Keiron Cunningham marks St Helens milestone in style against Wakefield

Contrasting tries from Keiron Cunningham and Kyle Eastmond, two players at the opposite ends of their careers, rounded off a stirring fightback by St Helens that ended Wakefield's 100% start to the Super League season, allowing Wigan to pull two points clear at the top. A minute's silence was held before Cunningham's 500th appearance for Saints to mark the recent death of his mother and he then came off the interchange bench to play a leading role in overturning a 12-0 deficit. But it was Eastmond, the 20-year-old scrum-half who made such an impact with England in last autumn's Four Nations series, who set up the veteran hooker's trademark struggle over the line from acting half with a pinpoint kick, and he had also provided the most memorable moment of a filthy night with a stunning individual effort from 40 metres. Those two tries in the space of three minutes nudged Saints ahead for the first time, 16-12, and they extended their lead to 10 points when Francis Meli squeezed in at the left corner, with Eastmond adding his second touch-line conversion. But Wakefield, who were playing their first game since losing the former Great Britain hooker Terry Newton to a two-year drug suspension, were not prepared to concede their first defeat of the season without a fight, even after losing their livewire scrum-half Danny Brough with a deep head wound. The Fijian centre Darryl Millard claimed his second try from Ben Jeffries' accurate kick and, although Sam Obst failed to convert in the absence of Brough, they caused Saints plenty of anxious moments in the remaining 17 minutes of a compelling game. "We've taken another step forward, despite the result," said Wakefield's coach, John Kear. "If we can defend like that against a team like St Helens, we'll do OK this season." The Saints coach, Mick Potter, picked out James Graham ahead of Eastmond and Cunningham as his team's most influential player. "He's played the full 80 minutes in the front row, which is a monumental effort," he said. St Helens, as in their previous home game against Hull, had received a nasty first-half shock, with Wakefield underlining their attacking threat with two long-range breakaways in as many minutes midway through the first half. Glenn Morrison's quick flick set Tevita Leo-Latu sprinting clear to set up the first for Dale Morton in the right corner, and then Wakefield's other young wing Aaron Murphy toed ahead Jeffries' chip for Millard to win the race to touch down. Brough added two excellent conversions but the introduction of Cunningham gave Saints the spark they needed. It was his inventive pass from acting half that led to Leon Pryce striding through to send Jonny Lomax in at the right corner, with Eastmond matching the quality of Brough's kicking to reduce the deficit to 6-12. This win lifts Saints above Wakefield on points difference but it was marred by a thigh injury to Matt Gidley on his 100th appearance for the club that seems certain to keep the Australian centre out of next Sunday's trip to Hull KR and possibly a fair while longer. St Helens: Wellens (capt); Lomax, Gidley, Wheeler, Meli; Pryce, Eastmond; Graham, Moore, Fozzard, Puletua, Clough, Roby. Interchange: Cunningham, Hargreaves, Ashurst, Fa'asavalu. Tries: Lomax, Eastmond, Cunningham, Meli. Goals: Eastmond 3. Wakefield Trinity: Blaymire; Murphy, Gleeson, Millard, Morton; Jeffries, Brough; Tronc, Obst, Korkidas, Morrison, Demetriou (capt), Leo-Latu. Interchange: Ferguson, Henderson, Davey, Moore. Tries: Morton, Millard 2. Goals: Brough 2. Referee: T Alibert (Albi) Attendance: 10,717.