Saint going too well for the Giants!

LEADERS PUNISH HUDDERSFIELD WITH SEVEN-TRY ROUT AS WOOLFORD’S MEN WILT IN SECOND HALF

IT was the same old story for Giants this season as they were defeated by league leaders St Helens.

Simon Woolford’s men, who looked promising in periods, mainly during the first-half, were once again out-performed in the second as Saints ran in seven tries to inflicted the heaviest defeat for Giants so far in this campaign.

A brace from Mark Percival was the highlight for the unbeaten St Helens, who weathered a Giants storm during the middle of the second half to secure a comfortable victory.

Saints looked like they had scored inside four minutes when Percival jinked over the line, but great positioning from Matt Frawley allowed him to dislodge the ball.

But the visitors did score just moments later as Luke Thompson found a gap outside Sebastine Ikahihifo and touched down just wide of the posts. Lachlan Coote converted the try.

Top-scorer Ryan Grace then looked for all the world like increasing the lead for Saints as he broke through a static Giants line, however, he knocked-on, seemingly under no pressure.

Huddersfield’s first points of the evening came following some quick hands in attack and Jermaine McGillvary soared over the try line in the corner. Lee Gaskell then put a superb conversion over the posts to level the game.

The away side then knocked-on again close to the Giants line. Pressure from Ukuma Ta’ai caused Lomax to spill the ball and turn over possession to Giants, who, until this point had more than matched their unbeaten counterparts.

Some quick-thinking from Darnell McIntosh quashed a Saints’ line-break but only momentarily as, from the resulting set, Morgan Knowles exploited a gap in the middle of the park and scored his side’s second try of the game, 23 minutes into the first half.

Not two minutes later, and Giants had replied through Jordan Turner. Cheap play from St Helens allowed Frawley to turn over the ball in good field position and despite having men surrounding him, the former Saints player bundled his way over to level the game at 12-12.

Some great Giants play at the end of the first half really epitomised their performance during the opening 40 minutes, with three defenders dragging Lomax into touch to set the hosts on the attack, just 20 metres out.

However, a knock-on at the play-the-ball just in front of the try-line meant Giants spurned a great chance to take a half-time lead.

Huddersfield were made to rue this missed opportunity as the visitors regained the lead two minutes from the break through Percival, who sneaked in front of Jordan Turner to get on the end of a short P WD L FA

Pts St Helens 66 00 165

68 12 Castleford 540 1 128

68 8 Warrington 540 1 132

73 8 Salford 6 4 0 2 146

108 8 Hull 5302 119

84 6 Hull K R 6 3 0 3 102

118 6 Wakefield 5 2 0 3 105

106 4 Catalans 52 0 3 66

120 4 London 6 2 0 4 78

152 4 Wigan 5 1 0 4 90

93 2 Leeds 6 1 0 5 118

170 2