SEAN LONG HAILED SIGNING OF SEASON

ABOVE: Sean Long could be the signing of the season

SEAN LONG came back to haunt St Helens in the Knowsley Road fog as he spearheaded his new side to a magnificent opening win.

Sean Long may be 33 now but he has lost none of his zest and skill – and could be the signing of the season.

Brains

The scrum-half, who left Saints after 12 trophy-laden seasons when he failed to win a new deal, was the brains behind Hull’s first win in St Helens since 2006. He brilliantly set up one try – and scored a sparkling one of his own.

The Black and Whites finished third-bottom of Super League last season but on this evidence their rebuilt squad can easily take them into the play-offs.

Their big pack bullied the Saints six and, up until the last quarter, their defence was outstanding.

“I have never been so nervous before a game,” said man-of-the-match Long. “Saints threw everything at us and we didn’t crack. We took a lot out of that and hit them on the counter.”

Saints woke up too late in a game where the kick-off was put back 15 minutes to allow the fog to lift – which never really happened – but the Hull fans were not complaining.

They were in front in the 25th minute when Long’s bullet pass found Willie Manu.

Then Tongan forward Epalahame Lauaki smashed his way over the line with Tickle tagging on the extras, before landing a 45th-minute penalty.

Knife

Long twisted the knife again when he backed up a Richard Horne break to sprint to the posts. Bootless Tom Briscoe then stretched the lead.

Saints grabbed a lifeline with a Matt Gidley try and Chris Flannery added another but a Yeaman score put the result beyond doubt.

» MORE 'RUGBY LEAGUE' HERE...

Share @:Digg StumbleUpon del.icio.us Newsvine reddit

Want to Shout?

 

Print This Page

Email To A Friend

Contact Us

Get RSS