St Helens 23-6 Salford: Super League 2019 Grand Final player ratings
Sunday 13 October 2019 11:06, UK
St Helens clinched their first Super League Grand final success since 2014 on Saturday as a classy performance saw off Salford 23-6 at Old Trafford.
Find out how each individual player rated from the occasion below...
St Helens
Lachlan Coote 8/10: Defensively sound, collecting a number of bombs effortlessly, and faultless kicking, splitting the posts with all five attempts.
Tommy Makinson 7/10: Seemed inhibited after landing awkwardly on his right arm early in the second half but split the posts with a 40-metre drop goal.
Kevin Naiqama 7/10: Set the tone for Saints' dominance in the first quarter with a heavy hit on Lee Mossop and never let up in intensity.
Mark Percival 7/10: Produced a moment of magic by racing on to his own grubber for the telling third try.
Regan Grace 6/10: The wiry winger troubled Salford with his pace and his slipperiness although he was a virtual pedestrian for the second half.
Jonny Lomax 6/10: A couple of incisive breaks apart, a relatively quiet night for the Saints stand-off.
Theo Fages 6/10: As with Lomax, the scrum-half performed competently but did not set the pulses racing.
Alex Walmsley 8/10: Driving run and astute short pass led to the opening try of the match. Difficult to stop the powerhouse prop when he gets on a roll.
James Roby 7/10: Some clever footwork allowed a deft inside pass to Zeb Taia for Saints' second try. Remains the league's standout hooker.
Luke Thompson 8/10: A tireless display from the England international, constantly keeping Salford on the back foot.
Zeb Taia 7/10: Another spirited performance from the second rower, who capped an all-action display with a try.
Dominique Peyroux 6/10: Industrious enough without making a lasting impression.
Morgan Knowles 7/10: Took advantage of a small gap in Salford's defence after collecting Walmsley's short pass to break the deadlock after a quarter of an hour.
Interchanges
Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook 7/10: Made an impact off the bench, keeping Saints on the front foot.
Kyle Amor 7/10: The veteran may not be first choice but he did not let anyone down here.
Jack Ashworth 6/10: Perhaps fortunate to avoid punishment after appearing to make head-to-head contact with Krisnan Inu.
Aaron Smith 6/10: Unable to make an impact and fortunate to avoid giving a penalty away on his own try-line when forcing a key Gil Dudson knock on.
Salford
Niall Evalds 6/10: Not much of a threat going forward but defensively solid.
Ken Sio 5/10: His inability to gather a high ball, albeit under some pressure, led to Saints' second try of the night.
Kris Welham 6/10: Showed plenty of endeavour but faded as the game wore on.
Jake Bibby 7/10: Coolly collected Hastings' pass to dive over and get Salford back into the contest.
Krisnan Inu 6/10: Bore the brunt of a couple of heavy tackles but refused to wilt.
Tuimoala Lolohea 7/10: Provided the impetus for Salford's first-half fightback, even if his try after an inventive jinking run was chalked off.
Jackson Hastings 7/10: Super League's Man of Steel provided an inch-perfect pass for Bibby's try but his high balls lacked penetration.
Lee Mossop 6/10: Dropped the ball deep in his own half moments after kick-off, inviting some early pressure from Saints.
Logan Tomkins 6/10: His obstruction led to Lolohea's try being scrubbed while he lacked the inventiveness of Saints counterpart Roby as Salford subsided after the interval.
Gil Dudson 6/10: Unnecessarily caught Thompson high, leading to a penalty which moved Saints 14 points ahead.
Josh Jones 7/10: Enthusiastic and willing, this was not the way the Hull-bound second rower would have wanted to sign off from the Red Devils.
George Griffin 6/10: Gave away a clumsy penalty early on but improved thereafter.
Tyrone McCarthy 6/10: Drove Salford forward at every opportunity.
Interchanges
Joey Lussick 7/10: Sensational 40/20 with a quarter of an hour gave Salford hope but they could not capitalise.
Mark Flanagan 5/10: Unable to make a telling impression.
Adam Walker 6/10: Unfortunate to be penalised with Salford in a decent position early in the second half.
Greg Burke 6/10: Showed plenty of heart as the game got away from Salford.
