Woolf credits forward line

St Helens Head Coach Kristian Woolf has praised his side’s forwards for their performance during their Challenge Cup win over Leeds Rhinos.

Having lost Sione Mata’utia and Matty Lees to a head knock and ankle injury respectively, they needed big performances from the bench. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Agnatius Paasi and Kyle Amor all came off the bench.

Woolf was pleased with the job they did.

He said: “We lost two middle forwards in the opening ten minutes. That certainly unsettled us and it meant players like Kyle Amor and Louie played some big minutes.

“It meant we had to leave them hanging out there because we made interchanges early. They don’t get to make the same impact they normally would.”

Woolf also had special praise for Paasi, who was named Man of the Match. He returned after missing last week’s win over Hull KR under concussion protocols.

He added: “Agnatius was outstanding. I thought he started really well against Salford, but didn’t get the opportunity to keep it going.

“I thought he really showed his worth tonight, in terms of what he will offer us. He has a great carry, great footwork and a skill set he hasn’t been able to show us yet.

“What I like the most is that he backed it up with some really good, aggressive defence as well. I was really happy with his input.”