WHAT a difference a month makes! Saints made it four wins on the trot with a 34-18 victory over Huddersfield Giants to move level pegging with fourth-placed Catalans Dragons with just one week to go before the split.

Hopes of being in with a chance of even fighting for a semi-final ahead of the Super 8s kick off, seemed fanciful when Saints trudged off the field in Perpignan in early June.

But four consecutive wins from Keiron Cunningham’s men and the corresponding number of losses from the French outfit have thrown everything back into the melting pot.

Although nobody is counting chickens, after all Saints have simply beaten four teams below them on the league ladder, there is a confidence building and into that mix Saints are looking relatively healthy with Luke Walsh return adding an extra dimension.

In what was an entertaining game, Saints got off to a dream start with an early score from Joe Greenwood before the spell-binding mastery of Danny Brough dragged the Giants into one of those now familiar tit-for-tat encounters that can always be a danger in Yorkshire.

But with the scores tight at 22-18 ten minutes into the second half a good piece of fortune, albeit smartly executed, changed the course of the game for good.

Brough’s attacking kick was returned with a length of field try from fit-again Adam Swift and Saints’ game management, the way they kicked deep, and defended their line and scrambled as if it already was a semi-final, brought them home.

This was always going to be a potential banana skin against the Giants team that absolutely roasted them at Newcastle’s Magic event six weeks ago.

With new boss Rick Stone taking charge for the first time Giants had former Wolves wing Gene Ormsby making his full debut while there were returns for big men Sebastine Ikahihifo and Craig Huby.

But in midweek Saints boss Cunningham hinted that the Magic loss had hurt his group of players pretty badly, and roared on by a vocal travelling support, they showed they meant business pretty early on.

They took had players back on board with scrum half Luke Walsh slotting back in, with Saints also keeping Jordan Turner and Jon Wilkin in pivot roles.

Walsh was the creator with less than two minutes on the clock when he threaded a wicked diagonal grubber across the face of the goal posts and to the right where the ever alert Joe Greenwood timed his run to perfection, and grounding clinically.

Mark Percival converted, but Huddersfield hit back quickly with Huby’s stong burst and then Brough bamboozling some pretty iffy defence to pick his spot behind the posts before converting it himself Ormsby made a hash of a booming 70m downfield punt from Turner, meaning Saints could press again from the drop out.

They executed well with Wilkin, Walsh and then the long pass fired from Jonny Lomax sending winger Jack Owens steaming in at the corner.

But infuriatingly three minutes Giants were in front when Ryan Hinchliffe burst through the centre and although Saints harried and scrambled, they could never clamp the ball with Tom Symonds forcing his way over out on the right. Brough made it 12-10.

However, Saints’ response was magnificent and they went back in front when James Roby picked out Wilkin from dummy half, with the skipper’s pass for Walsh creating the gap for Walsh to send Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook charging through a gap.

Walsh was also the provider for the powerful Turner, who forced his way over on the left to open up a 10-point lead at the break.

Saints started the second half well, and only a desperate challenge stopped Owens from crossing in the corner.

And it was all on again when Swift missed the looped pass to McGillvary, allowing the big wing to collect and score in space, which with Brough's excellent conversion, narrowed the gap to just four points again.

But then Swift, who missed last week with concussion, changed the course of the game when he plucked Brough’s second stab at a kick over the line from the air and raced 80 metres to restore Saints' 10-point cushion.

Saints then had to roll up their sleeves and defend, halting the to-and-fro with some pretty dogged defence. They survived four sets, with four penalties in a row on the line, and survived Symonds having his score chalked off for a forward pass. Lomax had bravely tried to get under the big man to halt him, such was the collective determination to keep the line intact.

After another Giants penalty, McCarthy-Scarsbrook eased the pressure with a thunderous hit forcing a spillage barely yards from the line.

And then came the sucker punch with Lomax put through the hole in the middle, before picking his pass perfectly for Swift to toss back inside for Percival and Turner.

Saints kept their composure, choosing not to throw a daft pass to end the play, instead biding their time for the next play where Alex Walmsley backed himself to see off the defence.

Saints had the wherewithal to close the game down from there, creating half chances at one end while foiling McGillvary at the other with a fine tackle.

So a confidence boosting win for Saints, who will now travel to Wigan on Friday hoping to see if their new-found form can be applied to the top four teams.

Huddersfield: Connor; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Murphy, Ormsby; Brough, Brierley; Huby,Hinchcliffe, Rapira, Symonds, Lawrence, Ta'ai. Subs: Crabtree, Leeming, Roberts, Ikahihifo.

Saints: Lomax; Owens, Fleming, Percival, Swift; Turner, Walsh; Walmsley, Roby, Richards, Greenwood, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Wilkin. Subs: Amor, Vea, Thompson, Knowles.