St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham revealed after their World Club Series defeat to Sydney Roosters that he was pleased with the response from last week’s defeat to Salford.
The Saints lost 38-12 to the Roosters at Langtree Park on Friday night to ensure the NRL went 1-0 up in the three-match series, but Cunningham said that the key difference was Trent Robinson’s outside backs.
“I thought we started really well,” Cunningham said. “I was happy with the response we got from last week. It was bit of a tough call for play in the build-up to the first try.
“I’m proud of my middles, the difference was the outside backs of Sydney Roosters. They took their opportunities and got a lot of tries against the run of play.
“That’s why they are where they are, they are a great side, full of stars who can do a lot of special things.”
Cunningham also said he felt the scoreline didn’t do justice to the game.
“It was unfortunate the scoreline blew out as it did, I didn’t think it justified the game. I thought it was a lot closer than that.
“It was a good challenge for my boys. I didn’t think my middles fell short but we, weren’t too great in the halves and the outside backs let us down in certain areas.
“Dominique Peyroux was the shining light for us among some of our kids.
“We had some busted bodies out there, with a few people playing with needles and I thought they did well for us.”
