Saints defeat Leeds
21 Jun 2019
St Helens preserved their six-point lead at the top of Betfred Super League after beating struggling Leeds Rhinos 36-10.
Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook scored two tries as Saints left the Rhinos joint-bottom with Hull KR.
Saints raced into a 12-0 lead after just three minutes, with Kevin Naiqama taking advantage of Jack Walker dropping a high kick and then McCarthy-Scarsbrook scoring under the sticks.
Brad Dwyer skipped over from dummy half for Leeds, but Lachlan Coote waltzed in for his 11th try of the season before Tommy Makinson produced a stunning acrobatic finish in the corner to make it 24-6 at half-time.
Leeds winger Luke Briscoe went over in the corner four minutes after half-time before McCarthy-Scarsbrook and James Bentley scored for the hosts late on.
St Helens coach Justin Holbrook said: “Obviously we didn’t play our best tonight. We didn’t play as well as we have in the past but the main sign is that we came away with the win.
“Leeds are a dangerous attacking side and to come away with the win is important.
“We knew what Leeds were capable of in the second half and we made a lot of uncharacteristic errors but we finished both halves well."
Leeds coach Richard Agar said: “It’s the toughest challenge in the game. From what I’ve seen, this is the toughest challenge in the competition – playing Saints away.
“They were playing on a bigger speed and power than us. We defended well under pressure at times but we let a few soft ones in at the end. It took a bit of pride away from the side.??
