Woolf hails Saints after 11-try mauling

Australian Woolf, who's hoping to take Saints to a third straight grand final triumph, watched his side dismantle their hosts with an attacking masterclass that featured 11 tries in all either side of halftime on Sunday at the MKM Stadium.

Saints went behind early on and had to wait until the half-hour mark to take the lead, but once they did they cut loose in style.

"I liked the energy we started with and the intent, but what I was happiest with was our ability to stay in the dog fight and wear them down," Woolf said.

"Our best period was just before halftime, where we played some really good footy and scored some really nice tries and we had to work hard to find those points."

Despite a big win and all but sewing up a top-of-the-table finish, Woolf was already turning his attention to Hull KR next week.

"We've had a good win there, but we need to make sure we don't fall in love with ourselves and focus on a big game against Hull KR next week on a short turnaround," he said.

Hull's Australian boss Brett Hodgson was left scratching his head after another collapse, and conceded his side are in a real slump in form.

"I thought we started the game really well but after 30 minutes we weren't willing to do what we had to when tired," he said.

"We gave away some really cheap tries which was disappointing and the start of the second half was really poor."

Earlier, Wakefield took a huge step towards Super League survival with an impressive and unexpected 30-12 victory over Wigan which moved them four points above bottom-placed Toulouse as the relegation race hots up.

Wigan's Australian stars Bevan French and Jai Field didn't make a huge impression until it was too late, as Field ran in a brilliant consolation try near the end.

Field, along with Huddersfield's Tuimoala Lolohea, still leads the Man of Steel standings to find Super League's best player of the season.

Australian Associated Press