St Helens 40-10 Wigan Warriors: Saints storm into Super League Grand Final
By Sky Sports Rugby League
Last Updated: 28/09/19 1:39pm
Mark Percival ran in two second-half tries as St Helens booked their Super League Grand Final place in emphatic fashion with a 40-10 win at home to Wigan Warriors.
Theo Fages got the ball rolling for Saints in Friday's play-off semi-final with a try after just four minutes, with further scores from Kevin Naiqama, Luke Thompson and Jonny Lomax putting the home side into a 26-6 lead at half time.
Lachlan Coote's goal-kicking kept the scoreboard moving too, with Percival's double and an unconverted score from Zeb Taia ending Wigan's eight-game winning run and giving St Helens head coach Justin Holbrook victory in his final home game in charge.
The League Leaders' Shield winners, refreshed by a first weekend off of the year, produced arguably their best performance, running in seven tries to two and ensuring Holbrook's last match before leaving for Gold Coast Titans will be the club's first Old Trafford final since 2014.
Saints now get another week off and will watch on as Wigan seek to set up a Grand Final rematch when they take on Salford Red Devils at home in next Friday's second semi-final.
St Helens came up short in both major competitions in 2018 and have already lost in this season's Challenge Cup final at Wembley but, on this form, they will take some stopping in Manchester on October 12.
Wigan, the reigning champions, went into the qualifying semi-final on the back of an eight-match winning run but they had no answer to the forceful running of forwards Luke Thompson and Morgan Knowles, nor the craft of Jonny Lomax and Scotland international Coote.
It was pretty much one-way traffic at the Totally Wicked Stadium from the moment half-back Fages touched down full-back Coote's clever kick off the inside of his boot in the fourth minute.
It took the visitors 10 minutes to get out of their own half and it proved their undoing as Saints centre Naiqama picked off George Williams' pass to race away for an interception try.
Coote kicked his second conversion and added a penalty after 15 minutes to open up a 14-0 lead before the Warriors briefly stopped the rot, Zak Hardaker combining with Chris Hankinson to work Liam Marshall over for a long-range try.
Hardaker's goal made it 14-6, but sizzling Saints struck twice more to pull out of sight by the break.
Man of the match Thompson took skipper James Roby's pass to romp through a yawning gap for a deserved try and stand-off Lomax found another chink in the Wigan defence to go in for his side's fourth of the half.
It got even worse for the visitors when St Helens substitute Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook got up a head of steam to create the position for Coote to send second rower Taia in for his side's fifth try within six minutes of the restart.
The Warriors tightened their defence after that, but Saints still managed to work an overlap for England centre Percival to go in for their sixth try and he added a second six minutes from the end.
Coote took his goal tally to six from eight attempts before interchange man Bevan French grabbed a late consolation try for the well-beaten visitors.
A fourth defeat of the season against St Helens was a sad way for Wigan captain Sean O'Loughlin to mark his 450th game for the club, and he and coach Adrian Lam must now rally their side as they look to make the most of their second chance.
