Saints 46 London Broncos 12 SUPER League top guns Saints maintained their grip on the leadership with this seventh consecutive victory but it was good only in parts.

For after laying the platform for success with a workmanlike first half display which saw them leading 30-6, the home side then took their foot of the accelerator against struggling London.

Admittedly missing ex-Saints Karle Hammond and Paul Davidson, the Broncos never seemed remotely capable of repeating last season's win at Saints and - given the certainty of outcome - there was an air of anti-climax at Knowsley Road on Sunday night.

Just 6,192 stalwarts - the smallest crowd of the season -_ also did nothing for 'atmosphere,' and while it is sad that this is the case, reasons for absence remain both varied and well documented.

Despite all this coach Ian Millward was fairly sanguine in saying that Saints' showing in the first 20 minutes discouraged London, and he was also happy with several individual performances, but added that his charges should have scored more.

His opposite number John Monie didn't mince words when he stated: 'There is no point in excuses, Saints will punish you if tackles are missed, and the simple truth is that my team were completely outclassed.'

As ever, predominant personal performances abounded in Saints' armoury, not least from Super League player-of-the-month Tommy Martyn, who also took the Concrete TS man-of-the-match award. His seven-goal two-try partner Sean Long earned the Sky Tissot watch with his second successive 22-point return, and there other virtuoso displays from captain Chris Joynt, Keiron Cunningham, Vila Matautia and John Stankevitch.

Young Tim Jonkers and Steve Hall maintained steady progress and, despite a strapped-up hand, Paul Wellens' positional sense, fearless tackling, spinning from the tackle, and readiness to go forward continue to make him an England prospect.

This on a night when Saints took their points tally to 146 in the last three outings but, remarkly the cupboard has stayed bare for wingers Anthony Sullivan and Steve Hall, with the happier statistic being that just 16 points have been conceded in the last two Wet, slippery conditions greeted the teams, and Saints rocketed into a fifth-minute lead when Broncos' Union convert George Truelove spilled Long's 'bomb,' with the predator Martyn touching down.

Kevin Iro and Martyn almost carved out a touchdown for Hall as Saints sought consolidation. However it came when Wellens put Martyn through, with Tommy's sleight-of-hand spelling an opening try of the season for Vila, who was also enjoying his first start.

Cunningham and Apollo Perelini then set up position for Long, Martyn and Wellens to send Joynt powering through three tackles to score, after an initial 20 minutes when a London team losing possession with alacrity where battling hard to stem the tide.

A cosmopolitan Broncos squad whose best player was Wigan-based Andy Johnson at last earned some reward when Dominic Peters put the finishing touch to a round of cross-field passing, with Brett Warton landing the touchline conversion. Kiwi Iro, who had been relatively quiet, burst into life with an imperious break which ended with Long scoring between the Eccleston uprights, while London breathed again when Long was refused a second following a sinuous dribble with Martyn.

Broncos appeared well-and-truly tethered on the restart when Long thundered over for his second try after being set up by Martyn and Joynt, and then we had the not-unusual spectacle of Freddie Tuilagi removing half-a-dozen defenders from his path when touching down.

Sean Hoppe strove desperately to put Hall over in the scoreboard corner, only for the New Zealander's pass to be off-target, while never-say-die London gave their knot of supporters on the Kop something to cheer when Shane Millard crashed over for Warton to goal.

Saints came within an whisker of a sixth 50-pointer this term when the indefatigable Joynt carved out a try for substitute Dwayne West, with Long experiencing his only goalkicking failure of the night.

But when, oh when, will stayaway fans abandon the 'box' and head once more for Knowsley Road?