Ben Barba grabbed a brace as Saints beat Salford 34-2 to top Super League.
The full back took his season tally to four with a superb display that also saw Luke Thompson cross on his 100th appearance for the club.
But they were pushed all the way by a physical Red Devils who battled throughout.
It was the visitors that opened the scoring with a penalty in the 17th minute as Saints were caught offside.
It was a turgid contest up until that point, with both sides struggling to keep hold of the ball in cold and damp conditions.
Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook was held up over the line on 22 minutes but just a couple of minutes later Tommy Makinson won the race to Barba’s deft chip into the in-goal.
Saints then piled on the pressure but couldn’t find a way past resolute Salford defence until just before half time; Luke Douglas and James Roby combining to put Ben Barba away on the left hand side.
It had been a battle but Saints finally took control of the match early in the second half.
And it was Barba who did the damage, taking the ball from a standing start and finding the strength to twist over with three defenders around him.
Richardson added the extras for 14-2 and then notched over a penalty just before the 50 minute mark to take the gap to 14.
It was a gap too far for the visitors and it was made harder when former Saint Lama Tasi was sinbinned for two late and high shot.
Saints couldn’t make the extra man pay, but they did secure the win with two tries in three minutes late on.
Firstly, great build up saw LMS charge onto the ball for his first of the season.
Then, great invention from Theo Fages following Dom Peyroux’s break saw him get the ball away, whilst being tackled, for Lomax to win the chase.
That was game, set and match but Saints had saved the best until last.
Winning a penalty with around 15 seconds ago, Richardson kicked for field position and from the tap the ball went through several pairs of hands for Thompson to plough over on his special day.
Match Summary:
Saints:
Tries: Makinson, Barba (2), LMS, Lomax, Thompson
Goals: Richardson (5 from 7)
Devils:
Goals: O’Brien (1 from 1)
Penalties Awarded:
Saints: 13
Devils: 7
HT: 8-2
FT: 34-2
REF: S. Mikalauskas
ATT: 10,008
Teams:
Saints:
23. Ben Barba; 5. Adam Swift, 2. Tommy Makinson, 4. Mark Percival, 19. Regan Grace; 1. Jonny Lomax, 18. Danny Richardson; 10. Kyle Amor, 9. James Roby, 16. Luke Thompson, 17. Dom Peyroux, 11. Zeb Taia, 12. Jon Wilkin.
Subs: 6. Theo Fages, 8. Alex Walmsley, 13. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 14. Luke Douglas.
Salford:
1. Gareth O’Brien; 24. Jake Bibby, 3. Kris Welham, 4. Junior Sa’u, 5. Niall Evalds; 6. Robert Lui, 7. Jack Littlejohn; 23. Lee Mossop, 9. Logan Tomkins, 14. Lama Tasi, 17. Tyrone McCarthy, 11. Josh Jones, 13. Mark Flanagan.
Subs: 8. Craig Kopczak, 16. Luke Burgess, 18. Ben Nakubuwai, 19. Josh Wood.
RD4: Saints v Salford
Match Action (Bernard Platt)
