Hohaia stars on St Helens debut

Former Warriors stalwart Lance Hohaia made a dream start to his St Helens career, earning man of the match honours in a 42-24 victory over Widnes.

Hohaia, playing in the halves for his new club, showed why the Saints placed four years of faith in him with a classy display to retain the Karalius Cup for his side.

His former Warriors team-mate, Patrick Ah Van, did not have such a good time of it for Widnes as he converted only two of their five tries which could have seen Widnes give their more-vaunted rivals more of a shake-up.

Along with Hohaia, ex-NRL players Anthony Laffranchi and Mark Flanaghan also made their debuts for St Helens as did 13 Widnes players in their 2012 return to the Super League.

Winger Paddy Flynn scored three tries for Widnes while another former Warrior, Francis Meli, dotted down for one of the Saints' seven four-pointers.

Not only was it Hohaia's debut amongst others, it was also St Helens' first match in their new home at Langtree Park.

Meli told the BBC it was up to his side to turn the new ground into a fortress if they are to go one better than last season's runner-up finish.

"We've got to start the season well and the new ground isn't going to win games for us," he said.

"It's easy for other teams to come to a new stadium and play, so we've got to earn the right to turn up and start winning games."