St Helens move level on points with Wigan Warriors and Catalan Dragons with a convincing victory over Wakefield; Paul Wellens' side have now won six consecutive Super League matches; Tommy Makinson (two), Jonny Lomax, James Roby, Jon Bennison and Lewis Dodd scored tries for Saints
Sunday 3 September 2023 21:33, UK
Tommy Makinson scored twice as defending Super League champions St Helens beat bottom club Wakefield 32-16 to register their sixth-straight win.
The in-form England winger, 31, touched down in both halves as Paul Wellens' outfit showed their class to see off a Trinity side who lie two points behind second-bottom Castleford with three rounds of the season remaining.
Saints breached Wakefield's line six times in total with two-try Makinson joined on the scoresheet by Jonny Lomax, James Roby, Jon Bennison and Lewis Dodd.
Mark Applegarth's spirited hosts scored through Matty Ashurst and a brace from Lee Kershaw but Saints, who moved level on points with leaders Wigan and Catalans, claimed their sixth-successive away win over the hosts.
St Helens needed just two minutes to open the scoring as former Leeds centre Konrad Hurrell embarked on a surging run inside the right channel. He then showed intelligence to find Lomax inside him on a support run and the mercurial half-back raced over the line for a try converted by Mark Percival for the first of his four goals.
Yet the response from Wakefield was emphatic as they quickly pinned the defending champions back towards their own line. Their pressure told as a neat pass from Luke Gale found Ashurst inside the left channel and the former Saints forward crashed over from close range.
Will Dagger added the conversion to level matters at 6-6 but the visitors always looked capable of moving through the gears when the opportunities arose.
They scored again in the 18th minute when, on the back of a penalty, the ball was moved across the face of the Wakefield defence and culminated in Jack Welsby finding Makinson with an exquisite long pass. He finished in acrobatic fashion in the right corner and Wakefield soon lost Dagger to injury.
That saw Romain Franco moved to full-back but Saints scored again in the 34th minute when a high kick from Dodd caused havoc in the Wakefield defence.
Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and Franco contested the ball but it fell kindly to Roby, who touched down from close range and Percival converted. Their fourth try came shortly before half-time when Percival's neat pass sent Bennison over in the left corner as Saints established a 20-6 interval lead.
That advantage was cut six minutes into the second half when a fine flowing move saw Mason Lino and Jack Croft combine to send Kershaw over in the right corner.
But four minutes later, a Wakefield error led to Makinson collecting possession and sauntering clear down the right channel to score. Five minutes later, Dodd went over from Bennison's inside pass as the visitors proved their quality without hitting top gear.
Wakefield had the final say when Kershaw finished clinically again in the right corner and Lino converted.
St Helens coach Paul Wellens paid tribute to Makinson after the England international climbed above Leon Pryce and into seventh on the list of all-time Super League try-scorers with 174.
"Tommy is the type of player who I love seeing play with a smile on his face," Wellens said. "He wasn't doing that for a few weeks, but he is now and when Tommy enjoys his rugby, it reflects in his performances and I think that's what we're seeing.
"He's a few tries behind me, but he's scored his in a lot quicker time. When you talk about Super League's best wingers of all time, he's in that conversation now. There are no signs of Tommy letting up and he will continue to climb that list. We all love him and it's great to see him do well."
St Helens will look to extend their winning streak when they host Leigh Leopards on Friday, live from 7.30pm on Sky Sports Mix (8pm kick-off). Wakefield host Catalan Dragons the same evening (7.30pm kick-off).
