Tries: Golding, Lolohea Goals: Russell 2 |
St Helens (8) 24 |
Tries: Bennison, Percival, Batchelor, Lomax Goals: Makinson 4 |
Super League champions St Helens needed three second-half tries as they twice let a lead slip before showing their class to win at Huddersfield.
After Ashton Goulding's try cancelled out Jon Bennison's opener for leaders Saints, it was 8-8 at the break.
But Mark Percival, Joe Batchelor and Jonny Lomax crossed with Tommy Makinson adding four kicks to seal Saints' win.
Tui Lolohea kept the Giants in it with an interception try, but Oliver Russell could not add to two first-half kicks.
Huddersfield, who heavily rotated their squad following the Good Friday draw with Leeds, remain fourth in Super League, only three points behind Saints.
It took the defending champions, missing the injured Lewis Dodd, just five minutes to strike when Bennison cut inside to touch down skipper James Roby's long pass.
However, on 23 minutes the Giants hit back when Jack Welsby coughed up possession, with the ball moving quickly to the right, and Leroy Cudjoe's pass put Golding over in the corner.
After Russell's boot levelled, Makinson's penalty edged Saints back in front before Russell matched him once more with a penalty of his own.
Saints led for a third time seven minutes into the second half when centre Percival stretched out of a tackle to score, again improved by Makinson.
But, although Lolohea intercepted for a 90-metre breakaway try, Russell was unable to convert from out wide - and Saints had more left in the locker.
The champions went further ahead when second row Batchelor dived over off from a pass by the inspirational Lomax, who secured victory with a try of his own six minutes from time.
Huddersfield coach Ian Watson:
"It was a good game for us. It probably proves a few things as well to our own group about how good our strength in depth is. We have to take a lot of confidence.
"If we look where we've come from 12 months ago to where we are now, we're a completely different proposition. We need to make sure we keep building on that to get where we want to get to.
"What we want Huddersfield to be is a good team long-term going forward and consistently challenging, and we know we've got some quality players here."
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf:
"It was a tough one. Huddersfield obviously played really well.
"They really challenged us. They completed really high. We're really happy we got the two points."
Huddersfield: Lolohea; Golding, Cudjoe, I Senior, L Senior; Russell, Cogger; Greenwood, O'Brien, Wilson, Jones, Ashworth, Lawrence.
Interchanges: Levi, Mason, Yates, Hewitt.
St Helens: Welsby; Makinson, Hurrell, Percival, Bennison; Lomax, Roby; Walmsley, Lussick, Lees, Batchelor, Sironen, Wingfield.
Interchanges: McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Pa'asi, Bell, Norman.
Referee: Tom Grant.
Are footballers paid too much? Callum Wilson and Michail Antonio discuss the controversial wages of professional footballers
A terrible moment in sporting history: This is the full story of the tragic Hillsborough disaster
