SAINTS boss Justin Holbrook was frustrated after seeing his side slip to defeat at Wakefield after a shocking 15-minute patch in the first half left them with a mountain to climb.

Saints trailed 22-6 at one point, and although they clawed it back to two points - they paid for those defensive errors.

He contrasted the work rate of the opposition hungry for a victory with the attitude of his own players.

Holbrook said: “Wakefield played well today and all credit to them,” he said. “They worked harder than us.

"We would make a break and they had players coming from everywhere to stop it.

" Then they would break and score. I was really disappointed with our effort today.

“We kept going until the end and had a chance of getting away with it but when you look at the 80 minutes, that 15 minute period in the first half cost us. It’s unlike us this year to let soft tries in.

"We did that today and that is why we didn’t get the win."

He refused to blame the absence of James Roby for the defeat.

“James Roby was a loss; you don’t replace players like that easily but it didn’t have a bearing on the result.

“It’s important to bounce back now. I don’t want to take anything from Wakefield as they were great today, but we need to bounce back on Friday and play better that’s for sure,” he said.