St Helens moved to the top of the Super League after fending off Huddersfield Giants to earn a 18-16 victory on Thursday.
Paul Rowley’s side bounced back from a heavy 32-0 defeat to rivals Wigan Warriors in the Challenge Cup semi-finals by making it five consecutive wins in the league and will keep a close eye on second-placed Leeds Rhinos, who can return to top spot if they beat Wigan Warriors on Friday, live on Sky Sports.
Four first-half tries from Harry Robertson, Lewis Murphy, Owen Dagnall and George Delaney put St Helens 24-0 up at half-time in Huddersfield but the home side came back in the second half.
Tries from Asher O’Donnell, Adam Swift and Niall Evalds gave St Helens a minor scare but Huddersfield were left with too much to do and lost their ninth game of the Super League season to remain bottom of the table.
“We allowed for chaos with some of the stuff we dished out but the stop-start nature [of the match], then you lose concentration, it became unattractive to watch and play in,” Rowley told Sky Sports.
“So it was an ugly second half but credit to Huddersfield for fighting back and showing some heart to get back in it and get us nervous at the end.”
Huddersfield Giants attempted a comeback from 24-0 down at half time but were unable to really get back into the match (SW Pix)
It was the last match in charge for interim Huddersfield coach Liam Finn before Australian Jim Lenihan arrives in the UK next week.
Finn took over from Luke Robinson in March after Huddersfield lost their opening five league games, and won his first two matches as interim coach. But, Huddersfield have now lost four league games in a row and face a relegation battle this season.
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Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Liam Finn says he will be part of the future coaching setup under Jim Lenihan
How St Helens fended off Huddersfield
An early break from Jack Welsby helped Harry Robertson touch down for the Saints, with Lewis Murphy then punishing poor handling from Huddersfield to go over in the corner.
Winger Dagnall added a third try for Saints in the 18th minute before George Delaney capitalised on another Huddersfield mistake just before half-time.
Huddersfield rallied after the restart, with O’Donnell taking down a loose ball from Tui Lolohea’s kick. Further tries from Swift, against his former club, and Giants full-back Evalds, with six minutes left, looked to set up a tense finish.
However, Jackson Hastings had crucially landed a penalty in the 65th minute, which proved enough to see Saints home.
Jackson Hastings’ second-half penalty for St Helens relieved some of the pressure from Huddersfield (SW Pix)
Super League Round 11 Fixtures – live on Sky Sports
Friday May 15
8pm: Wigan Warriors v Leeds Rhinos
8pm: Wakefield Trinity v Catalans Dragons
Saturday May 16
3pm: York Knights v Castleford Tigers
5.30pm: Leigh Leopards v Hull KR
6pm: Toulouse Olympique v Warrington Wolves
Sunday May 17
3pm: Bradford Bulls v Hull FC
Watch Wigan Warriors vs Leeds Rhinos and Wakefield Trinity vs Catalans Dragons on Friday from 8pm, live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports+. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
