SAINTS youngsters reaped the praise of Head Coach Nathan Brown following the 48-18 win over Castleford Tigers.
Joe Greenwood scored a brace in the win whilst James Tilley became the sixth Academy product to make his debut for the club in 2013.
“The young lads did really well,” he said. “They are following the example of the older blokes like Paul Wellens and Jon Wilkin well. They both set a good standard, don’t look for excuses and the young kids go on the back of that.
“The key was though to keep the same 9, 7, 6 and 1 together for two consecutive games. Wello will always do a solid job for us and Wilko had control of the game too. Makinson made some improvement at full back and organised the line very well. I also thought Stuart Howarth gave is a lot of improvement – his effort and attitude was terrific.”
He continued: “We needed to start well as it is Easter Monday, we’re at home, and they have been on the bus for a while. We got repeat sets early and made it tough for them. But the last 20 minutes showed what type of footy Cas can play when they gel together.”
Saints lost Josh Perry in the match – after he scored two good tries – but there won’t be any update on the extent of his injury until later in the week.
“Things haven’t gone to plan with injuries,” Brown added. “But on the upside it has given the chance for different people to have a turn. Mark Percival, James Tilley and Joe Greenwood have come in and done well.
“Lance Hohaia should be fit next week but apart from that there isn’t anything in the short term. We are going week by week at present but the key is we have to try and keep the key positions sound.
“It was our defence that let us down on Friday; our offence went well I the second half and I always thought we would do well today. We improved in a number of key areas.”