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 recovered from an early second-half deficit to tape a hard-fought Super League triumph over Bradford Bulls.


The hosts discovered themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, but ultimately secured the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the final 5 minutes.


Earlier ratings from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt helped see off the Bulls, who played the bulk of the 2nd half with 12 males after Eliot Peposhi's dismissal.


A 3rd straight win moves Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain 5th having won two and lost two of their first 4 video games back in the leading tier.


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This was the first Super League conference in 12 years for the 2 sides, who contested the competition's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and showed to be a gripping battle.


Wright's third shot of the season put Saints in front early but the visitors reacted brilliantly to lead by the break.


A best grubber kick from Luke Hooley established Ethan Ryan to level ball games up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent out to the sin bin in his 300th career appearance.


The Bulls made the additional male count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to stretch the lead to 6.


At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an excellent last-ditch deal with to stop the hosts levelling things up.


A wonderful 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 previous validated following an evaluation - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was dispatched minutes later on it looked as though there would just be one winner.


Feldt's score certainly recommended it would be one-way traffic, only for the Bulls to make the most of 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, consisting of the ball out of have fun with St Helens looking certain to score in the corner thanks to the work of 5 protectors.


Cross, however, slipped through in the closing stages to protect the win, and extend the Bulls' wait on an away success at Saints to 17 years.


St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:


"I believe we have actually got a little character in the group, so that's good to see. We all think that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always obvious in all groups, so that box is ticked.


"I believe we have discovered a method to win in regards to we have actually got a sprinkling of how I 'd like us to play.


"It's getting progressively difficult with all the pieces in all the locations that we've got, but 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 groups are 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)