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St Helens (4) 26
Tries: Wright, Sironen, Sailor, Feldt, Cross Goals: Hastings
Bradford (10) 22
Tries: Ryan, Wynne 2, Ackers Goals: Hooley
St Helens recuperated from an early second-half deficit to record a hard-fought Super League success over Bradford Bulls.
The hosts discovered themselves 12 points behind simply after the break, however ultimately secured the points thanks to a Deon Cross try in the final 5 minutes.
Earlier scores from Shane Wright, Curtis Sironen, Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt helped see off the Bulls, who played most of the second half with 12 guys after Eliot Peposhi's termination.
A 3rd straight win moves Saints level on points with second-place Warrington, while Bradford remain fifth having won 2 and lost two of their first 4 games back in the top tier.
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This was the very first Super League conference in 12 years for the 2 sides, who objected to the competition's Grand Final in 1999 and 2002, and showed to be a gripping struggle.
Wright's 3rd try of the season put Saints in front early on but the visitors reacted brilliantly to lead by the break.
A best grubber kick from Luke Hooley established Ethan Ryan to level the scores up, and Hooley then kicked his side in front after David Klemmer was sent out to the sin bin in his 300th profession appearance.
The Bulls made the extra man count, and repeated through Connor Wynne to extend the lead to 6.
At the other end, Esan Marsters produced an exceptional desperate deal with to stop the hosts levelling things up.
A fantastic breakaway rating from Wynne provided the Bulls a 12-point lead soon after the restart, before the St Helens fightback began.
Tries in fast succession from Sironen and Sailor - the former validated following a review - brought the hosts back level and when Peposhi was sent minutes later it looked as though there would just be one winner.
Feldt's score certainly recommended it would be one-way traffic, just for the Bulls to take advantage of a Saints sin-binning - this time for Joe Shorrock - and go in front when more through Andy Ackers.
The Bradford backline stood strong for almost 10 minutes, consisting of forcing the ball out of play with St Helens looking specific to score in the corner thanks to the work of 5 protectors.
Cross, nevertheless, slipped through in the closing stages to protect the win, and extend the Bulls' await an away success at Saints to 17 years.
St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:
"I believe we have actually got a little bit of character in the team, so that's excellent to see. All of us think that's a non-negotiable, but it's not always evident in all teams, so that box is ticked.
"I think we have discovered a way to win in regards to we've got a sprinkling of how I 'd like us to play.
"It's getting progressively tough with all the pieces in all the places that we have actually got, but we are scoring some tries and digging deep."
St Helens: Sailor; Feldt, MacDonald, Cross, Murphy; Whitby, Hastings; Delaney, Clark, Klemmer; Sironen, Wright, Shorrocks
Interchanges: Host, Robertson, Whitley, Stephens
Bradford: Aekins; Wynne, Marsters, Blake, Ryan; Hooley, Milnes; Chamberlain, Mellor, Fulton; Sutton, Ackers, Lewis
Interchanges: Doro, Douglas, Hallas, Peposhi
What's Next?
Both of these teams remain in Challenge Cup action next week.
St Helens go to Castleford on Saturday, 14 March (18:00 GMT), while Bradford travel to Super League table-toppers Wigan Warriors on Friday, 13 March (20:00)