REACTION: Woolf pays tribute to Saints defence after nilling Leeds

Once again it was the middle men who created the platform, with big fellas James Graham and Alex Walmsley being twin towers of strength for the team to play fast off the back of.

Leeds, admittedly depleted, had no answers – and every time they did try to throw something back at Saints they were repelled and then punished with a ruthless counter.

No wonder coach Kristian Woolf was laughing in the stands as Grace’s treble, one each from props Walmsley and Graham, plus efforts from Tommy Makinson, Theo Fages and Lachlan Coote posted an emphatic scoreline.

And as pleasing will have been the zero next to Leeds’ name – the first time the hosts have been nilled at home since 1992.

Woolf said: “Last week we did a great job defensively against a good Catalans side, and now we have done the same thing against a Leeds side that had opportunities to challenge us.

“I was happy with the way we kept turning up and defending well and did not give them the opportunity where they looked like scoring.

“What we did was put them back on the back foot after we had kept them out, with a nice run from Regan Grace or dome other good play.”

And it has been a case of so far, so good for returning former skipper Graham, whose instructions and motivational cries could be heard being barked across the empty Headingley stadium.

“It was great to see James Graham score – even if he has not been signed to score tries,” Woolf said.

“He is tough and does all of the hard work, with and without the ball. You can see and hear his enthusiasm.

“He is a player who makes other players in the team better and that is what I like about him the most."