After Friday's hard-fought 6-0 victory over Leeds Rhinos on the road, head coach Paul Wellens is not concerned about sending messages to the rest of the Betfred Super League.
Owen Dagnall's try and Johnny Lomax's penalty goal gave Saints their seventh consecutive victory at AMT Headingley, moving them up to third place ahead of the remaining Round 18 games. Matty Lees was named player of the match after making 58 tackles while playing the entire 80 minutes in the front.
After moving up to third place in the Betfred Super League, Paul Wellens thinks St Helens' ruthless 6-0 victory over Leeds Rhinos was more of a statement to themselves than to anyone else.
The Saints maintained their winning streak over the Rhinos at AMT Headingley, which dates back to 2017, with to a penalty goal from Jonny Lomax and a try in the 15th minute from 19-year-old three-quarter Owen Dangall, his fifth of the season.
Despite losing hookers Daryl Clark and Jake Burns to injuries during the game and Agnatius Paasi being sin-binned late in the game, the 10-time Super League champions managed their fifth consecutive victory.
However, head coach Wellens was more focused on the team's future than he was on retaliating against the critics from earlier in the season.
Wellens told Sky Sports, "I believe statements are for other people to think about, it's a statement to ourselves as to where we're going as a team."
There are a lot of things we need to work on, such as how we occasionally handle the game, but the main takeaway is that we have a strong team that supports one another, and that's a good foundation to grow upon.
"Overcoming adversity is a topic we discuss and practise during training. You simply need to respond to it and move on since you can never predict when it will happen.
"We did a good job defending, but we also didn't have everything go our way, which is something I'm proud of."
In what is now a crowded play-off battle behind the top two, Saints defeated opponents Leeds and moved ahead of Leigh Leopards, who will visit Super League leaders Hull KR on Saturday afternoon.
Prop Matty Lees, who played the entire 80 minutes in the front row and recorded 58 tackles, according to Stats Perform, highlighted their defensive efforts and helped him win player of the match.
Lees, who carried for 74 meters, told Sky Sports, "We just keep showingorth for one another."
"I believe that throughout the past few weeks, this performance has been developing.
"I think we've turned the corner now, even if we were having a hard time midway through the year.
"It's amazing not just the performance but also the effort we're all putting forth for one another."
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