Tom Briscoe

Draws are usually not very common in rugby league, but the English Super League has seen two of them already this season – this time it was St Helens and Hull FC involved in the game, one that finished up at 22-all.

The game was all St Helens at one stage, as 3 tries in 17 minutes and a fourth to Josh Jones, saw the Saints race to a 22-12 lead over Hull, before the Airlie Birds began their comeback .

The game was there for the taking at one stage for Hull, but Australian half Daniel Holdsworth could not capitalise on the conversion from their final try nor from two field goal attempts.

Admitting that his side as a whole is still a work in progress, Gentle could not fault the effort of his players and is hopeful that as the season wears on, they can become a better unit.

“At this time of year it’s a point gained,” Gentle said.

“We had an opportunity to win it and the longer the game went the stronger belief that we could win it.

“I was frustrated at half-time because we weren’t playing as a team but in the second half the belief grew.

“We’re still misfiring but there is plenty of character there. The guys are excited and genuinely believe we are a good football team. We’re a work in progress and we will get there eventually.”

For St Helens Australian coach Nathan Brown, it was a mixed bag of feelings, as he felt pleased that his side showed continued signs of improvement, but disappointment that his team could not hold on for victory.

“They had enough ball to win three games in the second half but I’m disappointed because I thought we threw a point away,” said Brown.

“I can’t fault the guys’ effort. We did improve from last week but the disappointing thing is that, every time we had them ready to break, we came up with silly errors or they got 50-50 calls – we couldn’t buy one tonight.”

Despite the injury to Paul Wellens who went off with a calf injury during the game, Brown was making no excuses about the draw.

“They lost a winger (Jason Crookes picked up an injury for Hull) as well,” he added. “You’ve got to overcome those things.

“We put the effort in to still get the two points but we didn’t play smart enough. We need to improve again next week.”

By ricky

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