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St Helens 44 Castleford 12

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St Helens 44 Castleford 12: Saints keep four-year run going over Tigers

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UPDATED:

23:08 GMT, 17 August 2012

St Helens ran in eight tries to maintain their four-year unbeaten record against Castleford.

Saints, who had lost their last two matches, led 20-6 at the break to dash Castleford boss Ian Millward's hopes of making a winning return to his old club.

Tommy Makinson grabbed two of the Saints touchdowns, including a length-of-the-field effort, with top shows from skipper Paul Wellens, Jonny Lomax and man of the match Sol Soliola.

Strong victory: St Helens kept their run against the Tigers going

Strong victory: St Helens kept their run against the Tigers going

Saints were missing Michael Shenton – who returns to his old club Castleford at the end of the season – with an ankle injury and teenage co-centre Josh Jones was sidelined with a dead leg.

Jon Wilkin was also unfit with a thigh problem but Soliola was back after missing the last two defeats by Warrington and Wakefield.

Winger Ade Gardner was expected to return after being out since April 9 with an eye injury but was omitted and Adam Swift and Gary Wheeler formed a new centre partnership.

Cas, who had lost their last eight meetings against Saints, were without suspended Jamie Ellis with Ben Johnston playing only his second match after his debut in last week's heavy defeat by London Broncos.

Saints were favourites to repeat their 18-12 victory at the Probiz Coliseum but by a bigger margin, with Cas having lost four in a row to leave themselves in danger of the wooden spoon.

But the Tigers made an encouraging start with prop Jacob Emmitt held up over the line against his old club.

However it was Saints who took the lead after seven minutes when Anthony Laffranchi bravely dived on a kick from Jonny Lomax before crashing into the hoardings.

Laffranchi needed treatment before being helped off the pitch as Tommy Makinson struck the conversion.

Josh Perry would have scored his first try for Saints if he had held onto a pass before Lance Hohaia lost possession to squander another chance.

Cas refused to be overawed and a neat reverse pass from Craig Huby was almost rewarded with a try.

But Saints made it 12-0 midway through the first half with Wellens taking a smart return pass from Chris Flannery to cross with Lomax also involved in the move.

Saints were unlucky to concede a penalty for obstruction and Cas took advantage of their good fortune for Paul Jackson to crash through a posse of defenders with Danny Orr landing the conversion.

Wellens was again the key man for Saints' third try with his long pass missing out two men to allow Makinson to squeeze over in the corner and take their advantage to 16-6.

Flannery latched onto Lomax's kick to extend the Saints lead to 20-6 just before the break and leave Cas facing a near-impossible task.

The Tigers could not be faulted for their effort and sterling defence kept out Makinson early in the second half.

But a full length of the field try from Makinson after collecting a Richard Owen kick near his own line stretched the lead to 26-6 with Wheeler booting the conversion.

Wheeler grabbed Saints sixth try from Hohaia's kick and landed his second goal to make it 32-6.

The Tigers problems piled up when Swift went over with Wheeler again on target.

Lomax scored a deserved try to extend the lead before Steve Snitch crossed for the Tigers' second touchdown with eight minutes left.

Salford 10 St Helens 32: Saints making late surge under Rush

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Salford 10 St Helens 32: Saints making late surge under Rush

PUBLISHED:

22:40 GMT, 22 June 2012

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UPDATED:

22:40 GMT, 22 June 2012

Mike Rush hailed Jon Wilkin's impact as St Helens produced 32 unanswered points to secure a dogged win.

Saints came back from 10-0 down after Vinnie Anderson and Danny Williams had got the Reds off to a flyer and Rush said: 'Jon's been in good form a few weeks now. He pushes, kicks and defends really well.

'He's having a very good season for us. We took our chances well.'

Thomas Makinson of St Helens (L) evades a tackle from Jodie Broughton of Salford City to score their third try

Thomas Makinson of St Helens (L) evades a tackle from Jodie Broughton of Salford City to score their third try

Josh Jones and Lance Hohaia levelled the scores for Saints before Wilkin's high kick saw Tommy Makinson edge the visitors ahead. Tries for Jonny Lomax, Michael Shenton and Paul Wellens sealed the points.

'We were in the game right until the end. I'm disappointed for a lot of the guys in the dressing room,' said Salford boss Phil Veivers.

Salford let slip a 10-0 lead against St Helens for the second time this season as Rush's men continued their impressive run in the Stobart Super League.

The Reds conceded 38 points without reply in going down 38-10 at Langtree Park in February and there was a touch of deja vu as they were once more unable to maintain their early promise, with Saints finishing strongly at the City of Salford Stadium.

Saints have now lost just two of 11 league matches under Rush and Keiron Cunningham, both to leaders Wigan, and have their sights set firmly on a seventh consecutive Grand Final appearance.

Salford have little left to play for apart from pride but the final scoreline did little justice to their efforts, with the visitors running in three converted tries in the last six minutes. St Helens were without prop Josh Perry but they had all nine players involved in last Saturday's internationals and two of them, Lance Hohaia and Jonny Lomax, especially caught the eye.

