‘Always three moves ahead‘ - What Paul Wellens said about St Helens v Warrington after huge win

Crisis? What crisis? Saints answered the question in an emphatic and decisive manner when blitzing Super League table-toppers Warrington Wolves 28-6 at a tension-charged Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday night.

Head coach Paul Wellens went into the derby encounter under a modicum of pressure after the defending champions had won only four of their first eight fixtures, but he was all smiles when the final hooter sounded before declaring: ‘’This was our best performance of the season."

No one will argue with that assessment as sizzling Saints reminded their faithful fans of the quality they had shown in winning four Grand Finals in succession.

Half back Jonny Lomax masterminded the show with his prompting and probing, as well as scoring one of Saints’ five tries, which led to Wellens enthusing: "He is like a chess player - three moves ahead of everyone else."

He was also named as player of the match but the accolade could easily have been picked up by anyone in the hosts’ shirt.

Matty Lees was awesome and played like his life was at stake, while the young kids on the block have stepped up when needed and shown their true potential

"What we saw tonight is the reason why this team has been so successful in recent history," said the boss.

He added: "It’s not about who is here and who is not here. It’s about how 17 players, who are on the field, are prepared to invest.

What you saw was a commitment from the players to go out and perform. They played like a team which wasn’t under any pressure and performed like a team who love each other and for me it was as impressive a performance as we’ve produced all year."