St.Helens reserves started their campaign with a win over an experienced Salford Red Devils reserve side at a blustery Ruskin Drive on Saturday afternoon.

Saints started the game on top and some early pressure was rewarded when Lewis Dodd weaved his way through the Salford defence to open the scoring.

The pressure didn’t stop there and it wasn’t long until Saints extended their advantage as Tom Nisbet scooted from dummy half to barge his way over the line.

Saints looked to have control of the game, and it took some impressive defending from the Red Devils to keep the score down to 12.

However the final ten minutes of the half told a different story. Quick fire tries from Ryan Lannon and Alex Smith tied the game up at 12-12 going into the break.

Salford carried their momentum into the second half and it wasn’t long until they took the lead for the first time.

A dummy half scoot from Connor Jones saw him charge down field before moving the ball wide to Elliot Kear, who had a simple finish to give Salford a four point gap after the conversion attempt was missed.

Saints didn’t drop off and captain Joe Batchelor managed to cross after throwing a dummy before diving over to open his try scoring account for the year.

Dodd’s trickery had been clear to see all game and with 15 minutes remaining he again managed to squeeze through the defence to put some daylight between the teams.

Salford didn’t lie down, and they managed to get back into the game after Joe Digby scored late on the reduce the deficit to two points.

However it was too late for the Red Devils to salvage something from the game and, as they chanced their arm with seconds to spare, they knocked on.

The final whistle blew and Saints took the points to get their season off to the best possible start.

Match Summary

Saints Team: Tom Nisbet, Bradley Holroyd, Benjamin Davies, Nico Rizzelli, Jumah Sambou, Owain Abel, Lewis Dodd, Alex Eckley, Paul Crook, Callum Hazzard, Joe Batchelor (c), Michael Weldon, Sam Royle.

Interchanges: Paul Nash, Andrew Thornley, Samuel Brooks, Kye Siyani.

Tries:  Lewis Dodd (2), Tom Nisbet, Joe Batchelor.

Goals: Lewis Dodd (4).

Salford Team: Jamie Abram, Dafydd Jones, Ed Chamberlain, Elliot Kear, Krisnan Inu, Alex Smith, Chris Atkin, Chris Worrall, Connor Jones, Connor MacCallum, Ryan Lannon, Jack Ormondroyd, Henry Davies.

Interchanges: Connor Davies-Aspey, Joe Digby, Tom Millington, Tyler Brown.

Tries: Ryan Lannon, Alex Smith, Elliot Kear, Joe Digby.

Goals: Chris Atkin (3)

HT: 12-12

FT: 24-22

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