BETFRED SUPER LEAGUE JUST ONE HOL OF A TRIUMPH Now Saints want demon Barba in mix
NEW St Helens coach Justin Holbrook insisted his players should take the credit for a stunning turnaround in fortunes – and then turned his attention to signing Aussie star Ben Barba. back to enjoying it.” Full-back Barba attracted plenty of attention in the main stand at St James’ Park amid reports he will not be retained by Toulon RU next season.
The main issue for suitors is the 12-game NRL ban hanging over Barba after testing positive for cocaine following last year’s Grand Final win with Cronulla, a suspension the RFL says they will uphold.
Exciting
playing. It would be really awesome to have him, it would be nice to have him join.”
Hull have been impressive of late, but this was the third time this season they have suffered heavy defeats – with both Leeds and Salford posting 50 points against them.
They were kitted out in special edition Hulk shirts for the occasion – but played more like Bruce Banner to leave coach Lee Radford disappointed.
Radford (right) said: “We had the Marvel shirts on, but it was Alex Walmsley that looked like Superman.
“The result was what they deserved.
“That’s not the first time this year we’ve not just been beaten, but we’ve collapsed.
“We were playing to go top of the table today, even if only for a short time before Castleford play.
“That was a good reason to turn up and perform, but their reason obviously meant a lot more to them.
“Their reason to perform was after being torn a new one by Cas last week – and when you hear 20-year veterans say it’s the worst moment of their career then it tells you you’ll probably get a response.
“We threw jabs and they threw bombs.” The Saints stampede started when Walmsley forced his way over in the 15th minute, and barely stopped for the remainder of the game. Two Matty Smith kicks created further tries before the break, as Ryan Morgan outjumped the defence and Morgan Knowles pounced on another Hull error. Smith added a drop goal for 19- 0 at half- time and the one-way traffic continued after the restart.
Brittle
Walmsley again forced his way through some brittle defence for his second and Louie McCarthyScarsbrook soon followed suit.
Tommy Makinson then scored the try of the day, collecting a Hull kick under his own posts before embarking on a stunning lengthof-the-field run that saw him elude a host of defenders for a thrilling score.
There was still time for two more Saints scores, both to exciting winger Regan Grace.
First he squeezed over in the corner from a smart Mark Percival pass, before darting past Josh Griffin to complete the s c oring in t he c l osing moments.