Lomax and Percival shine as Saints beat Hull KR

Betfred Super League

St Helens (18) 36

Tries: Percival, Lomax 2, Cross, Host, Robertson Goals: Sailor 4, Lomax, Percival

Hull KR (0) 12

Tries: Leyland, Holden Goals: Charles 2

St Helens legends Jonny Lomax and Mark Percival went out with a bang as Saints ended their disappointing season by beating a young Hull KR side.

Lomax scored his first two tries of the campaign and Percival went over for his first as they bowed out after trophy-laden careers with Saints.

The defending champions fielded an inexperienced team who managed to worry the hosts in the second half as Bill Leyland and teenage debutant Flynn Holden crossed before Saints re-established control at the BrewDog Stadium.

Deon Cross, Jacob Host and Harry Robertson all added tries to give the scoreline a flattering look.

While Saints ended their season in seventh, the sixth-placed Robins face an eliminator away to Warrington next Saturday (17:30 BST after they clinched third place by beating Toulouse.

Saints are making changes after missing out on the play-offs for the first time in the 30 years of Super League, with former Man of Steel, Jackson Hastings, leaving after his one underwhelming season.

Percival and Lomax were given golden lettering and numbers on their shirts and had their honours woven in. The pair were also given a guard of honour by both teams as they walked out with their children.

Robins coach Willie Peters opted to rest most of his first teamers with the play-offs looming, and his scratch side of six teenagers and six debutants played well before Percival and Lomax gave them a lesson.

In the 26th minute, Lomax fed Percival who rolled over before slamming the ball down with his right hand.

Percival returned the compliment eight minutes later and could have scored himself after collecting the ball from Tristan Sailor, but instead passed to Lomax to go over the line.

Then just before half-time, Lomax slid over and referee Matty Lynn ruled he had grounded the ball, despite Hull KR's desperate attempts to stop him.

The Robins got the try they richly deserved four minutes into the second half when Mikey Lewis, who was back from his latest suspension, was held up just inches from the line and Leyland picked up the ball to crash over.

It got even better for the visitors after 52 minutes when 19-year-old Holden weaved his way past five tackles to score a sensational try.

It was game on before Saints pulled away as the Robins tired. Cross cut inside to score on 63 minutes before Host went over underneath the posts five minutes later, despite the efforts of four Hull KR tacklers.

Lomax added the two points before Robertson went over in the 70th minute and fittingly, Percival had the last word, kicking the conversion.

St Helens interim coach Eamon O'Carroll told Sky Sports:

"I would have loved us to perform a bit better for longer periods and I thought Hull KR's young players were fantastic - they competed really hard.

"But you know, if you'd said to me this morning that we'd win the game, that we would send Jonny and Mark out the way we have and win at home, I would have snatched your hand off.

"When I first came into this job, I wanted to make sure I left it in a better place. That means I'll continue into next week. I'll do the player reviews and try and help set things up for next season and then I'll go down to Scarlets at the back end of next week."

Hull KR assistant coach Dave Hodgson told BBC Radio Humberside:

"I thought it was outstanding straight from the off. They just got after them, didn't they? It was great to see and that's all we ask for, mainly around the effort areas and see where the game goes.

"They went even longer than we thought they might do and Saints, we rattled them.

"It was a bit of indiscipline in the first half - it probably hurt us a little bit as a younger team and we allowed Saints to hurt us a little bit.

"But there was a lot of good stuff, playing against a very good Saints team, who had a lot to play for on the night with Lomax and Percival retiring. I thought our young team really got into them."

St Helens: Welsby; Sailor, Percival (c), Cross, Douglas; Robertson, Lomax; Suluka-Fifita, Humphreys, Klemmer, Sironen, Keely, Shorrocks.

Interchanges: Host, Evans, Matagi, Cartwright; Knox.

Hull KR: Holden; Harvey Horne, L Gorman, Booth, Kershaw; Lewis (c), Charles; Fishwick, Leyland, Wainhouse, Dearlove, Westerman, Woods.

Interchanges: Murphy, A Gorman, Middlemas, Petty; Harrison Horne.

Referee: Matty Lynn.