Jamie Foster shines on St Helens debut against lacklustre Leeds

There were raised eyebrows when St Helens opted for three hookers in their squad this season, recalling Scott Moore from Huddersfield to join Keiron Cunningham and James Roby. But all three played magnificently in this 41-20 victory over Leeds which takes them into second place in Super League. Both sides were missing five regulars but the Saints youngsters stood up, none more so than 19-year-old wing Jamie Foster who landed eight goals from eight attempts on his Super League debut. Mick Potter, the St Helens coach, said: "I thought the first 40 minutes was one of our best performances this year. With Leeds coming back at us it was difficult but I can't fault the effort of any of them." His team got off to a disastrous start when Kyle Eastmond sent the kick-off out on the full and Kevin Sinfield's penalty took them deep into Saints territory. A brilliant one-handed offload from Ian Kirke sent Lee Smith through a huge gap to the line and Sinfield converted but then Leeds started to give away penalties and had their defence tested by three consecutive sets. Having soaked up the pressure the Rhinos surged upfield and a wide pass to Ryan Hall saw the winger scorching over unopposed but the try was disallowed by the video referee who spotted an obstruction in the build-up. The visitors continued to invite St Helens into their territory through their misdemeanours and they eventually paid the price. Cunningham threw out a trademark long ball to Moore who crashed over from short range. Foster levelled the scores with the conversion and from the restart the home side kept the pressure on and claimed another try, Tony Puletua blasting over with Foster adding the extras and then easing them further ahead with a penalty. When Ryan Hall knocked deep in his own half he presented St Helens with another good attacking platform, James Roby taking advantage by stretching over from dummy half. Foster converted to send his side in at the break with a 20-6 lead. St Helens extended their lead early in the second half when Eastmond sent Chris Flannery racing over for another touchdown which Foster improved. Eastmond dropped a goal on their next attack but Leeds hit back when Brett Delaney raced over. The home side were guilty of giving away penalties and Ryan Hall squeezed over while Sinfield converted to bring his side back into the game at 27-16. However, any thoughts of a fightback were snuffed out when Foster landed a penalty and then a break by Moore, carried on by Eastmond, saw Matty Ashurst crash over. Leeds continued to cough up possession as they desperately tried to get back into the game and St Helens took advantage. Another sharp pass from Cunningham saw Roby collect his second try and Foster converted. Rob Burrow had the final say with a length of the field touchdown but it was little consolation for the champions who remain outside of the play-offs in ninth place. Their coach, Brian McClennan, said: "We had to defend too much in the first half and I think that caught up with us as the game went on. We didn't retain enough possession and acquire enough possession to get ourselves into a dominant position." St Helens Wellens; Gardner, Wheeler, Flannery, Foster; Moore, Eastmond; Graham, Cunningham, Hargreaves, Clough, Dixon, Puletua Interchange Fozzard, Roby, Ashurst, Fa'asavalu Tries Moore, Puletua, Roby 2, Flannery, Ashurst Goals Foster 8 Drop goal Eastmond Leeds Rhinos Smith; Hall, Delaney, Senior, Bush; McGuire, Burrow; Leuluai, Diskin, Bailey, Jones-Buchanan, Kirke, Sinfield Interchange Buderus, Peacock, Burgess, Ambler Tries Smith, Delaney, Hall, Burrow Goals Sinfield 2 Knowsley Road 11,048 Referee R Silverwood