1. There was definitely a sense of after the Lord Mayor’s Show in Friday’s game against Hull KR.

There were a number of factors, Saints had come off the back of a tough game, they were up against opposition that they were expected to beat and had the game well under control within the first eight minutes.

Had Saints taken their numerous half chances the scoreline would have been 50 plus.

But what contributed massively was the slowness of the proceedings. It was extremely stop-start, with mistakes aplenty from Rovers.

Still, not every week can be thrill a minute, with the crowd volume turned up.

2. There were plenty of good bits to illuminate the often dull proceedings – the end of each half saw two such highlights.

The first, on the stroke of half time, saw Ben Barba dash down the flank and kick inside for tommy Makinson to chase but get beaten by the dead ball line.

The last was the Barba try, scored on the hooter after plenty of fans had already left.

3. Leaving early – You pay your money, so you can do what you want…..but unless you are going to miss your last bus or train, or you have childcare issues to sort out, I have never understood why people leave early.

Admittedly the last 20 minutes was pretty turgid stuff, but it is always worth the wait.

It is not a new phenomenon – there will be fans out there who missed Wide to West after going for an early dart.

4. A lot of focus was on Barba’s second try, but his first was something special – primarily because of Zeb Taia’s pass. It was a sublime piece of skill, so quick it was hard for the naked eye to capture what he did.

Instinctively, Taia, acting like a pivot appeared to have passed the ball inside to the supporting Barba a millisecond after catching it.

5. Saints’ win, with defeats for Warrington and Wigan pushes them six points clear at the top of the league. Although there will be no complacency – it does allow them a little more breathing space and the luxury of resting players who are not 100 per cent.

Jonny Lomax and Jon Wilkin sat out last week – and the contribution that they both make was missed. But to have the depth of squad and the points cushion to avoid the sheer week-to-week desperation of last year is a major plus.

6. James Roby scored his 100th try in the red vee on Friday. It was an amazing piece of strength, beating two men and the goal post to squeeze the ball down.

After suffering a debilitating rib cartilage injury post Easter, it was good to see Roby take his performance up yet another notch with his industry and incisive running.

Relishing the captain’s role, Roby still looks like a player with good years ahead of him – and he will get a couple more on top of that with the right understudy.