St Helens celebrated James Roby’s special day with 26 unanswered points to turn a 12-0 deficit into an impressive triumph.
Highlights
King and Croft combine
After absorbing pressure, Salford struck first with a lovely ball from Oliver Partington sending King Vuniyayawa through and he found Croft to make it 6-0.
Ritson denied
It was nearly one of the finishes of the season when Tee Ritson dived for the corner but Salford’s scramble saw him ground the ball on the touchline.
Slick Salford
After Saints were denied a penalty after an altercation between Jonny Lomax and Marc Sneyd, Salford produced a signature try to carve through Saints’ left with Ryan Brierley and Kallum Watkins linking before Brierley finished things off.
Saints hit back
On his big day, it was inevitable that James Roby would have a say and he did as he carved through the heart of Salford’s defence. Then a sublime Curtis Sironen offload allowed James Bell to score.
Sironen strikes
After a Salford error, Saints struck early in the second half. After creating a try in the first half, Sironen hit a strong line from Jonny Lomax to crash over.
Disastrous moment from Williams
After being unable to deal with a high kick, Rhys Williams looked to pass the ball wide to Joe Burgess, he dropped it allowing Jonny Lomax to pounce and score.
Saints turning the screw
It was a sensational start to the second half from the Champions. After more errors from from the Red Devils, a short side play as Will Hopoate and Tommy Makinson linking allowed the Saints to cross.
Try avalanche
It was like a snowball effect as Saints kept applying the pressure and Salford kept coming up with errors and the next try came as Joe Batchelor hit a strong line and scored.
Talking Points:
Saints need to play direct
When Saints played direct this afternoon they were unstoppable. They have tried to be more expressive in attack this season but they need to go forward first.
Spicy Sironen
It is often overlooked how good Sironen is. He played the game right on the edge today causing Salford plenty of problems in attack and defence.
Salford let themselves down
To go from 12-0 up to 26-12 behind is a real worry for Salford and you have to question what happened to them in the second half.
Injury woes for Salford
Paul Rowley will be sweating on injury blows to Shane Wright and Andy Ackers today as they prepare for a Challenge Cup clash with Huddersfield Giants.
Player Ratings:
St Helens
1 Jack Welsby – 8
2 Tommy Makinson – 8
3 Will Hopoate – 8
21 Ben Davies – 7
25 Tee Ritson – 7
6 Jonny Lomax – 9
7 Lewis Dodd – 7
8 Alex Walmsley – 9
9 James Roby – 8
10 Matty Lees – 8
12 James Batchelor – 8
16 Curtis Sironen – 9
19 James Bell – 8
Substitutes
5 Jon Bennison – 6
15 Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook – 7
18 Jake Wingfield – 7
30 George Delaney – 7
Salford Red Devils
1 Ryan Brierley – 8
22 Rhys Williams – 5
24 Matt Costello – 5
28 Deon Cross – 5
5 Joe Burgess – 6
6 Brodie Croft – 7
7 Marc Sneyd – 6
16 Tyler Dupree – 7
9 Andy Ackers – 6
10 King Vuniyayawa – 7
3 Kallum Watkins – 6
12 Sam Stone – 6
13 Oliver Partington – 7
Substitutes
14 Chris Atkin – 6
17 Shane Wright – N/A
18 Alex Gerrard – 5
20 Eillis Longstaff – 5
