IT is the hope that kills you.
Although that sentiment may have been at the forefront of many a supporter’s mind as they shakily stepped off the 80-odd minute play-off rollercoaster ride at Warrington, in reality it was the key errors that contributed to this particular fatality.
The most critical of those mistakes in Golden Point was particularly cruel with Mark Percival slicing it out on the full after Jonny Lomax opted to run the last play - leaving the supporting centre to defuse this particular hot potato on the hoof.
It was a gift to the Wire.
Having had one drop goal charged down by a gutsy Morgan Knowles challenge, George Williams was not going to be denied a second time.
The England captain sent his high kick soaring above the outstretched arms of high-leaping Daryl Clark and through the uprights to break the hearts of the travelling fans and send the vanquished Saints to their knees through a combination of despair and exhaustion.
All the pre-match season stats and formbook pointed to a home win, with Saints given little hope against a side that had beaten them three times already this season.
And another shellacking looked on the cards as soon as Toby King crossed with just 90 seconds on the clock, with Warrington capitalising on a sunshine-impacted Tommy Makinson spillage from kick off.
But Saints did not crumble, anything but, and they were galvanised by the strong carries from the packmen following the momentum created by set starters Makinson and Percival.
With Saints rolling up the field with ease, for once the halves could play on the front foot and it showed when Lewis Dodd, Jack Welsby and Lomax combined, with the latter’s floated pass allowing Makinson to give the travelling fans one more Tommy touchline special.
The same triumvirate, albeit in a different formation with the telling delayed pass from Welsby, fashioned the chance for the redoubtable Percival to crash through for Saints’ second.
Welsby was busy and alert and in everything for the full 80 – with his short pass from dummy half sending Makinson crashing through for what we now know was his 207th and final try in the red vee.
Crucially Percival’s difficult conversion hit the posts and bounced out but Saints were remarkably 16-4 up and in control.
Had Saints held that lead until half time then it may have once again set the jitters loose on a Warrington side that has lost every play-off game since beating Justin Holbrook’s team in the 2018 semi-final.
Alas, Joe Batchelor was punished for an incorrect play-the ball - gifting the hosts a set on the Saints line which ended with Williams sending Matty Ashton over for a converted try to cut the deficit to one score at the break.
With 15 gone in the second half Saints were in the ascendancy and their tough tackling had Warrington pinned in their half until a key momentum changer with Danny Walker mugging Clark for a ball steal penalty.
It was a sickener, but continuing a disappointing trait this year Saints were unable to defend it.
Credit again to the smartness of Williams – the biggest difference between the sides – and he sucked in two men and allowed King to get outside Sione Mata’utia, leaving the makeshift centre stranded in no-man’s land.
Mata’utia had been preferred at centre to Waqa Blake, Ben Davies and Jonny Vaughan - having done a containing job on the strong Papua New Guinean Rodrick Tai in the sides’ previous clash when playing on the left.
He found it more uncomfortable on the right, marking the more nimble King, and with a speedster like Ashton on that wing – and it was something Sam Burgess clearly targeted.
The momentum had shifted Warrington’s way and 15 minutes from time, their defence hammered Saints back in their own end.
That pressure combined with no little fatigue led to dreadful pass from Clark hit the deck for the quick-thinking Wolves tap on for Ashton’s second score.
Again, it was cruel on Clark, who a few minutes earlier had raced across to stop a runaway Ashton with an ankle tap, but that is the nature of sport.
But credit to Saints – there was no white flag, and they kept battling to the end with Jon Bennison rewarded for his fine end of season return to the first team with a well-taken score in the corner from a Mata’utia pass.
And when nerveless Percival defied the cacophony to stroke the ball between the aitches, the unlikely Mission Impossible seemed on again.
Alas, the rugby gods were just toying with us – and after a frenetic 3 minutes 48 seconds Saints’ Annus Horribilis of a season would be over.
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