Wakefield Trinity have seen their hopes of a top two finish crushed with Daryl Powell’s side potentially even out of the top four by Tuesday night.
As for St Helens, they’ve kept their slim play-off hopes alive with this thumping 46-16 win over Trinity, a game where Tristan Sailor once again showed his incredible value as he scored a hat-trick and assisted three more.
Wakefield raced into a 10-0 lead after just 13 minutes and it looked set to be a routine win for Trinity and another dismal loss by Saints, however, Tristan Sailor and Lewis Murphy scored before the half-hour mark to give them the lead.
Tray Lolesio restored Wakefield’s lead before the end of the half but Saints scored six unanswered tries in the second half as Wakefield fans poured out of the stadium, much to the delight of the travelling St Helens’ fans.
Tristan Sailor’s hat-trick score was the pick of the bunch in what was a 34-0 second-half win for Saints as part of their 46-16 win, their biggest of the Super League season.
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Wakefield Trinity and St Helens talking points
Sublime Sailor
To anyone doubting Tristan Sailor’s value to St Helens, just watch this game. Simple as that.
The man makes things happen and there aren’t too many doing that at Saints but he certainly is one of them.
More on his stats and status to come…
Uncomfortable conversations needed for Saints
Aside from Harry Robertson, Jack Welsby is probably the face of this current St Helens crop of players but some uncomfortable conversations need to be had about the full-back heading into 2027 and much of that revolves around the brilliant Tristan Sailor.
The versatile playmaker played three positions on the day (centre, full-back, winger) and that epitomises his time at the club. He has never quite had a specific position during his time at Saints but he has played in all 59 games since joining. In his 52 Super League games, he has recorded 64 try contributions (six of which came today) and the club have deemed him worthy of a new three-year contract.
As for Jack Welsby, who has also registered more try contributions (43) than his 41 Super League games these past two seasons, he is off-contract the end of the 2027 and there will be genuine debate about if Saints are better off with Sailor as their star man, something today highlights.
Sailor’s best position is clearly full-back but St Helens also play better when he’s at full-back. The pair did link up when Welsby moved to left centre with Sailor the man to unleash Welsby as he assisted Murphy’s second, but the evidence across two seasons suggests that the pair can’t both play in the spine and if Jack Welsby wants to be a full-back then he may have to consider options.
Play-off twists
Wakefield Trinity were three minutes away from staking a real claim for the League Leaders Shield last week but 83 minutes of action later, they’re sat in fourth and they could well fall to fifth on Tuesday if Hull KR beat Warrington Wolves.
Regardless of that Hull KR result, Trinity will be four points outside the top two with just eight points to play for, likely ending their hopes of a bye and a home semi-final.
Counter that and St Helens suddenly have hope that they can make the top six. Admittedly, it’s not loads of hope but they’re still a live dog, sitting just four points behind Leigh, who they still have to play.
They’re still a long way off and may need to win all four of their remaining games, three of which are against play-off teams, but this Saints performance may well inspire something magical.
Wakefield down on bodies for Wigan
Trinity will head to Wigan next week in what will be a pivotal game if they want to secure that cherished top two finish, however, Daryl Powell’s side could be down a few key bodies.
Tom Johnstone did not feature in this one on account of a knee injury. Speaking to Sky Sports, he confirmed: “I’ve just had a bit of a grumbly knee from the Leeds game and I stepped and tweaked it yesterday, so we’ve gone pure precautionary. I’ve got a brace on it and I’ve got a scan on Monday.”
That itself is a fear but Wakefield lost two more players in the match as Josh Rourke left the field after three minutes, initially for a HIA, but he remained off on account of a knee injury.
Isaiah Vagana would also leave the field early, dislocating his shoulder in the process of scoring his try in the 13th minute. He joins Jay Pitts (bicep) on the injured list in the forward pack and it’s starting to look that injuries are hitting at the wrong time for Wakefield.
Another issue would be that Jazz Tevaga, who is just one penalty point away from a ban, conceded a penalty for a late hit on the passer, something that almost always carries a charge, and thus a ban for the loose forward.
Uncomfortable conversations needed for Saints
Aside from Harry Robertson, Jack Welsby is probably the face of this current St Helens crop of players but some uncomfortable conversations need to be had about the full-back heading into 2027 and much of that revolves around Tristan Sailor.
The versatile playmaker played three positions on the day (centre, full-back, winger) and that epitomises his time at the club. He has never quite had a specific position during his time at Saints but he has played in all 59 games since joining. In his 52 Super League games, he has recorded 64 try contributions (six of which came today) and the club have deemed him worthy of a new three-year contract.
Onto Jack Welsby, who has also registered more try contributions (43) than his 41 Super League games these past two seasons, but he is off-contract the end of the 2027 and there will be genuine debate about if Saints are better off with Sailor.
Sailor’s best position is clearly full-back but St Helens also play better when he’s at full-back. The pair did link up when Welsby moved to left centre with Sailor the man to unleash Welsby as he assisted Murphy’s second, but the evidence across two seasons suggests that the pair can’t both play in the spine and if Jack Welsby wants to be a full-back then he may have to consider options.
Underfire man responds
Lewis Murphy has come in for plenty of criticism in recent weeks, the large majority that you’d argue has been unfair given the fact he does look to have been carrying that elbow injury.
However, he silenced any critics today before his afternoon sadly came to an early end, as his torrid injury luck continued. Returning to his former club, Murphy showed flashes of his performance levels from that time at Wakefield.
He scored two tries, both of which he took well, but he was also flawless under the high ball and made metres out of yardage. The fact he limped off with a quad issue just after the 50th minute is a major worry given his injury record, particularly on what had proven such a fruitful day for him.
St Helens records in tact
It’s been a much talked about point that St Helens have made the play-offs in every Super League season and with this win, they’ve given themselves a chance of keeping it that way, but they’ve kept up some more impressive records with this victory.
It marked their 52nd win out of the 61 Super League meetings between the two sides whilst it was also St Helens’ ninth straight win at Belle Vue with that run dating back to 2018.
The @Saints1890 stay alive in the Play-Off race 👀 #SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/nxTFRvXrZn
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) August 15, 2026