Yet Salford dominated the first half, highlighted by touches of class from stand-off Daniel Holdsworth in particular, and they deserved their 10-6 half-time lead.

Hohaia breached the Salford line midway through the first half but referee James Child had spotted an obstruction and it was the Reds who opened the scoring three minutes later.

Inevitably, Holdsworth was at the heart of the move as he supplied the final pass for former St Helens back rower Vinnie Anderson to go past Paul Wellens for a try, to which Holdsworth added the conversion.

Hohaia had another try disallowed, this time for a knock-on, before Salford stretched their lead through Danny Williams.

The former Newcastle Falcons winger, who this week signed a new two-year contract, produced a superb finish after Salford ran the ball on the last tackle and Chris Nero cleverly drew the Saints defence out of position.

St Helens hauled themselves back into the game just before the break when centre Josh Jones collected Hohaia's towering kick to touch down and Tom Makinson added the goal to cut the gap to four points.

It was all square two minutes into the second half when Hohaia went over from dummy half for Saints' second try and the visitors went in front for the first time on 53 minutes when Jon Wilkin's kick hung in the wind and enabled centre Michael Shenton to get Makinson over at the corner.

Makinson was unable to master the wind with either of his latest conversion attempts but, at 14-10, the momentum was firmly with the visitors.

The Reds continued to look lively but they suffered a blow when tough-tackling forward Shannon McPherson hobbled off on 65 minutes and there was no way back for them when Wellens tapped the ball back from Wilkin's high kick for Lomax to touch down.

Saints then made sure with two further tries through Shenton, who followed up his own grubber kick, and Wellens, with substitute Lee Gaskell kicking three conversions.

St Helens 54 Bradford 0: Bulls thrashed

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St Helens 54 Bradford 0: Perfect 10-try show as injury-hit Bulls are thrashed

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UPDATED:

21:15 GMT, 8 June 2012

Double trouble: Paul Wellens

Double trouble: Paul Wellens

St Helens avenged their defeat at Odsal in March with a 10-try show against the injury-hit Bradford Bulls.

Teenager Josh Jones led the way with a hat-trick and skipper Paul Wellens and Jonny Lomax grabbed two tries each as Bradford, backing up only four days after beating Castleford, trailed 28-0 at half-time.

Tommy Makinson plundered 18 points with a try and seven goals from nine attempts.

St Helens welcomed back Anthony Laffranchi and 11-try top scorer Francis Meli who missed Sunday's draw at Hull.

Both have been named in the Exiles
squad to face England next week. Ade Gardner was still sidelined, with
Shaun Magennis suspended, and Jones, who has signed a new three year
contract, partnered Castleford-bound Michael Shenton in the centre.

Bradford were missing Brett Kearney, Jarrod Sammut, Matt Diskin, Jason Crookes, James Donaldson, Nick Scruton, Elliot Kear, Craig Kopczak and Chev Walker, with Adrian Purtell awaiting further tests after suffering a heart attack a fortnight ago.

Saints took only six minutes to go ahead when Wellens wriggled over the line after Lance Hohaia was held short but Makinson, whose last-gasp penalty at Hull salvaged a point, was off target with the conversion attempt.

Sia Soliola was proving a handful for Bradford who faced a strong wind in the first half.

The Bulls held out until the 21st minute when slick handling between halves Lomax and Hohaia put Jones over to open up a 10-0 lead.

Bradford's task became even tougher when Lomax took a return pass from Soliola, who brushed off Keith Lulia, four minutes later to sweep under the posts and make it 16-0.

Wilkin's kick then caused havoc in the Bulls defence with Jones latching on to a loose ball for a scrambled try on the half-hour with Makinson converting from wide out.

Lomax carved Bradford apart with a weaving run to send Francis Meli over just before the break and open up a 28-0 advantage.

John Bateman, linked with a move to Warrington, gave the Bradford fans something to cheer with a strong run early in the second half.

But the Bulls conceded a sixth try when Wellens pounced on James Roby's kick to make it 34-0 after 52 minutes.

It became worse for Bradford when Makinson went over before Hohaia strolled through woeful defence to extend the lead to 44-0.

Saints rattled up a half-century of points for only the second time this season when Lomax finished off a superb move in style before Jones completed his hat-trick.

St Helens 10 Hull 22

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St Helens 10 Hull 22: Black and Whites fight back to pile misery on Saints

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UPDATED:

22:58 GMT, 9 March 2012

Hull came from behind to consign St Helens to their fourth game without a win.

The Black and Whites produced a resilient performance to keep chipping away at a Saints side low on confidence, if not commitment.

Saints had led 10-4 and appeared in control until the game turned when Jordan Turner raced the length of the field from a sloppy Josh Perry pass.

Going nowhere: St Helens' Anthony Laffranchi tackles Hull FC's Tom Briscoe

Going nowhere: St Helens' Anthony Laffranchi tackles Hull FC's Tom Briscoe

Three Danny Tickle penalties had more or less clinched it for Hull before Wade McKinnon nipped on to a Richard Horne grubber to twist the knife, and send the Saints fans in the 14,875 crowd home unhappy.

