SAINTS boss Justin Holbrook hailed the contribution by skipper James Roby as the key to their derby win at Wigan, describing him as "one of the best in the world".

They won a tight game, 14-6, with tries from Domique Peyroux and Morgan Knowles, having controlled it from the outset.

Describing as one of the toughest games he has watched, Holbrook reserved special praise for his captain.

He said: "Robes made an unbelievable effort and was the difference between the two sides.

“I have never seen a player that defends in the middle make so many cover tackles in the middle of the field. Usually you see things like that on the wing but he made several tackles to stop dangerous opportunities tonight.

“Both sides were run off their feet, but he is the middle keeping going. He is a phenomenal player and we are so grateful and happy he is in our side. He is one of the best I have ever seen; one of the best in the world.”

It was a typical tough derby, and Saints had to do plenty of defending against a Wigan side desperate to retain their unbeaten home record.

“I think we were the best team tonight but I don’t think it was easy. It was one of the toughest games I have watched," Holdbrook said.

"There wasn’t a lot of tries – neither team gave an inch – and it showed the brutality of our game for 80 minutes.

“We were the ones creating chances, but we weren’t good enough to finish them off and they kept on coming. It was another cracking derby and happy we came away with the win.”