No complaints from Potter

Former St Helens head coach Mick Potter admitted his Bradford side were second best as they were beaten 28-16 in Widnes.

Potter commented: “Saints did very well and could have had some more points.

“James Roby was fantastic but our guys applied themselves. But Saints were too good on the night. They executed the plays very well and exploited the gaps.

“Saints had a mountain of possession and their kicking game was very good. We need to be better ourselves in that department.”

Rookie half-backs Jonny Lomax and Lee Gaskell earned glowing praise from St Helens assistant boss Kieron Purtill.

Lomax had a hand in all five tries – two each for Paul Wellens and Jamie Foster, with Chris Flannery bagging the other – as Saints achieved their first win at their temporary Widnes base.

Purtill said: “Jonny and Lee are going very well together. They are gaining a lot of experience and hopefully that will stand them in good stead.

“Jonny came onto the scene as a utility player which was good for his development.

Maturity

“But he’s showing more maturity with the ball and is going to get better. If the two kids keep playing like that they are going to be hard to shift.”

Purtill also paid tribute to veteran full-back Paul Wellens, who linked up superbly for his double.

“Paul is like vintage wine and gets better with age,” he said. “Our senior guys are setting the right example for the younger players.

“It was an excellent performance after a tough game at Leeds last week.

“We are showing more resilience as a team but had to hang on in there near the end when we were down to 11 men.”

Saints had Sol Soliola and Michael Shenton sin-binned and Purtill joked: “That’s probably why Royce (Simmons, coach) sent me to the press conference, so as not to get into trouble with the RFL and save himself a few quid!”