SAINTS coach Kristian Woolf was pleased with his team's 24-10 win over Hull FC.

It was a tight first 40 before Saints were rewarded for their patience and tough defence.

"I thought it was a good game of footy," Woolf said. "Hull are a very good side and came with a really good intensity.

"It was exactly the kind of game we needed after last week, we needed a game that excited us, a tough game where we had to show our character which we did.

"We're a very good second-half team, we back our fitness and our intensity to go for 80 minutes.

"I thought our defence was back to being close to its best tonight. We had probably fallen away from that the last couple of weeks.

"That can happen - we have had a lot of disruption and changes and blokes playing out of position but thought we got back to that tonight.

"We showed that when Hull had periods of putting us under pressure in the first half and I thought we did a really good job with 12 men."

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On Jonny Lomax, who is playing with a ruptured bicep, Woolf said: "I am really happy with Jonny and really proud.

"When he first did his bicep he put himself in a position to play against Wigan.

"Not many could do that. He has backed that up tonight.

"He is only going to get better with that - the injury is done and is not going to get worse.

"As he gets comfortable with it and has it settles down and alows him to be free with it he is going to get better."

Lomax has been attacking in the halves but defending at 1, which will change eventually.

"At some stage he will go back to defending in the front line and that will be determined by him and when he is comfortable and confident with it," Woolf said.