Bradford 0 St Helens 50: James Roby pulls the strings as Saints march onwards

St Helens coach Nathan Brown was thrilled with the number of his players who are reaching top form as his side moved back to within a point of the Super League leaders Leeds by pummelling hapless Bradford at Odsal Stadium.

Saints ran in nine tries, with Luke Walsh contributing 18 points by crossing the line once and kicking seven goals in blustery conditions.

Jon Wilkin added two tries while there were also touchdowns for Jonny Lomax, Tommy Makinson, Adam Swift, Sia Soliola, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook and James Roby.

For relegation-threatened Bradford it was a disappointing end to a brief revival which had included recent battling victories over Catalans in the Challenge Cup and Warrington in the league but this result plunges them back into deep trouble as Wakefield, Salford and Hull KR – the sides immediately above them prior to the weekend – all picked up vital points.

Brown said: “We had some people who I thought had their best games for a while and on the back of their efforts it brought Robes [Roby] into the game. He was superior, I felt, to anyone else on the field and that comes off the back of people working with him. We had about six kids on the field who have played only 10, 15 or 20 Super League games so the guys should feel happy.

“Sia [Soliola] was outstanding and he has a big effect on how our team performs. Louie McCarthy has got better and better these last three weeks.”

The Bulls were without playmaker Luke Gale and were also light in the forwards after Manase Manuokafoa’s comeback was put on hold for another week.

Bradford boss Francis Cummins said: “We had two players pull out after our final training session. We started well but then gave them too much cheap ball and you cannot afford to do that against a side like St Helens. After that we went into free-fall a little.”