St Helens end round nine of Super League joint-top of the table, after defeating Wakefield Trinity 18-12 on home turf.
Racing to a 16-0 lead at the break, Saints’ only points of the second half came via a Jackson Hastings penalty goal, but that needn’t matter with their defence doing enough to keep Trinity to just two tries.
Jake Davies, Kyle Feldt and Tristan Sailor all got on the scoresheet, whilst Saints’ middle unit all need praising for their efforts in a deeply physical battle between two of the competition’s best packs.
Rowley spoke to Sky Sports post-match to give his assessment, as Saints found another way to win this year, something they have found a habit of doing in recent weeks.
Explaining his overall thoughts on the game, the Saints boss said: “It wasn’t polished today, by any means, but we must remember we’re playing Wakefield, they’re very high on confidence, they’ve targeted this game for a while.
“They’re a team that challenge you defensively as well, so sometimes it looks a little bit disconnected or a little bit chaotic, but they challenge you and that’s what you get playing teams like Wakefield.
“They’re a good team, I fully respect them… we did some good work in that first half and ultimately conceding 12 points is a great effort, so we got the job done.
Asked how he felt with the game hanging in the balance with Trinity threatening to score, he said: “I didn’t enjoy any of that second half, to be honest.
“I was calling for a few things, I thought there were a few dodgy forward passes in there, but yeah, that’s what you do when you’re getting a little bit nervous.
“I’m concentrating on our boys, and like I said before, it wasn’t polished, certainly in that second half there’s a lot to work on, but unbeaten at home, and just knocked off a really top team in Wakefield, so a lot to be pleased about as well.”
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St Helens boss unmoved by league positioning despite sitting top of Super League
Looking at the run of games Saints have, May could be a very telling month for Rowley’s side, with a Challenge Cup semi-final, and then potential final, as well as away trips to Huddersfield, Castleford and Leeds coming up.
Rowley said the side must “treat everybody equally”, and that the league table at this stage is irrelevant, given how anyone can beat anyone on their day, as proved with shock results coming for the Giants and Tigers.
“There’s inconsistencies in teams, and that’s probably the difference,” Rowley said. “It will be the difference between the top and the bottom, but certainly the quality is there right across the board, and we’ve been shouting for this sort of parity in the Super League for such a long time, I think finally we’ve got it.”
Saints look to have got through the game unscathed, in what will be a first for a long time given how many injuries they have picked up throughout 2026. With players nearing returns, Rowley will soon have some selection dilemmas on his hands as he has to choose whether to pick players that are perhaps more established, but have been injured, other players who have shown their worth over the past few weeks.
“What’s hard about it is that they’ll come back in and they’re undercut, and there’s no real steady pathway in,” Rowley said.
“They’ve got to just get up to speed straight away, and that’s not possible. We can’t bring too many back at once, so there’s a few challenges with that.
“I’m really comfortable picking the players that deserve to play, and if you’re worried too much about next week or the week after, then you come unstuck, so we’ll just take every week as it comes, and generally things will find their own way, and things will fall into place as and when.
