St Helens are refreshed both mentally and physically for Friday’s trip to face Huddersfield Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Coach Justin Holbrook used the blank weekend to prepare his side to face Rick Stone’s Giants.
Wins over Castleford and Catalans have got the Saints’ season off to a good start, while the Giants are fresh from their victory over Warrington.
Of St Helens performances so far, Holbrook said: “They were two completely different games.
“In round one we got to attack and enjoy it and, at Catalans, we had to keep turning up in defence.
“It is pleasing as a coach to see your side do both manners in two successive weeks. That is a good sign going forward.
“We scored some really good tries too and, although we defended well, we did let in a couple of soft ones.
“That said, you can’t fault the effort and commitment of the players. When you’re up at 6am to travel over, if there ever is a reason or excuse not to give your best then it would be on a day like that.
“Full credit to the boys, they didn’t use that as an excuse and defended their way to victory.
“We’ve taken the opportunity over our blank weekend to freshen the boys up mentally and physically. But we did keep working hard and now we’re looking ahead to Huddersfield.”
Saints lost Morgan Knowles in the Dragons match for a dangerous tackle that subsequently saw him banned for four weeks.
“That was disappointing,” added Holbrook.
“It was a dangerous tackle and I’m not here to deny that, but the severity of the ban is harsh as there was no malice in it.
“It was one of those accidental ones that went wrong. But we do acknowledge that it was dangerous.”
Saints travel to Huddersfield on Friday before hosting Salford on March 2.
