St Helens hosted Hull FC tonight with Paul Wellens’ side knowing if they win all of their remaining games, they’ll finish second in Super League.
That task is far easier said than done with fixtures against Hull KR, Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards to come, however, they started that run with a win tonight over Hull FC.
Their 16-10 win was hard-fought with the Red Vee making difficult work of what looked like it could be an easy night initially. Morgan Knowles’ incredible effort from 50 metres out opened the scoring before Davy Litten pulled one back. Ultimately it was the boot that separated the sides with Saints taking their penalties and conversions.
Prior to the game, the major talking points were about injuries with players returning from and ruled out as a result of them. St Helens had to find a way to force Jack Welsby and Tristan Sailor into their side with the answer being Jonny Lomax being benched.
As for Hull FC, they were without John Asiata and Will Pryce with the former finished for the season and the latter unlikely to return. There was a boost in that Aidan Sezer returned, pairing Jordan Rapana in the halves.
Tonight’s result means that St Helens go back into third place in Super League, whilst Hull FC’s chances of making the top six look even tougher given Wakefield’s games against Salford, Castleford and Huddersfield.
St Helens v Hull FC talking points
Jack Welsby the clear number one
Paul Wellens named Welsby as the full-back and his showing tonight, particularly when Tristan Sailor was subbed and he played alongside a halves pairing of Jonny Lomax and Moses Mbye, the England number one looked supreme.
He carries with such intent that defences are fearful whereas with Tristan Sailor, it’s only open space that gets threatened and not necessarily the defensive line. Welsby showed that threat for Moses Mbye’s try as he ran deep into the line before popping it off to allow Mbye to score next to the sticks.
The answer of Welsby at full-back is clear but what that means for Sailor is very unclear as Saints were far better when Lomax was in the halves and Sailor off the pitch.
More Hull FC injury issues
Coming off the back of a game that saw them lose Liam Watts to a HIA and stars John Asiata and Will Pryce for the season, it didn’t take long for the Black and Whites’ injury woes to worsen.
Jed Cartwright didn’t last five minutes before dislocating his shoulder and marching off down the tunnel with his night already over. Depending on what’s to come, it could well be that his season is over as Hull FC look to see their play-off hopes crumble through injury.
For St Helens, Owen Dagnall limped off late on with what looked like a possible torn hamstring but Saints fans will be hopeful it’s just a severe case of cramp.
Painful video referee… again
High quality games are being ruined by low quality video referees every single week. That’s not to say the actual official is always the problem but more so the process, which is incredibly elongated and turns fans off so much.
Twice in the first half, there were lengthy video referee reviews and whilst the correct decision was achieved in both instances, they took a combined five minutes with the second example taking well over three minutes despite looking quite obvious.
Harry Robertson lost the ball in contact on his try line and Davy Litten got there first to ground it. Simple enough, you’d expect but it the initial contact was watched for over two minutes with the clear grounding checked three times. Poor quality cameras, officials scared to disagree with their colleagues and understandable scrutiny serve to cause those delays but the latter of those only comes because decisions take so laughably long.
Martin for England
Lewis Martin scored his 22nd Super League try this year and you have to seriously wonder if he is the man to play for Shaun Wane’s England side. He plays in a fearless style which is probably characteristic of his age and that naivety is his strength.
The winger backs his raw talent and nine times out of ten, it works out. For his try, he rounded Harry Robertson, a player who could well be in the England squad and you’d suggest that maybe Martin should be with him too.
Saints slowing it down
The play the ball speed of Hull FC was incredibly slow and St Helens did so much to contribute to that, most if it legal but plenty bordering on the edge of legal.
They get so many players into the tackle and that helps slow it all down and as a result of that, they’re able to get freakish line speed going with their defensive line allowed vital extra seconds to recover and challenge the ball carriers.
Mastering the dark arts such as this contributed to St Helens’ dominance for four years and it seems they’ve rediscovered the same skill.
Teams
St Helens XIII: Jack Welsby; Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Mark Percival, Owen Dagnall; Tristan Sailor, Moses Mbye; Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees; Curtis Sironen, Matt Whitley. Morgan Knowles
Interchanges: Jonny Lomax, Joe Batchelor, Agnatius Paasi, George Delaney
Hull FC XIII: Zak Hardaker; Harvey Barron, Tom Briscoe, Davy Litten, Lewis Martin; Jordan Rapana, Aidan Sezer; Herman Ese’ese, Amir Bourouh, Yusuf Aydin; Jed Cartwright, Jordan Lane, Brad Fash
Interchanges: Jack Ashworth, Ed Chamberlain, Cade Cust, Matty Laidlaw
St Helens edge past Hull FC to move to second in the table 📈 pic.twitter.com/StgmviSYKP
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) August 22, 2025
