BEN Barba looks like a player who has found his mojo again with his brace of tries helping enliven a game that did not live down to the billing of a low-key dead rubber match.

And once again Jonny Lomax was a tower of strength on both sides of the ball, scoring tries and creating at one end and stopping them at the other.

There was plenty to commend Saints in a game that could have been tricky.

With league positions fixed, and with the sides due to meet a week on Thursday in the semi-final, the game was expected to be a cagey, low-key affair - almost a phoney war.

But the venom in the tackles from the off and the free-for-all that resulted in three yellows being brandished showed that the players were not simply going through the motions.

There was some nice movement with the ball too as Saints rattled in six sparkling tries to Wires' three to send the travelling fans home happy.

However, as a way of a caveat ahead of the semi, Wolves were without halves Tyrone Roberts and then Kevin Brown for a good chunk of the game, so nobody will read too much into the way the game unfolded ahead of the next meeting.

It was a feisty affair at times, with Ben Westwood's late challenge on kicker Danny Richardson seeing the latter kick Saints into a 2-0 lead.

With the packs on both sides giving as good as they got, Matty Lees struck a falling Roberts with the knee and a melee ensued.

When the dust settled Lees was sin-binned, with Mark Percival and Ryan Atkins joining him for running in.

On top of that Roberts was led off looking groggy and never returned after failing the concussion assessment.

While Saints were depleted Lomax met Ben Murdoch Masila head on to stop a certain try, Bryson Goodwin was held up on the line and then Regan Grace dropped Josh Charnley in the corner.

And they looked as though they had got over that 11 versus 12 period only for Brown to dummy his way around Richardson just as the binned players were ready to return.

Patton's goal made it 6-2 Percival's finger tips denied Atkins a try from a Patton grubber.

After withstanding that Saints roared back with two tries in the last quarter of the half.

First off Luke Douglas strode to the line and twist his way out of a three-man tackle to touch down.

Then in the final minute of the half Jack Ashworth went on a barnstorming 40 metre run set up the position Lomax, Barba and Percival to fashion an opening for Grace to touch down in the corner to send Saints into a 12-6 lead at half-time.

The second half got off to a flying start when Richardson weaved and dashed 60 metres, only to be denied by Josh Charnley's cover tackle. Richardson didn't need the second and third tacklers in, after the tackle had been completed though.

But there was no stopping Lomax from a sublime passage of play with the ball whipped left by the stand off to Barba to set up the play.

Barba, playing with a real spring in his step, unleashed a long-striding Percival who in turn slipped a Gidleyesque inside ball for Lomax to gather and score.

And straight from the restart a fine run down the right edge from a returning Ryan Morgan, who sauntered downfield before sending the supporting Richardson darting over to make it 24-6.

And approaching the hour Barba twisted out of a couple of tackles to extend the lead, showing obvious delight when he launched the ball into the cheering away support.

Toby King's 64th-minute try - from a Richardson spilled pass - gave Wolves a faint hope.

But Grace foiled Charnley's attempts to ground a ball from a kick to the corner after initially being outjumped.

It was left to Barba to shimmy and step his way through for his second to wrap up Saints' scoring. Once again there was a beam on his face - just what we need at this time of the year.

Warrington had the last word with a spectacular, acrobatic score from Bryson Goodwin, but it was a mere consolation.

In all, although Saints will not get carried away with this result. But it was nonetheless pleasing to see Holbrook's men find their groove again and play tough when needed and show off their silky skills when the chances arose.

Warrington: Ratchford; Goodwin, King,Atkins, Charnley; Brown, Roberts; Hill, Paton, Cooper, Murdoch Masila, Thompson, Westwood. Subs: King, Philbin, Livett, Smith.

Saints: Barba; Makinson, Morgan, Percival, Grace; Lomax, Richardson; Thompson, Knowles, Lees, Taia, Bentley, Wilkin. Subs: Fages, Douglas, Peyroux, Ashworth.