Saints see off brave Bulls

Fielden shrugs off both Iro and Joynt

St Helens 38-26 Bradford Bulls

St Helens survived a sizzling Bradford fightback to move into second place in Tetley's Super League.

Saints looked to have the points in the bag after opening a 28-10 lead at the break.

But then Henry and Robbie Paul sparked a comeback that put the Bulls within two points of their Challenge Cup conquerors.

The outcome of the match hung in the balance until Saints ensured victory with tries from Paul Sculthorpe and Aussie forward Peter Shiels in the last five minutes.

I asked my team to play with some emotion and they did

  Ian Millward

Bradford made a superb start, leading 10-4 after 12 minutes with tries from Tevita Vaikona and Lee Gilmour.

But after drawing level twice courtesy of tries from skipper Chris Joynt and Sonny Nickle, Saints took the game by the scruff of the neck.

They added further tries before the break from Sculthorpe, the outstanding Anthony Stewart and Joynt, with Sculthorpe kicking four goals.

Bradford rallied with three tries in six minutes early in the second half, with two from Robbie Paul sandwiched by Jamie Peacock's effort.

Henry Paul booted three goals from six attempts to make it 28-26 for Saints with 24 minutes remaining.

But then Sculthorpe went over before Shiels notched Saints' seventh try in the last minute.

Effectively the game was lost when we conceded three tries in the last 10 minutes of the first half

  Brian Noble

Saints' boss Ian Millward said afterwards that both sides deserved credit for the performance they put in.

"I asked my team to play with some emotion and they did. Rugby league is the best game in the world and two very good teams proved the point," he said.

"I was always confident we would win - especially when we led 28-10 at halftime."

Bulls coach Brian Noble was adamant that his side's slight loss of concentration in the closing moments of the first half was the cause of their downfall.

"My players know they squandered the chance to take two points, but full credit to St Helens who took the chances off our errors," he said.

"Effectively the game was lost when we conceded three tries in the last 10 minutes of the first half."