St Helens continued their winning streak as they saw off York Knights to move second in Super League with an impressive win.
After racing into a 16-0 lead, Saints were pinned back by York but eventually won 40-16 with the biggest cheers all night coming as Jack Welsby scored on his return from injury.
The full-back was named on the bench but was subbed on to play in the halves but the bigger team news was that Daryl Clark missed out, seemingly rested, as Bill Leyland was loaned in to start.
It was Leyland who the scoring underway with a scoot from dummy-half before a quickfire Owen Dagnall double as Saints made it 16-0 inside 20 minutes. Fears of an onslaught stopped as Jesse Dee crossed over twice before half-time to cut the lead to just six.
After a 20-minute stalemate to start the second-half, Saints finally broke through and they registered two quick-fire tries through Alex Walmsley and Jack Welsby, before late tries by Jake Davies and Nene Macdonald. Scott Galeano would score a late consolation to soften a scoreline that didn’t reflect the Knights’ effort.
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St Helens versus York Knights talking points
Game-changing 40/20
After 20 minutes it looked like St Helens would be the latest team to run up a huge score but Jesse Dee’s brace before half-time put the brakes on, with the first of those tries coming just minutes after Tristan Sailor failed to ground a try of his own.
York were firmly in the game at that point with the score remaining 16-10 towards the hour mark, at which point Sailor nailed a brilliant 40/20 to give St Helens their first real foothold for a long time.
From there, they sped up quick and Alex Walmsley eventually crashed over to give St Helens a two-try lead, which was quickly added to as Saints ran out comfortable winners in the end.
Spine questions remain unanswered
Paul Rowley knew this dilemma was coming regarding if he shifted the in-form Tristan Sailor out of full-back when Jack Welsby returned and tonight he toed the line somewhat, playing Welsby off the bench.
That was maybe just a case of load management given the fact Welsby is back a month ahead of schedule and perhaps next week is the true dilemma when St Helens take on Wigan in the Challenge Cup, but tonight offered no more answers.
Jack Welsby was brought on and played in the halves with Jonny Lomax shunted to hooker, with Welsby growing into the game and scoring a try similar to when he’d play out of full-back as he arced around the right hand edge.
How and if he fits there long-term is another question and one that has not been answered definitively despite his four-pointer, particularly given the fact that Tristan Sailor was very impressive and made over 200 metres from full-back.
Short-term loan farce
Bill Leyland made a try-scoring return to St Helens as the Hull KR hooker furthers his impressive record when appearing for Saints, scoring after ten minutes, however, serious questions have to be asked about why he was playing and the system that allowed him to play.
St Helens are without a senior back-up hooker but they have plenty of players who can play the position and it seems that Leyland’s addition was simply to provide a rest for starter Daryl Clark, who alongside Leyland, was named in the 21-man squad with there being no mention of a knock by Lee Briers when the assistant coach spoke to the media.
Of course, a late injury could have happened but on the face of it as it stands, Bill Leyland has been loaned in to offer Daryl Clark a rest before next week’s Challenge Cup game. That is not what the one-week loan system was implemented for and if it is what Saints have done then it will surely draw questions over the validity of the system.
HIA injury blows
St Helens have been handed a major blow ahead of next week’s Challenge Cup semi-final after Kyle Feldt failed a head injury assessment, meaning he is ruled out of the clash against Wigan Warriors.
The winger lost his footing and seemed to catch a stray arm that left him unsteady on his feet so it was no surprise to see him fail the HIA, but opponents York also lost one of their own.
Unable to name an 18th man as a result of their huge injury list, York Knights lost Matty Foster and Jesse Dee to failed HIAs and they’ll hope that the pair don’t show any further symptoms so that they can return back in round eleven of Super League after the Challenge Cup break.
The Saints prove too strong 😇#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/hhGlElV5TG
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) May 1, 2026
