"We had a chat in the week about how important this first game at this stadium was and how much it means to the local players," he said after the 28-10 victory.

"I'm made up, I'm the happiest man in the north west. It was a great effort with the injuries we had and we had people there who wouldn't have played if everybody was fit.

"The toughness we showed was absolutely outstanding. It was a convincing win against a really talented Saints team.

"We had to dig in and defend, which showed the character and team spirit."

Wane also revealed that full-back Sam Tomkins had been unable to train all week because of tonsillitis and only played because it was the derby.

"Sam has been really sick but there is no way he would ever have missed this," he said.

Momentum

St Helens lost Johnny Lomax to a first-half broken thumb and England forward Jon Wilkin with a shoulder injury just before the end, to cap a miserable afternoon.

"I didn't think we were far away," said caretaker coach Mike Rush. "At 12-10 we decided to run the ball rather than take a shot with the penalty because we felt we had the momentum.

"A decision from the referee shortly afterwards changed the game a little bit.

"Losing a key player part way through a game is difficult. Jonny has a finger injury and Jon has ice on his shoulder. We need to get them both assessed."