St Helens converted a 12-16 half-time lead into a 12-40 full-time convincing victory tonight at the John Smith’s Stadium.
The Giants came into the game buoyed by their win at Wigan the previous Friday and in the first half they looked as though they could even repeat that feat against the undefeated league leaders.
Smart play by Saints skipper James Roby created tries for Luke Thompson and Morgan Knowles, but the Giants had drawn level twice with well worked tries by Jermaine McGillvary and Jordan Turner, with both assists coming from fullback Darnell McIntosh and Lee Gaskell adding two impressive conversions.
Mark Percival touched down a Jonny Lomax grubber just before the interval after the Giants had lost Joe Wardle with concussion.
And in the second half Saints added four more tries through Percival Regan Grace, Dominique Peyroux and Jonny Lomax to run out convincing winners, with the Giants’ losing confidence as the game neared its end. Their misfortune was typified by what seemed to be a second try by Turner near the end, with the referee awarding the try but going to the video referee, who disallowed the score for a foot on the touchline.
It was that sort of night for the Giants, but Saints now stand alone at the top of Super League with six wins from six games.
Giants: Darnell McIntosh, Jermaine McGillvary, Innes Senior, Jordan Turner, Aquila Uate, Lee Gaskell, Matt Frawley, Seb Ikahihifo, Kruise Leeming, Ukuma Ta’ai, Alex Mellor, Joe Wardle, Michael Lawrence; Subs: Suai Matagi, Oliver Roberts, Matty English, Sam Hewitt.
Tries: McGillvary, Turner Goals: Gaskell 2
Saints: Lachlan Coote, Tommy Makinson, Kevin Naiqama, Mark Percival, Regan Grace, Theo Fages, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Luke Thompson, Dominique Peyroux, Zeb Taia, Morgan Knowles: Subs: Junior Paulo, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Matty Lees, Jack Ashworth
Tries: Thompson, Knowles, Percival 2, Grace, Peyroux, Lomas Goals: Coote 6
A full report and photos from this game will feature in Monday’s edition of League Express
