It was first against third in the final regular round of Super League as St Helens welcomed near neighbours the Warrington Wolves to the Totally Wicked Stadium. With Saints having lost on only two occasions in 2018 they are the side to beat and were looking for a continuation of form before going into next weekends Challenge Cup semi-final.

The Wolves themselves are still in the hunt for a top two finish, and a home game in the play-offs, but after tonight they will still have seven long games to overhaul Wigan Warriors and the Castleford Tigers in the race for second, which could go down to round thirty before it is decided. 

It was clear from the opening minutes that neither side had come just to make up the numbers. Rather than a run out before the half-term break, both sides were looking for a victory.

On ten minutes the Wolves got the opener when Daryl Clark took a Mike Cooper offload to walk through the Saints defence to score. Tyrone Roberts added the conversion for 6-0.

Roberts added a penalty goal on twenty-two after Ben Westwood was tackled high.

James Roby was held up over the line on thirty, with a couple of Wolves players lying injured in back play, but Saints couldn’t break the line. The Wolves defence was doing a brilliant job of keeping the normally rampant St Helens at bay, nilling them in the first half.

Just forty seconds after the restart Ben Barba completed a sensational move down the left wing, taking a Mark Percival pass, to waltz over the line and get his side right back in the match. Danny Richardson put the conversion between the uprights and the Saints were back within two points.

A Wolves penalty on forty-nine was kicked from just inside the Saints half by Roberts after Mike Cooper earned it in the tackle. Regan Grace knocked on a minute later and from the scrum Saints were penalised for holding on in the tackle gifting Roberts another penalty goal for 12-6 to the Wolves.

Jonny Lomax again got Saints back into the game as he dived over the line from close off a Zeb Taia offload. Richardson added the extras to level the scores at 12-12 with fifteen minutes left on the stadium clock.

As tensions rose the game became increasingly scrappy with a couple of mass confrontations between two passionate sides both wanting to snatch the win. 

Roberts made an awful attempt at a drop goal with a couple of minutes remaining and seconds later Richardson also missed his attempt at a one-pointer. Seconds before the final hooter Stefan Ratchford scrubbed an attempted drop goal along the ground but as the final hooter sounded Ben Murdoch-Masila tackled Luke Thompson high. Richardson kicked a fifty metre penalty to snatch a Saints victory and crush the Wolves.

Warrington hadn’t been behind in the game until after the full time hooter sounded as the paid the price for a lack of discipline and a badly time Murdoch-Masila tackle. Richardson did brilliantly to hold his nerve and kick a massive penalty goal to extend Saints winning sequence. Both sides go into their Challenge Cup semi-finals next Saturday, Saints on a continuing high and Warrington looking to get back to winning ways after a big disappointment.

Saints: Barba (T), Makinson, Morgan, Percival, Grace, Lomax (T), Richardson (3G), Amor, Roby, Thompson, Peyroux, Taia, Wilkin.  Subs: Fages, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Douglas, Knowles.

Wolves: Ratchford, Lineham, Goodwin, King, Charnley, Brown K, Roberts (4G), Hill, Clark (T), Cooper, Livett, Hughes, Westwood.  Subs: Murdoch-Masila, Patton, Philbin, Akauola.

Referee: James Child.

Half-Time: 0-8.

Full-Time: 14-12.

Attendance: .