Hot prospect Lewis Dodd hailed after St Helens derby win

Rising star Lewis Dodd was hailed by St Helens coach Kristian Woolf following their derby win over rivals Wigan.

Saints comfortably beat Wigan 26-2 in a fiery derby at the DW Stadium on Friday night.

The champions led 12-2 at the break courtesy of tries from Regan Grace and Dodd and added others in the second half through Mark Percival and Alex Walmsley to bounce back from their shock home defeat by Castleford and complete the double over the Warriors.

Woolf was particularly impressed with scrum-half Dodd, who scored an opportunist try but also held his own in defence.

“He’s getting better and better every week,” Woolf said. “We all know about his ability and he’s getting better in terms of how he’s managing a game.

“What was most impressive for a young man was the way he handled himself defensively. They threw a lot at him but he was great out there.”

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Referee Chris Kendall brandished four yellow cards, three to Wigan and one to Saints, after struggling to keep tempers in check in a match packed with all the brutality and intensity expected of a Wigan-Saints derby played in front of a crowd of 16,319.

Woolf was pleased with his side’s discipline in their win at Wigan.

He added: “It was exactly the response we wanted. We didn’t play to our standards last week but I was really happy and proud of the way we turned up tonight.

“Right from the kick-off we started with terrific intensity and showed really good discipline.

“It’s tough in those situations. Rugby league has an element of aggression and there is always a bit of a fine line.

“The atmosphere was outstanding and that creates a bit of tension, but I thought our blokes handled themselves really well.

“I was very happy with what we did both sides of the ball. We played some footy and backed ourselves tonight.”