2010 St Helens RLFC season

Sunday 27 December

St Helens vs. Wigan Warriors (off due to icy pitch)

Tuesday 19 January (Karalius Cup)

Widnes Vikings 26-42 St Helens

Friday 22 January (Mike Bennett Testimonial match)

St Helens 38-18 Halifax

Sunday 24 January

St Helens (Under 21s) 0-44 Keighley Cougars

Round 1

St Helens vs Hull

Preview:
The game will see former talismanic scrum-half and captain Sean Long return to Knowsley Road with his new side Hull; ironically as captain. The St Helens squad sees Francis Meli absent as the big Kiwi and Samoa wing is in his native Samoa on compassionate grounds. His place is likely to be taken by Gary Wheeler or Jonny Lomax. Elsewhere, Saints are at full strength, with no place available for second-rows Matty Ashurst or Andy Dixon or prop Gareth Frodsham in the initial 19-man squad.

St Helens 12-32 Hull

St Helens' season got off to the worst possible start with a crushing loss to Hull at a foggy Knowsley Road. Despite a strong start, making good yardage and showing signs of the Saints flair of the Millward and Anderson eras, Saints failed to execute throughout and their defence proved leaky with Willie Manu cantering over in the 25th minute. Epalahame Lauaki barged over 12 minutes after brushing off Leon Pryce, following more shocking defence from the five-time champions, and Hull continued to press after half-time, with Sean Long returning to haunt his former employers in a man-of-the-match performance, and Tom Briscoe adding scores to make the game safe with a 26-0 scoreline. Saints hit back through quick-fire tires from Matt Gidley and Chris Flannery, but again, the finishing touch was found lacking in vital areas, meaning they could not pull off a comeback of old. Kirk Yeaman competed the win in the 75th minute after latching on to a Craig Fitzgibbon hack-on. No doubt, St Helens must improve on their basics should they want to trouble Leeds and usual pace-setters in the top four.

Saturday 6 February 2010 [1]

St. Helens	12 - 32	Hull F.C.
Tries: Matt Gidley 63' Chris Flannery 69' Goals: Kyle Eastmond (2/2)	(Report)	Tries: Willie Manu 25' Epalahame Lauaki 37' Sean Long 46' Tom Briscoe 57' Kirk Yeaman 75' Goals: Danny Tickle (4/4) Craig Fitzgibbon (2/2)

Knowsley Road, St Helens, Merseyside[2] Attendance: 12,142 Referee: Ben Thaler

Round 2

Bradford Bulls vs St Helens

Preview:
The game sees St Helens' big winger Francis Meli return to the initial 19-man squad for the round 2 game at the Odsal Stadium. second-row Matty Ashurst also comes back into contention for Saints. They take the places of centre Iosia Soliola who is out for three to four weeks with an ankle problem and wing Ade Gardner who has and intercostal muscle injury and is out of contention for six to eight weeks. Talismanic hooker and skipper Keiron Cunningham was due to earn his 500th cap in the professional game but missed the fixture due to a family bereavement.

Bradford Bulls 6-38 St Helens

St Helens got back to winning ways after the week previous' crushing loss to Hull with a resounding win at Bradford. Saints started the game well, with Jon Wilkin opening the scoring in the 12th minute. From this St Helens kicked on, Kyle Eastmond kicking a penalty before full-back Paul Wellens scored two of his eventual four tries before the half-hour mark. Saints continued the pressure after the half-time break with Eastmond intercepting and going 80 metres in the 48th minute. Bradford applied the pressure for fifteen minutes, but a mixture of awesome defence and poor decision making from the Bulls meant Saints kept them at nil. Wellens added his third and fourth in the 65th and 71st minutes before Bradford responded through a Matt Orford try and goal; a scant consolation score in the final moments of the game. A mention must go to Leon Pryce who had a hand in no less than 3 of his sides tries against his former employers. St Helens look to be back to their destructive best, and this win may relieve the pressure on under-fire coach Mick Potter.

