Daily Mirror

WARD NOD TO RHINOS

Mark picks a pocket or two to keep super Saints riding high

- BY GARETH WALKER

MARK PERCIVAL twice picked Huddersfie­ld’s pockets to keep undefeated St Helens top of Super League.

The England internatio­nal reacted the quickest to loose balls in either half, as Justin Holbrook’s side eventually saw off a dogged effort from the Giants.

Holbrook also had another assured performanc­e from fullback Lachlan Coote, who was near faultless at the back and chimed into the line effectivel­y in attack to condemn Huddersfie­ld to a fifth defeat in six games.

Saints have the only 100 per cent record left in the competitio­n. And when starting props Alex Walmsley and Luke Thompson are taking them f o rward and Jame s Roby wreaks havoc off the back of them, they are tough for any team to stop.

Thompson opened the scoring by

vcrashing over from close range. But the Giants responded well and scored two first-half tries of their own, impressive full-back Darnell McIntosh providing passes for Jermaine McGillvary a and Jordan Turner to t touch down.

In be twe e n M Morgan Knowles followed l Thompson’s l lead from a Roby p pass. And before halft t i m e Pe r c iv a l g grabbed his first, p pouncing to ground J Jonny Lomax’s kick. SUPER LEAGUE STANDINGS

LF7.45pm LONDON coach Danny Ward says writing off his former club Leeds is “ridiculous.”

The Rhinos have lost five of their opening six matches to prompt talk of an early crisis for new coach David Furner (above), but Ward isn’t buying into it.

He said: “It’s a fine line between winning and losing. I know there are people writing Leeds off, which is ridiculous.

“They will always be there or thereabout­s come the end of the season.” His second came when he reached out to score after the ball had come loose from McGillvary behind his own line, Coote’s conversion putting his side 12 points in front.

A mistake from the Giants other winger Akuila Uate saw Regan Grace take a Coote cut-out pass directly from the resulting scrum.

Back- rower Dom Peyroux finished after Tommy Makinson knocked back a Theo Fages kick superbly, before Lomax completed the scoring by dummying over from close range.

 ??  ?? Mark Percival hits the deck after going over for the Saints
Mark Percival hits the deck after going over for the Saints
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