Saints got off to an awful start when the Hull kick-off was left by Lee Gaskell and bounced through the fingers of a surprised Tony Puletua to gift the visitors a period of early pressure.

Hull forced a repeat set from a smart kick from Brett Seymour, but the resolute home defence stood firm.

Saints took play downfield and had an early chance to open their account when Jonny Lomax dabbed through a fine attacking grubber, which just evaded the grasp of the supporting prop Anthony Laffranchi.

Both sides tested each other out with long raking kicks on both sides making both teams bring the ball from deep.

The game remained scoreless until the 22nd minute when, after Tickle had been penalised for a heavy challenge on Sia Soliola, Saints made their good position tell.

The ball was flashed right, with Lomax, Lance Hohaia and Michael Shenton releasing wing Ade Gardner who had two men to beat on the line, but went head first to touch the ball down.

Jamie Foster, back in the side after being dropped last week, just drifted his touchline conversion attempt to the left of the uprights.

Hull hit back on the half-hour mark when a sizzling solo effort from full-back McKinnon left the Saints defence clutching thin air on his dummying and stepping run to the line.

Tickle missed the conversion and there was no further score with the teams going in level at the break.

Saints were first on the scoresheet six minutes after the restart when big man Puletua dummied and turned to stretch over for a try goaled by Foster.

Saints seemed to have the game in control and were playing a patient brand of football until Perry's attempted flick pass went to ground and was snapped up by speedster Turner, who raced 80 metres to touch down.

Tickle's touchline conversion just about scraped over and then 15 minutes from time he gave Hull the lead for the first time when he slotted a 30-metre penalty to make it 12-10.

Hull had the game by the scruff of the neck, and forced another repeat through a smart kick. The pressure told and Saints gave away another penalty within Tickle's range to put the visitors four points up with 10 minutes to play.

And Tickle's boot made the game safe with another penalty – this time for obstruction – four minutes from time.

The game was already sewn up when McKinnon added the final touch.

London Broncos 24 St Helens 34: James Roby inspires Saints fightback

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London Broncos 24 St Helens 34: Roby inspires Saints fightback in thriller

James Roby inspired St Helens as the visitors began their Stobart Super League campaign with victory at The Stoop.

Roby grabbed a late clinching try,
created two others and produced an all-action display to guide Saints to
a comeback triumph.

For the Broncos, the team known as
Harlequins for the past six years, it was a tough-luck story after they
led 18-16 at the interval.

Going over: Chris Bailey of Broncos scores a try

Going over: Chris Bailey of Broncos scores a try

Following their off-season recruitment drive, the Broncos fielded a new-look line-up, with seven players in the starting 13 making their debut in London colours.

Saints themselves had Lance Hohaia and Anthony Laffranchi making their first starts, with Paul Wellens and Michael Shenton missing due to injury.

The Stoop had passed a morning pitch inspection, and despite looking hard in places, the turf looked in good condition.

The visitors went ahead in the fourth minute, Roby slicing open the Broncos defence and allowing Jonny Lomax to canter home.

Not today: Antonio Kaufusi can't get past Sia Soliola and James Roby

On the run: Chad Randell breaks free

Broncos corralled: Antonio Kaufusi (left) and Chad Randell (right) can't get free

The Londoners soon had a try of their own though, Michael Witt's clever kick gathered by Michael Robertson who crashed over.

Saints, last season's losing Grand Finalists, were content to kick for territory and force the hosts to attack from deep.

And the percentages game paid off for St Helens after 19 minutes when the hosts were penalised, Andrew Dixon cashing in moments later after stepping inside Luke Dorn to touch down.

The visitors had their tails up, and opened up an eight-point lead shortly afterwards thanks to the boot of Jamie Foster after the Broncos were penalised once more.

There was still plenty of life in the hosts though, Olsi Krasniqi reducing the arrears when he muscled through three tacklers to crash over.

Saints nudged further ahead with another Foster penalty, only for some magic from Craig Gower to give the hosts the lead for the first time right on half-time.

All smiles: Broncos' Olsi Krasniqi celebrates a try

All smiles: Broncos' Olsi Krasniqi celebrates a try

Scrum-half Gower elected to chip on the last tackle, catching the Saints defence off-guard and allowing Chris Bailey to storm over at the sticks.

Hohaia thought he had put Saints ahead right after the restart, only for his try to be chalked off for obstruction.

It did not take long for the visitors to put that behind them though, another Roby break freeing up Foster to cross in the corner.

It was proving a real nip-and-tuck affair, with both sides giving as good as they were getting.

Royce Simmons' men slowly seemed to be getting the upper hand, with the hosts twice unable to convert spells of possession close to the Saints line.

And the visitors were to make them pay, Francis Meli helping himself to a try after Robertson made a hash of gathering a Lee Gaskell grubber.

To their credit though, the Londoners had not given up the fight, with another Gower kick causing confusion and Witt grasping the loose ball to touch down after 65 minutes.

The game was proving a real thriller, but it was Roby who fittingly had the final word when he wriggled over to seal the points.