WOLVES under 19s head coach Lee Briers believes the club is building something special despite the youngsters’ defeat to St Helens.

The loss ended Wolves’ 14-match winning streak, despite tries for Jake Eccleston and recent first team debutants Joe Philbin and Toby King.

Briers said: “The better team won on the day but the effort and commitment from all the players cannot be faulted.

“We have been magnificent for most of the year and I am certain that we will learn from this defeat and become even stronger as a result.

“We told the lads that you sometimes get days when the bounce of the ball goes against you but the important thing is how you react to it.

“The maturity that every member of the squad has displayed over the past few months has been superb and the level of professionalism that they have reached will stand them in good stead for the rest of this campaign and for many seasons to come.

“We are building something special and we are very excited about that.”

Fellow coach Danny Fullerton added: “It wasn’t our day but we are not going to let this defeat deflect from the fantastic run that we have been on.

“To win 14 successive games at this level is a very significant achievement and the lads can be rightly proud about the way they have consistently performed.

“We made a few unforced errors at crucial times and Saints capitalised on them and deserved to get the victory but we will now brush ourselves down and get ready to bounce back in our next game at Wigan Warriors a week on Friday.

“I thought that Ryan Maneely was head and shoulders above anybody else on the field this afternoon. His work rate was phenomenal and showed what a quality player he is and he is only going to get better.”

Wolves: Jack Johnson; Jake Eccleston, Harvey Livett, Toby King, Declan Kay; Declan Patton, Louis Jouffret; Alex Whalley, Sean Kenny, George King, Joe Philbin, Sam Wilde, Ryan Maneely. Subs: Robert Holroyd, Andy Philbin, Daniel Murray, James Jones.