Cunningham's omen

St Helens' spectacular demolition of Bradford Bulls at Valley Parade on Friday night did far more than throw the title race wide open again. It was a stunning reminder to the rest of Super League of just how good Ian Millward's side can be when they get it right.

Saints and Bradford, the two most successful sides of the Super League era, have produced some memorable matches since summer rugby began six years ago, but the Bulls had never lost to their rivals at home – until Friday's remarkable 50-22 mauling.

Saints were simply brilliant, running in eight tries to join the Bulls at the top of the table and become the first visitors to win at Valley Parade this season.

Hooker Keiron Cunningham was again in blistering form, scoring two tries in a mesmerising performance. The outstanding Darren Albert also crossed twice, Martin Gleeson, Paul Newlove, Sean Long and John Stankevitch added further tries and Paul Sculthorpe landed nine goals.

It was almost the perfect display, one Cunningham said it was a pleasure to be part of. The Great Britain international explained: "It's been an up-and-down season for me – I've had a few injuries. But I've had a run in the side now and it's come at the right time. This was a great victory by the boys. It's our first victory at Bradford and it's been a long time coming. We were outstanding and it was a privilege to play. We played some champagne rugby."

Coach Millward was also full of praise for his star front- rower, who he feels has come back brilliantly from his injury problems of the past year. Cunningham recovered from a broken hand just in time to face Australia in last month's Test, only to suffer a bicep injury in the Lions' record defeat in Sydney.

Millward said: "With hindsight he probably wasn't ready for that Test match. But he is a tough cookie and has come back good. He's got some mileage under his belt now and I expected him to be man of the match. From Saints' point of view, it's good he's missed so much of the season because it means he's starting his season now. He is still the best hooker in the world."

Dejected Bradford coach Brian Noble put his side's performance down to a bad day at the office and vowed to bounce back against Castleford next week. "We were second best," he said. "But we've done our fair share of winning and we've got to learn from it. We are still top and we'll take this on the chin."

Elsewhere, Wigan took a firm grip on third place as they survived a tough battle with London at the JJB Stadium. The sixth-placed Broncos twice led with tries from Sylvain Houles and Denis Moran, but the Warriors hit back to claim a 19-12 win.