St Helens 20 Wakefield 4 Trinity: First 2022 Super League win still proving elusive for Trinity

Centre Mark Percival scored two tries as Kristian Woolf’s men enjoyed their third win from as many games.

In contrast, Wakefield are still looking for their first victory of the new campaign.

Trinity made a lively start with Harry Bowes, Tom Johnstone and Jacob Miller all making promising breaks. But once Saints got their first points, they found their rhythm and started to dominate play.

Percival scored his first in the 15th minute after Jack Welsby and Jonny Lomax combined to spin the ball out to the left edge. A determined Percival would not be stopped from close range as he went in at the corner though Tommy Makinson could not add the conversion.

Makinson had a score disallowed for obstruction but Saints did go over moments later.

The scrambling Wakefield defence had managed to keep out Makinson initially before James Roby spied a gap and went blind side from dummy-half to score in the corner. Makinson added the goal to make it 10-0, before adding the extras to Percival’s second try nine minutes before half-time.

Wakefield grabbed an unlikely lifeline when a beautifully weighted kick to the corner by scrum-half Brad Walker was grounded by Johnstone for a try, though Max Jowitt’s conversion attempt hit the upright.

There was plenty of invention from Trinity at the start of the second half as they looked to test the Saints defence but they could not create a clear try-scoring opportunity.

Having seen off Wakefield’s best efforts, Saints scored their fourth try of the game with 17 minutes remaining, Josh Simm scoring in the corner.

St Helens: Welsby, Simm, Hurrell, Percival, Makinson, Lomax, Dodd, Walmsley, Roby, Lees, Mata’utia, Batchelor, Knowles. Substitutes: Lussick, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Sironen, Pa’asi.

Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt, Lineham, Minns, Hall, Johnstone, Miller, Walker, Crowther, Pitts, Ashurst, Arona, Bowes, Fifita. Substitutes: Kay, Battye, Whitbread, Batchelor.

Referee: Aaron Moore (RFL).