Super League: St Helens beat Catalan Dragons to reach Grand Final at Old Trafford
Last Updated: 03/10/14 11:01am
St Helens reached the Super League Grand Final for the first time since 2011 after a 30-12 victory over Catalan Dragons at Langtree Park.
The hosts eased away from the Dragons in the second half and eventually ran in five tries courtesy of Jordan Turner, Adam Swift, Willie Manu, Mose Masoe and Mark Percival.
Table-toppers St Helens, who will face either Warrington or Wigan for the title, reached six Grand Finals in a row from 2006-2011 but missed out on the last two Old Trafford showpieces after suffering defeats earlier in the playoffs.
The Dragons pulled off surprise wins at Leeds and Huddersfield to reach this year's last four but their fairy-tale run finally came to an end despite tries from Morgan Escare and Michael Oldfield.
The visitors were the best side throughout a scoreless opening quarter thanks to their dangerous offload game, and Saints were forced to scramble to halt the danger caused by early breaks from Oldfield and half-back Sam Williams.
It took an interception by Swift to relieve the pressure, while Percival missed a chance to give St Helens the lead when he was wide with an early penalty kick at goal.
Lead
The Dragons took the lead on 21 minutes when second-rower Elliott Whitehead collected Williams' high kick and offloaded superbly to Thomas Bosc, who produced another miraculous – but possibly forward – pass to get Escare over for his 29th try of the season.
Bosc's goal made it 6-0 but Saints hit back to level within four minutes when loose forward Turner took on the Catalan line and forced his way through to touch down despite the efforts of three defenders.
Turner was also instrumental in the next try, switching the point of attack to bring Paul Wellens into the line from full-back before Swift produced an outstanding finish at the corner, evading an injury-hampered Escare on the way.
Percival's second conversion, this time from the touchline, gave his side a 12-6 lead at the break, and there was no way back for the French side when Manu finished off a break by winger Tom Makinson to score a third try early in the second half.
Escare, clearly troubled by a right hip problem, eventually limped off the field 10 minutes into the second half, with Daryl Millard switching to full-back in a losing cause.
Percival stretched his side's lead with a 56th-minute penalty and then prop Masoe took advantage of a tiring defence to barge his way over from 10 metres out.
Percival then brushed aside the challenge of Millard to score his side's fifth try before Dragons winger Oldfield sprinted over for a consolation try straight from a scrum, with Bosc kicking his second from out wide.
