SAINTS coach Kristian Woolf hailed his side's defensive effort in the last 10 minutes when they resisted three consecutive sets of six on their to help secure a third Grand Final in a row.

With Saints 12-10 in front, Catalans found joy with their kicking game to secure back to back drop-outs.

But Saints's stingy defence held firm to take the Super League title.

Woolf said: "It was a nerve-racking last 10 minutes, we put ourselves in a great position and really just had to kick into the corners and back our defence.

It has been outstanding all year and was again tonight when we gave them the ball back an put ourselves under pressure

"Our defence there to finish that game when there's all that fatigue, with three sets on the line, I think we are the only team in the competition that can do that.

"It was a very deserved win from a group of blokes who have not just worked hard this year, but have worked hard over the last three years to put ourselves in this position.

"That doesn't get done often for a reason - and that is because it is hard to do

"It was a great final, that in a normal game you get sin bins, I thought (referee) Liam (Moore) did a good job, I did not agree with every decision but I thought things went both ways."

Catalans boss Steve McNamara said: "Hugely disappointed we just lost a Grand final by two points, we left everything out there.

"Two tries to one, typical we just ended up on the wrong side of it, I could not have asked anymore from my players."

Early in the game, Sione Mata'utia appeared to punch James Maloney in the opening stages of the game.

McNamara said: "It's a sending-off isn't it? With that sort of incident they generally go back and have a look at it.

"I think there's a lot of bits and pieces over the game but its a big call, we've seen players sent off in Grand Finals before.

"Ben Garcia sat next to me broke his hand in the game, Sam Tomkins was a doubt, I expected the physio to come into the dressing room and say he wasn't ready for tonight.

"He had a grade-two medial ligament injury, he was in a lot of pain, we flew him to England, played with injections tonight, which is a danger for him because with the injection it could have shut his leg down.

"We've come into our maiden Grand Final and we've been beaten by one of the greats in St Helens... you have to say that now after winning three Grand Finals in a row."