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COACH : Mick Potter(2009-01-01 : 2010-12-31 ) |
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MATCH REPORT |
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MATCH REPORT : SAINTS eased to a 54-6 victory over Widnes at the Stobart Stadium to take home the Karalius Cup. They ran in nine tries as Mick Potter opted to field not shy of his starting 17 at their Cheshire rivals. Saints led 30-0 at the break thanks to some breathtaking finishing and clinical passing play. Gardner opened the scoring with a double, then further tries from the excellent Chris Flannery, Sean Long and Lee Gilmour gave them a deserved margin. Gidley got a double early in the second half before Tom Armstrong and Tony Puletua rounded off a comprehensive win. On a bitterly cold day, Saints fielded a near full strength line up with Keiron Cunningham lining up alongside James Graham and Tony Puletua. Sean Long renewed his partnership with Leon Pryce and Lee Gilmour took his place in the centres. Francis Meli is still awaiting his visa so Tom Armstrong was given another opportunity to shine on the wing. Jason Cayless is currently undergoing extra rehab on his knee injury, but is expected to be back soon. Widnes were a little changed from the side’s last meeting, with Steve McCormack opting to give some more of his squad players a run out in their fourth and last pre-season friendly. Saints got on the board within three minutes when they punished a Widnes’ indiscretion in the centre of the park. The ball was sent right, through several pairs of hands and clinically finished by Ade Gardner. Long with the extras just in from the touchline. A cheeky kick from Long four minutes later nearly brought another score. Gilmour then combined with Tom Armstrong to send the youngster into the corner, but the winger just put his foot into touch as he put the ball down. Widnes were beginning to run some good lines and put the Saints’ defence under pressure. Armstrong made a last ditch tackle to save a certain try, then Wellens knocked dead a kick through. Gardner’s next score was down to some sheer brilliance from Roby. The hooker made a scoot down field and released Paul Clough. From there, Saints had the numbers and Long, then Gidley, sent the winger in. Long with a carbon copy of his earlier conversion. On 25 minutes, Long picked up a loose ball then flipped it back to a flying Chris Flannery who took on four defenders and plunged over. Foster with the extras. Saints were clearly on top and the combination of Long, Flannery and Roby was unlocking the home side’s defence. Maurie Fa’asavalu’s tenacity then set up a fine try for Long. With several tacklers on him, he flipped the ball out to Hargreaves, who released Long who was backing up the play. Foster with the extras. From the restart, Wilkin passed to Roby who went |
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