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Saints Head Coach opted to start the former off the bench to see if he could make a little more impact on the match.

 

And the move worked well as the Bulls couldn’t cope with the two packman who ripped them to shreds as both sides began to fatigue.

 

“It worked well didn’t it?” Mick said. “It was a little bit of a change but we wanted to see if we could get more out of TP by letting him come off the bench.

 

“Maurie has been good off the bench all season, but that game was exceptional for him. I would love him to do that every week. The other team were worn down a bit and he hit them.

 

“You can’t take anything from James Graham or Bryn [Hargreaves] though, they had to do the trickier stuff and take the shine of the ball if you like.”

 

Mick was also pleased with James Roby.

 

“He actually played back row, lock and hooker in that game and showed his versatility. That is important. We talked about that in pre-season because the Salary Cap necessitates the need for players to be versatile.

 

“With younger players you need them to be able to come in and play any position.  Jon Wilkin, Jonny Lomax, Kyle Eastmond and Leon Pryce can do that and that makes them valuable commodities.”

 

Eastmond in particular showed his versatility by being named at centre, but also playing scrum half and stand off during the match.

 

“I thought Kyle did ok, but we haven’t seen the best of him yet,” Mick added.