THERE you have it!

Saints, having questions asked of them after two losses, had all the answers in a 36-16 Super 8s success at Wakefield Trinity.

Not so much a bubble burst then, just a little deflation from the semi-final heartbreak which has been fixed with a pump of fresh air to set everyone in the camp smiling again.

And with Ben Barba staying behind after the final hooter to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the fans on the sidelines, all seems right with the world again.

While Tommy Makinson will grab headlines for his two superbly taken tries, plaudits should also go to young forwards Jack Ashworth and Matty Lees for their impact off the bench up against some super-sized humans.

Danny Richardson’s kicking game also proved to be a thorn in Wildcats’ side too.

Although Saints came under the cosh for stages in the opening 25 minutes or so, the fact that the scoreline was 0-0 signified that the players were in a much better place physically and mentally than in the previous loss to Huddersfield, whom they had trailed 16-0 early on in the wake of the previous week’s 27-0 first-half drilling in that demoralising Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Catalans Dragons.

And these opening exchanges, full of effort and intensity, came despite the absences of Luke Thompson (suspended), Adam Swift (shoulder), Ryan Morgan (concussion), Dom Peyroux (broken arm) and the long-term casualty Alex Walmsley (neck).

Saints’ attacking threat seemed to lift with the arrival of Ashworth and Lees, along with stalwart Jon Wilkin who had been replaced at loose forward by Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook.

Against a monster Wakefield pack, that features 20-stone Pauli Pauli and must be pushing Catalans Dragons for the biggest set of forwards in Super League, Saints’ speed and mobility down the middle helped to put the visitors in command.

Three tries in seven minutes handed Justin Holbrook’s side a 16-0 half-time lead.

Ashworth showed not for the first time why his future in the sport looks incredibly bright as his spadework was rewarded with the opening two tries.

Firstly, his determination not to be stopped disrupted a Wakefield defence that was then left shy of a defender on their left and as Saints got the ball across to full-back Barba he picked out the perfect pass for a diving Makinson to finish spectacularly by the corner post.

Moments later Ashworth’s offload allowed James Roby to look up and speed away before handing over to Wilkin to tip on to Jonny Lomax for a race to the finish line.

Richardson, who landed both conversions, then had success for a high kick in general play.

Makinson hunted down his ‘bomb’ and got himself between winger Tom Johnstone and full-back Max Jowitt to claim the ball and have the wherewithal to quickly regain his feet to shoot the remaining couple of metres to the line.

Chris Chester would have felt that scoring the first try of the second half would put his side back in it and converted touchdowns from Kyle Wood and Pauli, the latter while Craig Huby was in the sin bin, left Saints fans biting their nails with 22 minutes remaining.

But the character it has taken for Saints to bounce back from two disappointing losses was there to be seen when the momentum was turned.

A narrow side move that brought an offload out of Zeb Taia allowed Mark Percival to attack the line, suck in the covering defenders and fire out a pass for Theo Fages to touchdown.

Wakefield were not going to throw in the towel though and when Miller’s long ball put dangerman Bill Tupou away the lead was again cut to six points with 13 minutes remaining.

Saints kept their composure and on the back of a penalty for a high tackle Richardson’s grubber kick fell perfectly for chasing Luke Douglas to get a firm hand on the ball over the line.

That was probably the end for Wakefield but Regan Grace made sure when Richardson’s high kick was allowed to bounce and the Welsh winger exploded through the line and skirted Jowitt to wrap up the scoring.

Depending on how Wigan fare at Wembley-bound Catalans on Saturday, Saints may be in a position to lift the League Leaders' Shield on their next outing at home to Wigan on Friday, August 31.

Wakefield: Jowitt; Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Tupou, Johnstone; Miller, Hampshire; Fifita, Randell, England, Ashurst, Batchelor, Horo. Subs: Wood, Pauli, Arona, Huby.

St Helens: Barba; Makinson, Costello, Percival, Grace; Lomax, Richardson; Amor, Roby, Douglas, Taia, Knowles, McCarthy-Scarsbrook. Subs: Fages, Wilkin, Lees, Ashworth.