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 record a hard-fought Super League victory over Bradford Bulls.
The hosts found themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, however ultimately protected the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the last 5 minutes.
Earlier scores from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt see off the Bulls, who played the bulk of the second half with 12 males after Eliot Peposhi's termination.
A third straight win moves Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford stay fifth having won 2 and lost 2 of their very first 4 games back in the top tier.
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This was the first Super League conference in 12 years for the two sides, who objected to the competitors'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 early on but the visitors responded remarkably 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 to the sin bin in his 300th profession appearance.
The Bulls made the extra guy count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to extend the result in 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an excellent desperate deal with to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A terrific breakaway rating from Wynne provided the Bulls a 12-point lead shortly after the restart, before the St Helens fightback started.
Tries in quick succession from Sironen and Sailor - the former confirmed following a review - 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 certainly suggested it would be one-way traffic, only for the Bulls to benefit from a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and go in front once more through Andy Ackers.
The Bradford backline stood strong for nearly 10 minutes, including requiring the ball out of have fun with St Helens looking certain to score in the corner thanks to the work of 5 defenders.
Cross, nevertheless, slipped through in the closing stages 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 think we've got a little bit of character in the group, so that's good to see. All of us believe that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always evident in all groups, so that box is ticked.
"I think we have 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 progressively tough with all the pieces in all the locations 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 teams remain 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)