St Helens 24 Wigan Warriors 8

ST HELENS coach Ian Millward says his side are running hot ahead of next Saturday's Grand Final showdown with reigning Super League champions Bradford Bulls.

Saints booked their trip to Old Trafford for a repeat of the 2000 final with a comprehensive 24-8 victory over Wigan in last night's final eliminator.

Millward's men had all their big guns firing as they made the most of their second chance to claim a Grand Final spot and the coach insists his side are peaking at the right time.

"It's the sharpest we've looked at the back of the season in my three years at the club," he said.

"We spent a lot of time on player welfare at the beginning of the season and I couldn't believe after the Bradford game how fresh, mentally and physically, we were. That's the difference between last year's game and this.

"We look real sharp and enthusiastic and that's because mentally and physically we're very fresh and strong at the moment."

Wigan coach Stuart Raper said: "It's been a really tough season, one of most exhausting I've been involved with. Winning the Cup took a lot out of us but, all in all, I think it's been a great year and I'm really proud of the guys."

Saints' efforts were typified by a bubbling Sean Long, who looked especially sharp on his first start for five weeks, while Keiron Cunningham and Paul Sculthorpe were simply a class apart for a Wigan side that failed miserably to overcome both a gritty defence and greasy ball.

St Helens, too, committed an alarming number of handling errors but stuck to the ball long enough to claim early tries through Anthony Stewart and Chris Joynt.

The crucial score came on the stroke of half-time when Cunningham forced his way over from close range for a trademark try while Sculthorpe made sure with a converted try on 58 minutes, the only score of the second half.

"I'm really happy coming off a great win like this to give us a lot of confidence," added Millward.

"I don't think there is anything between us and Bradford. We've got the last two world champions playing at Old Trafford. That's a great marketing tool."

The only disappointment for St Helens was the loss of former Great Britain centre Paul Newlove with a groin injury that threatens to sideline him from the Grand Final for the second time in three years.

Wigan, who had hoped to complete the first modern-day League and Cup double, were left to rue the curse of the third-placed team and to lick their considerable wounds.

Second rower Mick Cassidy briefly gave the Warriors hope with a solo try and skipper Andrew Farrell kicked a couple of goals but coach Stuart Raper accepted his side were easily second best on the day.

The Warriors went into the match without four regulars through injury and Raper warned that several of the club's Great Britain internationals may be forced to miss the Test Series against New Zealand.

Hooker Terry Newton, who sustained knee and elbow injuries, and Cassidy (torn calf) were among last night's casualties while prop Harvey Howard, who was almost certainly playing his final match for the club, was badly concussed.

"We would have struggled to field a side next week," said Raper. "A lot of blokes will be facing operations in the close season."