St Helens head coach Paul Rowley has given his verdict after his side’s controlled win over Catalans Dragons in Super League.
Saints turned a 6-0 lead at the half into a 36-4 win with Charlie Staines’ try the only mark on an otherwise well-rounded performance, though Paul Rowley spoke to Sky Sports post-match stating that he felt his side could improve in a number of areas.
“There’s large elements of the game that we feel we can do a lot better,” Rowley admitted.
“It’s certainly not the finished article, we’ve got a long way to go yet, but to come here and get such a convincing win probably doesn’t reflect the game.
“It was really tough, actually, and Catalans certainly in that first half put us to the sword a little bit, but nevertheless, we held a zero against their name, and we maintained that for most of the game. We found a way and were resilient and tough, and it’s a great win in the end.”
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St Helens boss hails middles after convincing win
Jackson Hastings kicked six from six off the tee whilst Kyle Feldt scored a brace but it was the forwards that Paul Rowley was eager to praise with the Saints boss confirming that they opted to try and win it through the middle in the second-half.
He revealed: “We spoke about that at half-time, that if we kept our game plan really simple, that we felt that we’d be strong in that area, and we would go over through the middle areas, and if it meant us just falling over the line and backing our defence, then that’s what we would do.
“It was simple but effective in the end, but like I said before, it wasn’t polished by any means, but nevertheless, it’s a great victory against a good side, and another two points on the board, so we’re heading in the right direction, but there’s always plenty of work to do.”
Asked about the fact his spine changed again due to injuries, Rowley downplayed that and highlighted two forwards whilst also revealing an injury concern for Alex Walmsley.
On his spine, he said: “They’re good players and they can play everywhere, and I guess when I spoke about having a simple game plan and just backing our defence quite a bit, well, when you can do that repetitively, then the pieces of the jigsaw can go anywhere.
“Certainly some big mentions there too, George Delaney in particular was great, Alex Walmsley was playing on one leg at times, so we’re a little bit busted.
“I think the Leigh game last week took a lot out of us, it was a really bruising encounter, and we saw a little bit of that today, it was very leg-heavy and lethargic at times, but we keep working hard for each other.”