Sunday 14 February 2010 [3]

Bradford	6 - 38	St. Helens
Tries: Matt Orford 79' Goals: Matt Orford (1/1)	(Report)	Tries: Jon Wilkin 12' Paul Wellens 19', 28', 65', 71' Kyle Eastmond 48' Goals: Kyle Eastmond (7/7)

Odsal Stadium, Bradford, West Yorkshire[4] Attendance: 10,165 Referee: Phil Bentham

Catalans Dragons vs St Helens

Preview:
St Helens will be looking to build upon last week's first win of the season at Bradford. However, they do not boast a healthy record at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, winning only twice over four seasons. Andy Dixon earns a recall, whilst Jack Bradbury could make his St Helens début in the game after being named in his maiden 19-man squad. Chris Flannery misses out on the game through a shoulder injury, and he joins Iosia Soliola (ankle) and Ade Gardner (rib cartilage) on the injury list. Keiron Cunningham does not travel due to a family bereavement, as he still awaits his 500th game at professional level.

Catalans Dragons 12-42 St Helens

St Helens got back-to-back wins after a comfortable win over the Dragons in Perpignan. However, it was the Dragons who got the better of the opening exchanges, with Setaimata Sa and Chris Walker going over inside the first ten minutes. Neither scores were converted, but Catalans had an 8-0 lead. However, on the 15 minute mark, Saints found their cutting edge and began to tick, with young winger Jonny Lomax latching on to an inch-perfect Paul Wellens chip. Despite James Graham being off the field with suspected concussion and Jonny Lomax being caught by a dangerous tackle by Olivier Elima which resulted in the French captains sending off, St Helens pressed on and it was Lomax, who shrugged off the shot from Elima to cut inside his opposing winger to score a brilliant try. Kyle Eastmond goaled from the touchline for a 10-8 St Helens lead, and with the extra man advantage, it was looking ominous for the Dragons. Francis Meli got his first of the season after a fine kick form the in-form Leon Pryce, and shortly after, Matt Gidley cut back inside his winger to finish a fine move for the first of his two tries of the evening. Half-time - 8-18 to Saints. The second-half continued in a similar guise, with Maurie Fa'asavalu scoring a trade-mark, barnstorming try under the posts. Eastmond was next to score, Gidley cutting through the defence and flicking the ball back on the inside to Eastmond who sped 30 meters for a fine try. Meli then crossed for his second, finishing well a break from Matty Ashurst. Gidley then got his brace, with a trademark, show and go on the outside to score. That was the end of the St Helens scoring, but by no means the end of the action, with Bryn Hargreaves and Scott Moore involved in a brawl with the Catalans forwards. Walker got his second with five minutes remaining, but the win was in the bag by the hour mark.

Saturday 20 February 2010 [5]

Catalans Dragons	12 - 42	St. Helens
Tries: Setaimata Sa 2' Chris Walker 9', 75' Goals: William Barthau (0/3)	(Report)	Tries: Jonny Lomax 15', 24' Francis Meli 29', 51' Matt Gidley 35', 59' Maurie Fa'asavalu 44' Kyle Eastmond 48' Goals: Kyle Eastmond (5/8)

Stade Aimé Giral, Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales, France[5] Attendance: 7,825 Referee: Steve Ganson

Round 4

St Helens vs Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Preview:
The game will St Helens' talismanic skipper Keiron Cunningham return to the fold to make his 500th appearance in professional rugby, following the sudden death of his mother, Annie. However, winger Ade Gardner and centre Sia Soliola still miss out through rib and ankle injuries respectively. Also, second rowers Jon Wilkin and Chris Flannery will both miss the game with shoulder problems, therefore meaning Matty Ashurst will deputise for his first appearance of 2010.

St Helens 22-16 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

St Helens made it three consecutive wins with a hard fought if scrappy win over the in-form Wakefield. Despite a strong, assured start from the Drednaughts with tries from Daryl Millard and young Dale Morton inside the first ten minutes, St Helens finally got going and got onto the scoreboard on 27 minutes with Jonny Lomax notching his third in four games. They continued to apply the pressure in the second half with scores from Kyle Eastmond, Francis Meli and Keiron Cunningham scoring on this landmark game for the hooker. Wakefield applied pressure late on with Millard getting his second, but St Helens held on for the win.

Round 6

St Helens 37 Crusaders 30