St Helens breeze to victory against 12-man Hull FC – talking points
Tommy Makinson in action for St Helens
St Helens showed the Channel 4 viewers just why they are Super League champions with an impressive 38-6 victory over Hull at the MKM Stadium.
Kristian Woolf was forced to make one change to his St Helens side that beat Catalans Dragons in the season opener. Josh Simm replaced the injured Will Hopoate.
Hull coach Brett Hodgson made three changes to his outfit that won at Wakefield last time out. Jake Connor and Andre Savelio were serving suspensions whilst Aidan Burrell missed out.
Jamie Shaul, Mitieli Vulikijapani and Josh Griffin came in for the Airlie Birds.
Champions St Helens opened the scoring in the 10th minute after Mark Percival burst onto a short ball from Jack Welsby. Tommy Makinson was on kicking duties and added the extras.
Hull were dealt a blow in the 18th minute when Connor Wynne was sin-binned for tipping Welsby in a tackle.
And Makinson extended Saints’ lead two minutes later with a penalty goal from bang in front of the sticks.
Sloppy defence from Hull allowed youngster Simm to score straight from a scrum in the 24th minute.
Hull captain Luke Gale was sent off on the half hour mark for chasing kicker Jonny Lomax down with his studs up.
Simm got his second just before the half-time hooter to send Woolf’s side into the sheds 20-0 up.
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HT: Hull FC 0-20 St Helens
St Helens extended their lead in the 51st minute as Jack Welsby chased down his own grubber to score.
Hull pulled one back five minutes later through Josh Griffin, but the game was out of reach for Hodgson’s side by that point.
Samoa international Sione Mata’utia slid over the line in wet conditions on the hour. Makinson added the conversion to give Saints a 32-6 lead.
Rising star Lewis Dodd showed his class to jinx his way through the Hull defence to get on the scoresheet. Makinson kicked his seventh goal from as many attempts to seal a comprehensive 38-6 win in Hull.
FT: Hull FC 6-38 St Helens
Hull: Shaul; McIntosh, Scott, Wynne, Swift; Reynolds, Gale; Fash, Houghton, Sao, Griffin, Lane, Johnstone. Subs: Brown, Lovodua, Satae, Vulikijapani.
Tries: Griffin Goals: McIntosh 1
St Helens: Welsby; Simm, Hurrell, Percival, Makinson; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Mata’utia, Batchelor, Knowles. Subs: Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sironen, Paasi.
Tries: Percival, Simm (2), Welsby, Mata’utia, Dodd Goals: Makinson 7
Three talking points
Luke Gale sees red
Gale was sent off half an hour into the game which was a hammer blow for Hull.
The Airlie Birds were already outsiders against champions Saints, and it was a heat of the moment action that saw Gale given his marching orders.
He went with the studs up against Lomax which you just cannot do. He clipped Lomax but it could’ve been worse. It was a definite red and Gale will probably face suspension as a result.
A beautiful tribute to Johnny Whiteley
Hull paid tribute to the late, great Johnny Whiteley before the game. It brought a tear to plenty of eyes in the MKM Stadium.
It was a lovely rendition of Abide with Me by Lizzie Jones and you could tell just how much gentleman Johnny meant to everyone in Hull. A legend of a bloke deserved a legendary send off, and he got that.
Tommy Makinson’s boot
Saints struggled with their goal-kickers in the opening round against Catalans.
But that wasn’t the case this week. Winger Tommy Makinson had surely been practicing after training this week because he was on fire with the boot.
The England winger kicked seven goals from as many attempts, some of them coming from the touchline too.
Having a reliable goal-kicker is so important for a team, and it looks as though Saints have their replacement for Lachlan Coote this season. Makinson was as accurate as they come in their win over Hull.
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