Seven in a row for Saints

St Helens have recorded their seventh straight victory and moved back up to second in the Super League table after scoring a 16-8 win at Hull.

Given the sides' positions in the table, not to mention both the departure of Peter Sharp as Hull coach earlier in the week and their ongoing injury crisis, it was perhaps expected that Daniel Anderson's side would dictate proceedings.

And, with Jon Wilkin, Ste Tyrer and man-of-the-match Leon Pryce crossing, so it proved. Nevertheless, with home players looking to catch the eye of caretaker coach Richard Agar - Willie Manu and Jamie Thackray surely doing just that - Hull occasionally managed to stretch Saints' defence.

The pattern was set with the opening try coming on four minutes when Hull surrendered possession on the halfway line. James Roby then fed Wilkin who sprinted through poor home defending to touch down.

Sean Long missed the extras but Hull's injury problems soon mounted when Shaun Berrigan departed the field after a tackle resulted in what appeared to be a left shoulder injury.

The home side then somehow survived a Wigan onslaught after 17 minutes which began when Francis Meli's break set up Lee Gilmour. A fine tackle from Manu denied Saints but the visitors still had plenty more in the set with which to further their advantage.

Hull's defence stood firm, however, and with Roby dropping the ball as he crossed the line on the final set, Paul Wellens' subsequent touchdown was ruled out because of the loose carry.

Sneaky

Nevertheless, Saints' second try came midway through the opening period and it was created thanks to the skill of Matt Gidley, his sneaky offload to Tyrer leaving Hull's defence looking the other way and the 19-year-old with a simple score.

Long converted but, with Wigan in pole position once again on the half-hour, he was intercepted by Thackray. The prop then demonstrated ample pace to gain territory but Hull ultimately could not make it pay.

However, they did score after 35 minutes after a set ended with Gareth Raynor palming the crossfield kick back into play.

The ball then rolled towards the St Helens line and, with Long waiting for referee Richard Silverwood to blow for a knock on, Kirk Yeaman instead pounced.

Craig Hall missed the conversion, however, and Saints again seized the initiative at the start of the second half, Keiron Cunningham crossing the line but failing to ground the ball.

The visitors remained six points ahead, with Hull trying their hardest to rectify the situation in the minutes leading up to the hour.

A concerted assault on the St Helens line ensued but despite Pryce, Gidley, Tyrer and Long successively conceding penalties deep in their own territory, Hull failed to exploit.

The 60-minute mark instead saw Saints deep in Hull territory, Long feeding the ball to Pryce, who then fought off three tackles before crashing over.

Long failed dismally in his attempt to convert and, with the clock ticking down, Hull tried their best to at least make inroads into Saints' 10-point advantage.

Power

Their effort was exemplified in the tackling skills and power of Manu, whose crunching hit on Mike Bennett forced a knock on after 72 minutes. However, a loose pass from Thackray soon saw the set earned come to nought.

A Long penalty then left Hull in need of three tries with just six minutes remaining. Thackray crossed the line, but was held up by five St Helens players.

Still, consolation came in the closing moments as Hall dispossessed Francis Meli and broke forward before an overlap to the openside set up Raynor - Hall again missing the extras.