Catalans Dragons 10-12 St Helens
By James Nalton
at Old Trafford

KEVIN NAIQAMA celebrated his last game for St Helens with another Grand Final victory on Saturday, picking up the Harry Sunderland Trophy as the man of the match against Catalans Dragons.

Naiqama arrived at Saints from Wests Tigers in 2019 and has triumphed in the league’s showcase event in each of his three seasons at the club.

He also has a League Leaders Shield, won in 2019, and a 2021 Challenge Cup medal to go with this Grand final victory as St Helens secured a double.

The Fiji international centre scored the first try of the game, doing brilliantly to touch the ball down one-handed as the Catalans defenders tried to hold him up over the line.

He had almost crossed moments earlier but was denied by a try-saving tackle from Sam Tomkins, whose positioning was excellent throughout.

Catalans more than played their part in what was an absorbing and competitive final as the tension mounted and the scores remained close throughout. And at one point it looked like the Perpignan-based side would go on to win the game.

They crossed for a try of their own when Tom Davies was able to bat down a neat kick from Josh Drinkwater, with Mike McMeeken on hand to touch down.

This Catalans score came while Saints were temporarily down to 12 men after Tommy Makinson was sin-binned for a high tackle on Fouad Yaha, and James Maloney’s conversion put them 10-6 ahead with 30 minutes to go.

The French outfit appeared to tire on the hour mark, and Naiqama was able to capitalise shortly after, grabbing his second try after collecting a Jonny Lomax kick.

Naiquama suffered a nasty-looking blow to the head in the act of scoring the try and was taken off the pitch as a result.

He played no further part in the game but had already made his mark, with Lachlan Coote slotting over the important conversion to give Saints a two-point lead they would not relinquish.

Naiqama looked like he wanted to stay on after scoring his second try, despite the blow to the head.

He appeared to indicate as much to the medical staff on the pitch, but they rightly insisted on ending his participation in the game and taking him backstage for further concussion tests.

It would have been easy for St Helens to listen to the player who had been one of their best on the night and let him play on, but it’s a credit to the strides made in this area of the sport that he was taken off.

Naiqama was in tears after the game, still feeling the effects of his concussion. He was crouched on the touchline as he began his obligatory interviews as the man of the match.

“I’m so overwhelmed right now with emotion,” he told Sky Sports. “This moment, these boys, I love this group, I love this town I love this team.”