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 record a hard-fought Super League success over Bradford Bulls.
The themselves 12 points behind just after the break, however ultimately protected the points thanks to a Deon Cross attempt in the last five minutes.
Earlier ratings from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt helped see off the Bulls, who played most of the 2nd half with 12 men 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 first 4 video games back in the top tier.
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This was the very first Super League meeting in 12 years for the two sides, who objected to the competition's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and proved to be a gripping battle.
Wright's third try of the season put Saints in front early on however the visitors reacted brilliantly to lead by the break.
A best 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 out to the sin bin in his 300th profession look.
The Bulls made the extra guy count, and went over once again through Connor Wynne to extend the result in 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an exceptional last-ditch take on to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A wonderful breakaway score from Wynne offered the Bulls a 12-point lead quickly after the restart, before the St Helens fightback began.
Tries in fast succession from Sironen and Sailor - the previous verified following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent out off moments later it looked as though there would only be one winner.
Feldt's rating certainly recommended 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 once more through Andy Ackers.
The Bradford backline stood strong for almost 10 minutes, including forcing the ball out of play with St Helens looking certain to score in the corner thanks to the work of five defenders.
Cross, nevertheless, 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 character in the team, so that's good to see. All of us believe that's a non-negotiable, but it's not constantly evident in all teams, so that box is ticked.
"I believe we have discovered a method to win in regards to we have actually got a scattering of how I 'd like us to play.
"It's getting progressively challenging with all the pieces in all the places that we've got, however 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 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)