KEIRON Cunningham paid tribute to Saints’ resilience after they progressed to the Grand Final.
Five tries and a 30-12 win over Catalan saw them ease into next Saturday’s showpiece and a date with either Wigan or Warrington.
“We knew if we stuck to our gameplan and were resilient we could grind them down,” he said. “They have had a difficult task and all credit to them for what they have done over the last few weeks.
“But we knew if we stuck in there and kicked the ball well, chased hard and made tackles, we would get the result in the end.
“We started a little nervous but defensively we were great and fronted up well. We scrambled so well again and James Roby proved he is superhuman. He saved tries and tracked back when he didn’t really need to.”
Saints had stand out performances all over the field and Cunningham paid tribute to the youngsters in the squad.
“We have always had that thing at this club, had young kids coming through,” he continued. “I came through at 17. The theory is if you are good enough it doesn’t matter about your age. The kids are the future of this club. Both Luke Thompson and Greg Richards have massive careers ahead of them and are future internationals in my eyes too. They will get better and better.”
He continued: “Six weeks ago was a real pivotal moment for us. After the Hull game… we had lost Luke Walsh the week before and the coaches came in on the Saturday morning and came up with a masterplan that would make or break us.
“Working with this group of players has enabled us to do what we have done. They have all bought into it and the victory over Castleford at home was the stamp on it. We believed it could work and it did and now we are at the big dance.
“This group of young players have finished first and to make a Grand Final is the making of them and the building blocks of the future.
“I am proud as punch for the lads, because I know what it means for the club and the players going forward.
“The easy option would have been to lie down and take the adversity. There would be 1,000 excuses not to do it and they could have said let’s wait until next season. We lost three of our best players but the boys have stood up and going forward that shows special things will happen at this place.”
