St Helens missed out on a home play-off clash as they lost to Leigh Leopards but head coach Paul Wellens has picked out the positives.
In an incredibly physical game at the Leigh Sports Village, St Helens ended up as 18-12 losers despite a second-half resurgence looking like it could take them over the line.
Leigh led 12-0 at the break with tries from the departing John Asiata and Ricky Leutele, both who put in mammoth performances, but after Leutele’s controversial sin bin in the second half, Saints found their way back in.
They scored twice whilst at a man advantage to level up with 20 minutes to go but Josh Charnley’s 247th Super League try and a Matt Moylan penalty saw the home side hold out, condemning Saints to sixth and a trip to face Warrington Wolves.
Asked for his immediate thoughts post-match, Paul Wellens told Sky Sports: “I really enjoyed the game, really enjoyed watching it, great to be a part of. Obviously disappointed we came out on the wrong side of the result but like I said before the game, this just had a playoff feel to it and the game showed up in that way as well.”
St Helens optimistic heading towards Warrington Wolves showdown
Credit: Paul Currie/SWpix.com
It could have been a very different game had Tommy Makinson’s early try not been ruled out by the video referee. Sione Mata’utia was adjudged to have intervened with Lachlan Lam, somewhat controversially and the St Helens boss did note that as a turning point.
In a reflective mood, Wellens explained: “I thought we were unfortunate with the disallowed try in the first half, but again, that’s one to look at. In big games like this, some calls go your way, some calls don’t. You have to accept that and move on.”
As for the game overall, he was surprisingly upbeat, arguing: “That’s a defeat on the scoreboard, but in a lot of ways, it’s a win for us. In the last three or four weeks now we have kept taking positive steps in the right direction. We did that again tonight.”
Going forward, St Helens will travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium to face a Warrington Wolves side who beat them just a few weeks back and have won their past two games by an aggregate score of 120-0.
On that daunting task, Wellens said: “We know it’s going to be an immensely tough challenge next week, but going back a few weeks ago it looked like we weren’t going to be there. Now we’ve got a ticket and we look forward to the challenge of going to Warrington.
“We’ve played them a number of times this year and been unsuccessful there but we feel that we’re making the right improvements and we’re looking forward to the game again.”
