KEIRON Cunningham said he was disappointed with the way Saints acquitted themselves in their Karalius Cup clash with Widnes Vikings.
He saw his charges lose 30-16 at Langtree Park.
“I’ve always said trial games aren’t about the result but about you do out there on the field,” he said. “So I am really disappointed tonight. I’m not upset with the result but the way we went about it and did things. I thought we went about things a little soft at times.
“We started well and played with a little bit of freedom. But after seeing that we seemed to decide we were on the training field and we started playing touch footy. You cannot play rugby league like that as it goes against what the sport is about. It is a tough, simple game and is about winning the energy battle – and we didn’t do that.
“Widnes looked a game ahead of us, which they were, and we decided to chase the game in the wrong manner. That is what trial games are for I suppose and we have a lot of learning to do.”
He continued: “We tried some different combinations because I haven’t decided on the final side. Before the game I said to the boys make it difficult for me to pick my side for round one… well a few of the boys have made it quite easy for me.
“I thought Morgan Knowles went well and when we had to change the halves around Jordan Turner did a good job at 6. I was happy with my halves but I thought my junior middle men were poor though. We tried to play football when we didn’t earn it and we put the ball down.”
Cunningham said that Travis Burns came off with a little bit of concussion whilst Luke Walsh rolled his ankle a little. Both will be monitored over the next few days.
