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 found themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, but ultimately protected the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the final five minutes.
Earlier scores from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt assisted see off the Bulls, who played most of the second half with 12 males after Eliot Peposhi's termination.
A 3rd straight win moves Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain 5th having actually won two and lost two of their very first 4 video games back in the leading tier.
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This was the 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 third try of the season put Saints in front at an early stage but the visitors responded remarkably to lead by the break.
A perfect grubber kick from Luke Hooley established Ethan Ryan to level the ratings up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent to the sin bin in his 300th profession appearance.
The Bulls made the extra man count, and went over again through Connor Wynne to stretch the result in 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an outstanding last-ditch tackle to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A fantastic breakaway rating from Wynne offered the Bulls a 12-point lead quickly after the restart, before the St Helens fightback started.
Tries in quick succession from Sironen and Sailor - the former validated following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent moments later on it looked as though there would just be one winner.
Feldt's rating definitely suggested it would be one-way traffic, just for the Bulls to benefit from 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, including requiring the ball out of play with St Helens looking particular to score in the corner thanks to the work of five defenders.
Cross, nevertheless, 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 character in the group, so that's good to see. We all think that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always evident in all teams, so that box is ticked.
"I think we have actually discovered a way to win in regards to we've got a sprinkling of how I 'd like us to play.
"It's getting significantly tough with all the pieces in all the locations that we have actually 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 remain in action next week.
St Helens see Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)