Huddersfield 18 St Helens 26: Saints at the top of Super League

May 14, 2026

Lewis Murphy — Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix

AT halftime, new Huddersfield coach Jim Lenahan could have been forgiven for cancelling his flight.

In front of a small midweek crowd at Accu Stadium, St Helens marched to a 24-0 halftime lead that had the Giants’ fans jeering their team off.

Kai O’Donnell managed Huddersfield try nine minutes into the second half after a 40-20 but a third victory for the season never seemed a realistic possibility.

Then again, with Adam Swift’s 62nd minute try, things had got close enough for Jackson Hastings to opt for a penalty goal when available.

When Niall Evalds scored in the last five minutes, that seemed doubly judicious on the part of the former Man Of Steel. Huddersfield outscored Saints 18-2 in the second session.

In the first half, Paul Rowley’s side was metronomic.

Harry Robertson backed up a break to score in the fourth minute, wingers Lewis Murphy and Owen Dagnall got their share of the spoils in the ninth and 19th minutes and big George Delaney crashed over just on halftime.

Lenahan arrives on Monday and would have been watching on television in Brisbane. The second half – in which the final scoreline was massaged to 26-12 – might have made the long flight slightly more bareable.

ST HELENS 26 (Robertson Murphy Dagnall Delaney tries Hastings 4 goals) beat HUDDERSFIELD 18 (O’Donnell Swift Evalds tries Rushton 3 goals) at Accu Stadium.

Teams:

HUDDERSFIELD: Niall Evalds; Adam Swift, Dane Gagai, Lewis Jagger, Lee Kershaw; Tui Lolohea, Oli Russell; Harry Rushton, Chris Patolo, Kai O’Donnell, Fenton Rodgers, Zac Woolford, Tristan Powell. Res: Taane Milne, George King, Matt English, Cole Geyer.

SAINTS: Tristan Sailor; Owen Dagnall, Harry Robertson, Deon Cross, Lewis Murphy; Jack Welsby, Jackson Hastings; Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, David Klemmer, Shane Wright, Matt Whitley, Joe Shorrocks. Res: Jonny Lomax, Curtis Sironen, Ben Davies.

Referee: Chris Kendall