Saints 48 Huddersfield 12

INTERNATIONAL hooker Keiron Cunningham may have found his vocation for the rest of the season and maybe even for the latter half of his career - at prop.

After starting the season so well, Saints' front row have been struggling to make any impact in recent weeks and Nick Fozzard was 'rested' for Friday's game.

But, working in tandem with returning hooker Micky Higham, it was the performance of the chunky number nine Cunningham that injected some much needed beef, aggression and go forward into the pack for Friday night's emphatic victory over the Huddersfield Giants.

Cunningham capped a fine overall game by bagging two second half tries. The first came from a metre out, the second was vintage Cunningham, as he brushed off the Giants' would-be tacklers as if they were little lads on his barnstorming 55 metre run to the line. It was almost a carbon copy of the one he scored from a similar range during Saints' Challenge Cup semi-final win over Salford in 1997.

Cunningham's display helped spark life into a game that was over with at half time and risked becoming yet another dull, scrappy, error strewn affair.

This is the fourth time these sides have met this year - and there was a grave danger that familiarity is breeding contempt.

There were other highlights - new kid on the block Gray Viane made light of jet lag to mark his first day on English soil with a try.

The stocky 22-year-old former Wests Tigers centre ran strongly and showed good aggression in the tackle and will prove a godsend in plugging the centre spot that has never really been adequately filled since the suspension of Martin Gleeson.

The other big pluses were the continuing fine displays from teenage scrum halves James Roby and Scott Moore, the latter grabbing his first senior touchdown afte he r smartly backed up Mick Higham to slide over.

And of course the match presented the points starved Saints with only their second win in seven matches to help lift them a spot above Wigan in the top six pecking order.

Coach Ian Millward saw real positives in the victory.

"We showed again tonight that when we do it right we look very good.

"It was not a bad performance when you are going through a bit of a sticky patch.

"We have hit a dip but I've never lost confidence in anyone and the players just need my support," he said.

John Stankevitch opened the scoring after only four minutes after the Giants defence had gone AWOL.

Although a penalty by Brandon Costin cut the lead by two points, Saints grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with a blistering spell of three tries in seven minutes.

Willie Talau, Scott Moore and Jason Hooper put Saints 20-2 ahead.

And then a super break by on-song skipper Paul Sculthorpe resulted in Talau sending teenager Ian Hardman in at the corner for Saints' fifth try of the night.

Although Costin's converted try, bang on the half time hooter, raised the visitors' spirits, the game was already in the bag.

Marcus St Hilaire crossed for another consolation try in the second half, but all the traffic was the other way with Cunningham (2) Viane and Talau all going over.

Teenage scrum half James Roby was rewarded for his endeavour of recent weeks by snapping up Brandon Costin's stray pass to scoot 65 metres to touch down.

Saints: Wellens; Hardman, Talau, Viane, Gardner; Hooper, Moore; Mason, Higham, Stankevitch, Gilmour, Cunningham, Cunningham. Subs; Bennett, Edmondson, Bibey, Roby.

Tries: Hardman, Talau (2) Viane, Hooper, Moore, Stankevitch, Cunningham (2), Roby Goals: Sculthorpe (4)

Giants: Donlan; Fagborun, Evans, Costin, St Hilaire; Gene, March; Fleary, Pencywicz, Gannon, Bailey, Smith, Jones; Subs; O'Hare, White, Joseph, Grayshon.

Tries: St Hilaire, Costin. Goals: Costin (2)

Starman: Keiron Cunningham