We are still some way from knowing just how significant this victory will be for St Helens in the scramble for the Super League playoffs but in the here and now, it was difficult to escape just how monumental an evening this felt for Paul Wellens’ side.

There has been no shortage of adversity stacked against the Saints in 2025. Injuries, poor performances and mounting pressure on Wellens himself has led many to feel that there was next to no chance of this side being in the picture for Old Trafford come the autumn: but things change quickly in the wild world of Super League.

Five victories in a row have propelled the Saints from the fringes of the playoffs to the lofty heights of third, overtaking the side they defeated here with a spirited display that felt so much more than two competition points. In many ways, it could prove to be season-defining.

Few would have given the Saints a chance against a Leeds side buoyed by their victory at the league leaders, Hull KR, last week before a ball had been kicked here. Those numbers would have likely dwindled further when Wellens lost both his hookers, Daryl Clark and Jake Burns, to head injuries inside the first half.

That left the Saints a man light on the bench in blisteringly warm conditions in West Yorkshire. But they not only emerged victorious here – their seventh straight win at the home of their great rivals – they did so with a character-laden display that underlines this group are playing for their head coach: and they are in the title discussion.

There is perhaps still some way to go until we talk about this St Helens side as bona fide, red-hot Grand Final contenders. But the very fact they are now, all of a sudden, third in the table with nine rounds remaining means they must be in the conversation.

“It was a performance delivered under a hell of a lot of pressure and a heck of a lot of adversity,” Wellens declared post-match. “There are things we need to get better at if we’re to take that next step, but that’s a conversation for another day.”

The game’s only try came midway through the first half, when Tristan Sailor and Owen Dagnall combined to send the latter over to break the deadlock. Jonny Lomax would later add a penalty to make it 6-0 but incredibly, that was the night’s scoring over before the half-time hooter.

Leeds have made great strides under Brad Arthur and like the Saints, are in the Grand Final discussion. But this was categorically an off night for them, with their star players struggling to unlock a resolute and stern defensive effort from St Helens. They will not look back on this night too fondly.

“It was a frustrating 80 minutes,” Arthur said. “We allowed them to frustrate us and with that frustration we had every player trying to come up with something special or win it on their own.”

Leeds certainly tried; you can never question their effort under Arthur. But on nights like these, when the opposition are defending for their lives, the Rhinos do need a little bit more of a cutting edge to their game. Not even the late sin-binning of the Saints prop Agnatius Paasi could craft an opening for Leeds to take advantage of.

But this night, in truth, belonged to the Saints. Written off for large periods of the year – perhaps rightly so in some aspects – this could yet prove to be the night where their fans began to believe this could be their year against all the odds.