HIGH fliers they may be, but supporting Saints this season should carry a Government health warning!

They once again had their 'barmy army' of fans on tenterhooks on Sunday by only clinching victory in the dying seconds after Wakefield had a crucial 'try' disallowed.

Belle Vue has rarely proved a happy hunting ground for Saints in recent times, and they were hugely indebted to Paul Sculthorpe for a hard-earned win which laid the ghosts to rest and kept them in second place in the table.

The resilient Scully made a shock return after suffering a mouth wound in the Yorkshire-Lancashire 'Origin' game which needed 50 stitches.

His impact was such that he scored an hat-trick of tries, had a hand in two others and kicked six goals.

This 24-point haul meant that Sculthorpe has notched 60 points in three games since deputising at stand-off for Tommy Martyn, and has also proved a capable stand-in for Sean Long in the goalkicking stakes.

Predictably, a Wildcats team urged on by their fervent fans had sharpened their claws in a bid to once again upset Saints.

They almost did that with a spirited performance which belied their lowly league position.

Overall, this latest clash proved a thrilling end-to-end affair with both teams always ready to keep the ball alive, and Wakefield twice held the lead before last-gasp Saints got home by the odd try in eleven.

However, the fact that Saints picked up two more precious points on the road to the play-offs speaks volumes for their will-to-win in the face of a mounting injury list.

Saints' victory was a triumph of teamwork embellished by other personal heroics, notably from David Fairleigh, Peter Sheils, Paul Newlove, Sean Hoppe and Keiron Cunningham.

Conditions were perfect when Wakefield snatched a sensational first-minute lead after Anthony Sullivan failed to cover Martin Pearson's chip-through allowing Waisale Sovatabua to pounce. Pearson converted.

Captain Chris Joynt and Fairleigh led the Saints fightback, which saw Kevin Iro plough through indifferent tackling to touch down. The visitors quickly moved into a 10-6 lead with a Sculthorpe solo try and conversion.

But the Wildcats regained the initiative when captain Willie Poching broke away for the supporting Dane Dorahy to race between the posts with Pearson goaling, before Savatabua and Newlove both had touchdowns disallowed.

Cunningham's shrewd pass then made a second try for Sculthorpe to give Saints a 16-12 advantage at half-time, which Newlove helped preserve with a line-saving tackle on Dorahy before being sin-binned for holding down.

Wakefield substitute Frank Watene was placed on report following a late challenge on Tony Stewart on the restart, and Dorahy and Brad Davies then engineered a try for Justin Brooker against 12-man Saints to level matters.

With Paul Wellens off the field with a cut eye, Cunningham was now at scrum-half, and he and Sculthorpe carved out a six-pointer by Shiels, only for never-say-die Wakefield to bounce back again when Neil Law scored in the corner after Davis chipped through.

Stewart saved Saints with a brilliant tackle on Ben Rauter as the visitors soaked up tremendous pressure, and welcome breathing space arrived when Tim Jonkers sidestepped his way over for Sculthorpe to convert.

Ahead 28-20 on 70 minutes, Saints were rocked back on their heels again when Ben Westwood sent Graham Law over for Pearson to goal.

Westwood then had a 'try' refused by Russell Smith for faulty grounding - a decision hotly disputed by Wakefield.

Sculthorpe landed a penalty goal after being fouled by former teamate Julian O'Neill. But it was only when the superb Scully completed his hat-trick and tacked on the conversion that Saints - and their supporters -- could start to unwind.