St Helens maintained their pursuit of league leaders Leeds with a commanding 40-16 victory over York, though the final scoreline masked a fiercely contested encounter at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
The Saints burst out of the blocks with an opening try from Bill Leyland and two quick scores from Owen Dagnall to establish a 16-0 lead inside 19 minutes. However, York refused to buckle, with Jesse Dee crossing twice in six minutes to cut the deficit to 16-10 by halftime.
The Knights continued to threaten early in the second half, but the game turned in the final quarter when prop Alex Walmsley powered over from close range after a superb 40-20 kick from Tristan Sailor. That broke York's resistance, and Saints ran in further tries through Jack Welsby, Jake Davies, and Nene MacDonald to seal the win. Scott Galeano grabbed a late consolation for the visitors.
"Credit to York, they're always in the fight," said St Helens head coach Paul Rowley. "At 40-10, I said the score didn't reflect the game — it was a lot tougher. It's not rocket science: if you get possession and territory, you force points, and we did that enough times."
York head coach Mark Applegarth rued his side's slow start. "We started with too many unforced errors and ill-discipline," he said. "The second half we were going set for set, but the 40-20 by Sailor took the wind out of our sails."
The result leaves St Helens level on points with Leeds at the summit, while York remain 11th after a seventh defeat of the season. Saints now turn their attention to next weekend's Challenge Cup semi-final against Wigan.