St Helens Recover To Beat Spirited Bradford

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St Helens (4) 26


Tries: Wright, Sironen, Sailor, Feldt, Cross Goals: Hastings


Bradford (10) 22


Tries: Ryan, Wynne 2, Ackers Goals: Hooley


St Helens recovered from an early second-half deficit to tape a hard-fought Super League triumph over Bradford Bulls.


The hosts discovered themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, however eventually secured the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the final 5 minutes.


Earlier ratings from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt assisted see off the Bulls, who played the majority of the second half with 12 guys after Eliot Peposhi's dismissal.


A 3rd straight win relocations Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain 5th having won 2 and lost 2 of their first 4 games back in the top tier.


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This was the very first Super League meeting in 12 years for the 2 sides, who objected to the competitors's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and showed to be a gripping battle.


Wright's 3rd shot of the season put Saints in front at an early stage however the visitors reacted brilliantly to lead by the break.


An ideal grubber kick from set up Ethan Ryan to level the scores up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent out to the sin bin in his 300th career appearance.


The Bulls made the extra male count, and went over once again through Connor Wynne to stretch the lead to 6.


At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an outstanding last-ditch deal with to stop the hosts levelling things up.


A terrific breakaway rating from Wynne provided the Bulls a 12-point lead quickly after the reboot, before the St Helens fightback began.


Tries in fast succession from Sironen and Sailor - the former validated following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent moments later it looked as though there would just be one winner.


Feldt's rating certainly suggested it would be one-way traffic, just for the Bulls to take advantage of a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and enter front once again through Andy Ackers.


The Bradford backline stood strong for almost 10 minutes, including requiring the ball out of play with St Helens looking specific to score in the corner thanks to the work of five defenders.


Cross, however, slipped through in the closing stages to protect the win, and extend the Bulls' wait for an away success at Saints to 17 years.


St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:


"I think we have actually got a bit of character in the team, so that's great to see. All of us believe that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always apparent in all groups, so that box is ticked.


"I think we have actually found a way to win in regards to we've got a sprinkling of how I 'd like us to play.


"It's getting significantly hard with all the pieces in all the places that we've got, but we are scoring some tries and digging deep."


St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, MacDonald, Cross, Murphy; Whitby, Hastings; Delaney, Clark, Klemmer; Sironen, Wright, Shorrocks


Interchanges: Host, Robertson, Whitley, Stephens


Bradford: Aekins; Wynne, Marsters, Blake, Ryan; Hooley, Milnes; Chamberlain, Mellor, Fulton; Sutton, Ackers, Lewis


Interchanges: Doro, Douglas, Hallas, Peposhi


What's Next?


Both of these groups are in Challenge Cup action next week.


St Helens visit Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)