St Helens Recover To Beat Spirited Bradford
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St Helens (4) 26
Tries: Wright, Sironen, Sailor, Feldt, Cross Goals: Hastings
(10) 22
Tries: Ryan, Wynne 2, Ackers Goals: Hooley
St Helens recuperated from an early second-half deficit to record a hard-fought Super League victory over Bradford Bulls.
The hosts discovered themselves 12 points behind just after the break, but ultimately secured the points thanks to a Deon Cross attempt in the last 5 minutes.
Earlier scores from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt helped see off the Bulls, who played the bulk of the second half with 12 men after Eliot Peposhi's dismissal.
A 3rd straight win relocations Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain fifth having won 2 and lost two of their first four games back in the top tier.
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This was the very first Super League conference in 12 years for the 2 sides, who objected to the competition's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and proved to be a gripping struggle.
Wright's third try of the season put Saints in front at an early stage however the visitors reacted remarkably to lead by the break.
An ideal grubber kick from Luke Hooley established Ethan Ryan to level the scores up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent to the sin bin in his 300th profession look.
The Bulls made the extra male count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to extend the cause 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an excellent last-ditch take on to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A terrific breakaway score from Wynne provided the Bulls a 12-point lead soon after the restart, before the St Helens fightback began.
Tries in fast succession from Sironen and Sailor - the previous validated following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent moments later it looked as though there would only be one winner.
Feldt's rating definitely suggested it would be one-way traffic, only for the Bulls to make the most of a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and enter front once again through Andy Ackers.
The Bradford backline stood strong for nearly 10 minutes, consisting of requiring the ball out of have fun with St Helens looking specific to score in the corner thanks to the work of 5 defenders.
Cross, however, slipped through in the closing phases to secure the win, and extend the Bulls' wait for an away success at Saints to 17 years.
St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:
"I believe we've got a little bit of character in the team, so that's great to see. We all believe that's a non-negotiable, however it's not constantly evident in all groups, so that box is ticked.
"I believe we have actually found a method to win in regards to we've got a scattering of how I 'd like us to play.
"It's getting progressively tough with all the pieces in all the locations that we've got, but we are scoring some shots 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 teams are in Challenge Cup action next week.
St Helens check out Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)
