Justin Holbrook paid testament to his side after they produced a strong performance to defeat Hull 26-12.
Without Ben Barba through illness, the Saints kept up their scintillating form to overcome the in-form Black and Whites.
It was another good evening for Holbrook’s men, and he expressed his satisfaction following the game.
“I thought we played really well and it was a good win,” he said.
“When you play your third game in eight days, you need everyone to play well and I thought they did that. All our forwards were really strong. To ask them to do what they have done already and do it in the fashion they did, was fantastic.
“It was a good sign from our boys that after a tough Friday they wanted to back up on Monday and then come through one more tough assignment tonight.
“I’m proud of them.
“Hull are a very dangerous side and they never went away. They have real strike. They scored against the run of play when we could have dropped on the ball – but a bit of NFL, then Tom Brady threw the pass…. but we held on in there.”
One negative was an injury picked up by James Roby, with Holbrook admitting he’s likely to miss next week’s game.
“James Roby is sore, it could be a rib or rib cartilage, which is always painful.
“It’s too early to tell but it would be a big ask to back up next week, although we do have a nine-day turnaround. Matty Smith was excited to get the opportunity and I thought he went well for us.
“He only found out he would play after lunch today. Ben (Barba) was ill and could have played but it was a good sign for the rest of the team to play as well as they did with the disruption.
“That is real credit to the players.”
