St Helens boss Paul Rowley has assessed his side’s 18-6 defeat to Warrington Wolves, and also provided an update on Jonny Lomax.
The Red Vee lost at the Brewdog Stadium for the first time this season, in a result that brings a run of seven home games without defeat to an end.
Tristan Sailor scored the opening try, capitalising on an incredible solo effort, however that would be the only try of their game, with Saints now failing to score a try in six of their last 10 halves of rugby – a significantly concerning stat.
Rowley offered his verdict on the outcome, saying: “I thought it was probably a good game for the neutral to watch. I thought we dominated the first half.
“[We] probably didn’t get enough reward out of it. We had enough opportunities in that game to score a lot. I thought Warrington dominated the second half.
“The things I spoke to you about at halftime, mainly around the ruck, but yeah, I just thought there were some really big moments where we needed to step up and be a little bit tougher, and we didn’t take that step.
“We got what we deserved, really.”
St Helens half-back set for long-term lay-off
Veteran half-back Lomax departed the action in the first half, and was taken to hospital to have scans on what looked to be a jaw injury.
Rowley confirmed as much, and also revealed where the Saints missed him most. He said:  I think he’s fractured his jaw. So that’ll be a long-term for Johnny, unfortunately.
“He’s had some terrible luck, as have quite a few of the boys. Hopefully it’s not, but it’s a suspected broken jaw, so that’s really bad news for him.”
The boss added: “Deon [Cross] came on and Tristan [Sailor] filled that [half-back role]. Whilst you’ll always miss someone of Johnny’s leadership and calibre, probably in those tough moments, that’s probably what affected us most.
“His leadership would have been great, being on the field. But in terms of how we wanted to play and having half-backs and people in key positions, it wasn’t too disruptive.”
