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SAINTS refused to allow man of the match Sean Long to attend the post-match Press conference – but he had already delivered all his answers on the pitch.
Saints 46 Huddersfield Giants 6
SAINTS refused to allow man of the match Sean Long to attend the post-match Press conference – but he had already delivered all his answers on the pitch.
The Great Britain scrum-half, who is at the centre of an alleged betting scandal with team-mate Martin Gleeson, produced a vintage performance to end Huddersfield's dreams of appearing in the Challenge Cup Final for the first time since 1962 when they lost 12-6 to Wakefield Trinity at Wembley.
Long seemed oblivious of his off-the-field problems, creating havoc with superb handling and tactical kicking, which kept a brave but totally outclassed Huddersfield on the back-foot for most of Sunday's semi-final mismatch at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington.
He played a pivotal role in four of Saints' five first-half tries and then crossed the whitewash himself early in the second-half before retiring with a recurrence of the knee injury, which almost forced him to miss the tie.
Coach Ian Millward said: "We gave Sean a run out on Saturday and he came through the test OK.
"But we had to make sure there was no reaction and only decided to play him at the last minute.
"He is a tough little rooster and produced an outstanding performance."
Skipper Paul Sculthorpe said: "I thought Sean had a super game and in the first-half especially I thought he got us on the front-foot due to his excellent kicking game."
Huddersfield's kicking game, however, went wrong from the moment referee Karl Kirkpatrick signalled the start of the game
They immediately kicked the ball dead on the full, handing over possession and the initiative to Saints, and then spent most of the first 40 minutes entrenched in their own half in a forlorn attempt to keep a rampant Saints at bay.
At times it resembled the Siege of the Alamo and once the floodgates opened the outcome was as predictable as night following day.
All 16 players contributed to the victory (Micky Higham being left on the bench after turning over his ankle in the warm-up) and Millward was quick to point out: "It is difficult to single anyone out for special mention, not just in this match, but all the others we have played this season.
"It was a great team effort, which everyone at the club appreciates."
Keiron Cunningham hammered the first nail in the Giants' coffin after nine minutes of almost relentless pressure – collecting Long's wickedly bouncing ball after colliding with one of the uprights.
Long was also at the hub of the move which led to Saints second and third tries in the 13th and 25th minutes.
He linked up with Darren Albert to send Jason Hopper racing through an alarming gap in the Huddersfield defence, and then combined with Cunningham to carve out a try for Lee Gilmour.
Huddersfield eventually broke out of their shackles on the half hour mark after Paul Wellens had been controversially penalised for a voluntary tackle – an astute pass from substitute Eorl Crabtree paving the way for Paul March to plunge over and then add the goal.
But there was little respite for the Tykes and within a couple of minutes Saints had struck again. Wellens made a superb break from Long's made-to-measure pass before slipping the ball to the supporting Willie Talau, who roared over.
Winger Ade Gardner completed the first-half try-scoring seconds from half-time following a slick handling movement, and Long banged over his third goal from five attempts.
Huddersfield now had little to play for other than pride and initially matched Saints before succumbing to the speed of thought of that man Long in the 52nd minute – the try coming after what can best be described as a comedy of errors.
Cunningham's wayward pass deep in his own half was snapped up by Julian Bailey but the momentum was lost when the supporting Marcus St Hilaire lost possession following a crunching Albert tackle, leaving the ever-alert Long to pick up the pieces and race in.
It was his final contribution, Sculthorpe taking over the kicking duties and increasing Saints' lead to 32-6.
But the Cup favourites were far from finished and wrapped up a comprehensive win with further tries from Hooper (67 mins) and Gardner (76 mins), as well as a late Sculthorpe penalty, which took his points tally to eight.
Huddersfield Giants: Reilly, O'Hare, Nero, Bailey, St Hilaire, Costin, March, Slicker, Turner, Fleary, Jones, Roarty, Gene. Subs: Penkywicz, Gannon, Smith, Crabtree.
Saints: Wellens, Albert, Gleeson, Talau, Gardner, Hooper, Long, Fozzard, Cunningham, Mason, Joynt, Gilmour, Sculthorpe. Subs: Edmondson, Bibey and Hardman (used). Higham (not used).
Referee Karl Kirkpatrick (Warrington).
Attendance: 13,134.
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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