SAINTS suffered their third loss of the year to local rivals rivals Warrington, with the Wolves winning 16-2.

Although there were some strong elements to Saints game in defence, most notably a kick chase game that contained the hosts for long periods, they offered zero threat with the ball.

And part of that was some of the unforced errors they made when they had the ball - cold drops, miscued passing behind and one unforgiveable forward pass from a penalty. 

They failed to make enough headway with the ball to ever really offer any attacking threat until very late in the game when they threw caution to the wind.

Both Warrington's tries came in the first half - the first a shocker when the failed to react to an Alex Walmsley Knock on and then one just before the break.

Coach Paul Wellens said: "There were a number of penalties that were avoidable and we need to improve.

"At the back end of the year in important games they can be big momentum shifts, so its and area we need to continue to work hard on.

"The other side of it is the errors. If we're attacking their line and we don't quite nail a pass to a winger or something like that when there is opportunity, then I want players to take those.

"But we are making too many basic, fundamental errors coming out of our own end and then off the back of that have to do a fair bit of defending."

There were aspects that Wellens could draw positives from, specifically the kick chase game and the cover defence that stifled one of the league's most potent attacks.

"I love the way the team competed and love the way that we acquitted ourselves in terms of our effort and energy.

"What we did in D, was concede two tries. One was a one-on-one miss and the other one was a poor reaction to a ball that hit the deck.

"But there's a number of times in the game, particularly on our right edge, where we really did scramble hard and turned up to save some tries.

"I love those types of efforts, Jack Welsby tackling Matty Ashton over the sideline late on in the game.

"So there's a lot to like about it in some respects, but there's also a realisation that there’s certain aspects in the big games at the back end the year that we need to clean up to give ourselves a chance."

Saints have a lightweight back three at the moment, and that feeds into some of the packmen not get into their usual roll on play four - as such Saints spent most of the game stuck in their own half and booming the ball on the last from outside the opposition 40.  

Wellens said: "We are not getting out of our own half as well as we would normally do so but that's the situation that we're in.

"In terms of opportunities, in the first half at very start of the game and a couple of sets going into the line, got a penalty, took the two.

"And then I think very rarely got a good ball opportunity towards them till the back end.

"The opportunities were few and far between, hence why the scoreboard finished the way it did.

"In a lot of ways, you have to credit the opposition.

"They made it difficult for us, but I think that the errors and discipline took a lot of energy out of a team so when you get the ball back in hand you are digging deep to find something.

"I thought we were attritional, we stuck at our task, got through to the end of our sets and kick chased really well for most of the day but there was just that something lacking that we need to find moving to the back end of the year."