ALL TOO EASY FOR WIRE
CASTLEFORD TIGERS 0
WARRINGTON WOLVES 38
CALLUM WALKER
Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Friday
George Williams holds off Jack Broadbent to score
RAIN, sleet or snow, this Warrington side delivers.
SLOWLY but surely, St Helens are getting back in the groove. Such was the mammoth effort required to claim the World Club Challenge on Australian soil, a comedown period was always to be expected for Saints.
But with a still very new head coach in Paul Wellens, the true meaning of two consecutive defeats - a very rare occurrence over the past five years - was uncertain.
After those losses to Leeds and Leigh instilled the first doubts in the minds of some supporters, victory over Hull FC came as relief if not necessarily reassurance that they were on their game again.
But this win at Huddersfield needed all of the grit and grind of champions, and arguably the strongest Saints side to take to the field since victory over Penrith delivered that in abundance. Personifying that effort was Matty Lees, who played the full 80 minutes in the front row. That was a consequence of Sione Mata’utia suffering a head injury inside the very first minute which ruled him out of the rest of the game, and proved highly valuable. He made 68 tackles as Saints spent much of the game on the defensive, particularly in the second half as they defended a lead built by quick-fire Konrad Hurrell and Tommy Makinson tries. Although Ashton Golding and Innes Senior responded for the Giants, a resolute goal-line defence held out when required to ensure a narrow but sweet victory. “To compete and to hang in there the way we did, it was a true test of our character tonight,” hailed Wellens following an “extremely tough” contest. “To lose Sione Mata’utia in the first minute and then our interchange plan gets messed around, what you need in those situations is a team and individuals within that team to play tough and to a man we did that tonight. “It’s a really valuable two points for us in the context of the year but also a great reward for the players’ efforts.”