REACTION: Saints nil a youthful Wigan to go to top of Super League

The win, combined with Warrington’s loss to Salford, propelled Saints back into Super League’s top spot.

Although the Warriors came with plenty of energy, aggression and enthusiasm Saints racked 18 points in as many minutes to secure a grip on the game that they never looked like relinquishing.

There were two tries each for Regan Grace and Jack Welsby, with further scores from Alex Walmsley, Morgan Knowles and James Bentley.

As pleasing for the coach was the nil next to Wigan’s name after 80 minutes, with Lachlan Coote booted all seven conversions to make the margin on the scoreboard even more emphatic.

"I thought our blokes were really good," Woolf said. "It was really professional the way they went about it.

"It's difficult when you turn up and the team sheet has changed, it takes the sting out of the way you've prepared for.

"We knew when they named a younger side that they were going to play the game of their lives and that it was going to be physical and they would try to chance their hand a little bit. They did all those things.

"That's why it was so pleasing that our blokes were professional and ground it out, handing their enthusiasm to get on top and break them a bit as the game wore on.

"The best sign of our attitude was that we didn't allow them to score any points. They had plenty of opportunities with a number of six agains which put us under pressure.

“At times younger blokes can be a bit more challenging with what they do attack wise as well.

"I was really happy with the resolve we showed defensively. We probably blew at least four definite tries so there's something to clean up but I'm definitely happy."

For the second week running the six again tally was loaded against Saints which meant they had plenty more work to do.

Woolf was not concerned that it was anything his players were doing wrong.

“I am not worried about what our team are doing there at all, but I am not going to bother ringing anyone either.

“But I can’t quite figure out what a six again is and what isn’t at the moment. But when one comes up you just have to defend it out and that is what we did really well.

There was praise for two-try Jack Welsby, who has had an extended run during Tommy Makinson’s five game ban which ended today.

He has now scored eight tries from 11 appearances this year.

"I thought Jack was really good tonight, he had a couple of really challenging plays and made some smart decisions at different times," Woolf said.

"He's getting better and better at this level.

"I'm happy with what he's doing. He's not a winger but he's doing a great job as a winger. We've got to figure out a position for him, he is doing enough every week to say that he needs a place in the team."

There was a debut for half back Lewis Dodd, albeit in the role of hooker when James Roby went off in the last quarter.

“It was great to give Doddy a run for his debut. He has been knocking on the door for four or five weeks now. He really showed that he belongs there. He is smart when he has got the ball in hand and shows a lot of willingness to defend.

Saints now climb to top spot in the table – with eight games to play as we head into a condensed two-month period which concluded with a Grand Final at the end of November.

“We have a lot of footy to play in a very short period – and the next couple of weeks are really important,” Woolf said.