HOLBROOK’S DAN BUSTER
Justin hails the Richardson and Grace show
JUSTIN HOLBROOK hailed Saints’ dynamic young duo Danny Richardson and Regan Grace after they helped see off dogged Widnes.
Holbrook had only just arrived at the club at Magic Weekend last year, and saw his team dismantle Hull FC 45-0 in a performance that signalled the start of their upturn in fortunes.
They never hit those heights against a Vikings team that belied their league position, but Holbrook (below) was still happy to secure two points that keep his side top.
Scrum-half Richardson scored one try and guided his team around effectively, while winger Grace, also 21, finished two well-taken tries.
Holbrook said: “They’re still only very young but they both played really well for us which is great to watch.
“I also thought Dominique Peyroux had probably his best game for us and set a really high standard.
“Everyone else probably wasn’t at their best but we were still good enough to get the win. “People don’t give Widnes enough credit – I watched their cup game with Leeds closely and they were very unlucky not to win.
“We came here with everyone automatically giving us the victory and that can make it hard for players.” The Vikings had trailed just 22-18 after an even first half.
They opened the scoring through Matt Whitley, but were forced into a reshuffle when full-back Rhys Hanbury went off injured. Then three Saints tries – from Richardson, Mark Percival and Grace – threatened to take the game away from them.
However, Wellington Albert hit back, and although Ben Barba danced over, Jimmy Keinhorst’s try right on the hooter kept Denis Betts’ men in it. St Helens were down to 12 men at that stage with Peyroux in the sin bin, but they extended their lead in his absence with a Richardson penalty.
Ryan Morgan then touched down twice in the space of eight minutes to seal the win, although his second was hotly disputed. Grace then completed the scoring when he raced 70 metres for the final try.
Vikings coach Betts said: “We’re just not durable enough at times.
“We had to switch the whole team around when Rhys went off, and still deal with the most dynamic backline in the competition.”
Tries: Whitley, Albert, Keinhorst. Goals: Marsh (3).
Tries: Richardson, Percival, Grace (2), Barba, Morgan (2). Goals: Richardson (5).