KEIRON Cunningham pointed to Saints’ desperation as the main reason they gained two valuable points at Headingley on Friday.
The Champions’ intent was there for all to see in the opening stages and it led to a comprehensive 32-18 victory.
Now, they have to back that up this Thursday at Castleford.
“We went into the game pretty desperate,” he said. “We needed some points and we needed a performance too for the club, ourselves and the fans.
“Leeds were on a big high after a Wembley final and it is difficult to back up after that but I thought my boys looked really determined. From set one looked up for it.
“They went out there and showed intent in everything they did especially in defence. We forced errors from Leeds and put them in some bad spots when we kicked the ball too.
“Leeds are a great side and are definitely the benchmark for everyone in the comp at the moment. I was hopeful for the players going into the game of a good performance. I know they have taken a little bit of stick over the last month; it’s water off a duck’s back for me but it’s not good listening to some of the stuff that gets said about my players.
“Those boys are working really hard and want to do well for the club so I was really pleased for them.
“And I had a real smile on my face when I saw Luke Walsh get man of the match too.
“He did brilliantly as did Jon Wilkin. It was probably the best I had seen Walshy play for the club and against a big team too.”
He continued: “We will have to go to Castleford this Thursday with plenty of intent. They will come at us as they are a proud team, coached by a great coach. They played well against Huddersfield and were unlucky at times.
“It will be a tough battle with plenty of points scored as seems the case in our games.
“We created a lot of our own success last week and we need to do that again. We need to worry about ourselves rather than the opposition.
“Thankfully, we came through the game clean and it was one of our best performances of the season. It will be hard to leave anyone out – the decisions are made from the performance really.”
Tickets for Thursday’s game are on sale from the Ticket Office at Langtree Park, by calling 01744 455 052 or online here.
