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 recuperated from an early second-half deficit to tape a hard-fought Super League victory over Bradford Bulls.
The hosts found themselves 12 points behind just after the break, however the points thanks to a Deon Cross attempt in the last five minutes.
Earlier scores from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt assisted see off the Bulls, who played the majority of the 2nd half with 12 males after Eliot Peposhi's termination.
A 3rd straight win relocations Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford stay fifth having actually won two and lost two of their very first four games back in the top tier.
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This was the first Super League meeting 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 battle.
Wright's 3rd try of the season put Saints in front early but the visitors responded brilliantly to lead by the break.
A best grubber kick from Luke Hooley set up Ethan Ryan to level ball games up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent out to the sin bin in his 300th profession look.
The Bulls made the extra man count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to extend the result in 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an outstanding last-ditch tackle to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A terrific breakaway rating from Wynne gave the Bulls a 12-point lead shortly after the reboot, before the St Helens fightback began.
Tries in quick succession from Sironen and Sailor - the previous confirmed following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent out off minutes later on it looked as though there would just be one winner.
Feldt's score certainly recommended it would be one-way traffic, only for the Bulls to take advantage of a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and enter front again through Andy Ackers.
The Bradford backline stood strong for nearly 10 minutes, consisting of forcing the ball out of play with St Helens looking certain to score in the corner thanks to the work of five defenders.
Cross, however, slipped through in the closing phases 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 believe we've got a little bit of character in the team, so that's good to see. We all believe that's a non-negotiable, however it's not always evident in all groups, so that box is ticked.
"I believe we have actually found a way to win in regards to we have actually got a scattering of how I 'd like us to play.
"It's getting increasingly hard with all the pieces in all the places 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 groups are in Challenge Cup action next week.
St Helens go to Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)