SAINTS have been so blessed over the years when assembling fantastic sides, but the class of 2006 is up there as one of the all-time greatest.
On this day 14 years ago Daniel Anderson’s team crowned a perfect season by beating Hull FC 26-4 at Old Trafford to complete a glorious treble.
It would have been a travesty had it turned out any differently with Saints head-and-shoulders above all other sides that year, losing just four games and none by a margin greater than four points.
This group was not simply the team of Jamie Lyon, it was the crop that contained Man of Steel Paul Wellens in his absolute prime, linchpins Keiron Cunningham and Sean Long at their experienced best, Leon Pryce chiming in with devastating effect and all behind pack that had its own awesome foursome….
There was not a weak link from 1-17, so much so that internationals like Nick Fozzard and Vinnie Anderson missed out on final selection.
In what was one of the noisiest finals – with a sell-out 72,575 packed in Saints took a firm grip on a thrilling finale with two tries early in the second half through Willie Talau and Ade Gardner.
Crucially, Leon Pryce had edged Saints ahead in the final moments of the first half with a solo try as the scores were deadlocked at 4-4 after Francis Meli and Sid Domic had swapped scores in a first half arm-wrestle.
The second half tries half from Talau and Gardner were followed by a close range effort by hooker Keiron Cunningham which sealed Saints' triumph.
Wellens claimed the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man of the match to add to his personal honours for a stellar season in the red vee.
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