THERE can be no excuses for what Warrington Wolves served up at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Players missing or not, they were simply beaten by the better, hungrier team on the night for the second week running.

Opposition teams performing better than you in any given game happens from time to time and is an occupational hazard of professional sport, but being out-worked and “out-enthused” is a tougher to accept.

Daryl Powell spoke after the game about learning lessons from the two straight defeats which have dented the momentum they have built and St Helens taught them a serious one about dealing with adversity.

A brief pre-match look at social media would find Saints fans aplenty writing off their team’s chances against a league-leading Wire side and given the calibre of players unavailable to them on the night, it was easy to see why.

As they have proved throughout this sustained period of dominance, however, they are made of some pretty tough stuff and they have cultivated a belief that they can overcome any obstacle.

On this evidence, those qualities within the Warrington dressing room still need a bit of work.

It should not be forgotten that The Wire have eight wins from 10 matches – a fine start in anybody’s book – and such is the platform they have built for themselves, only a truly cataclysmic collapse would see them miss out on being in the shake-up at the end of the season.

If they do end up there as expected, they can expect more games against the likes of Saints, Wigan Warriors and co.

When they come around, they will be put under similar kinds of pressure and it is absolutely imperative they handle it better than they did on this occasion.

A nightmare opening quarter in this game harked back to the dark days of last year, with Wire unable to find a response to an energetic, direct St Helens onslaught.

No matter what kind of side is in opposition, giving them a 16-point start is asking for trouble and despite appearing to get a foothold with a positive finish to the second half, Jon Bennison’s early second-half try nipped the thought of springing themselves from jail in the bud.

It is pointless wondering how different things may have been had they got the first score after the break – the fact of the matter is Warrington got what they deserved from this game.

They’ve had it mostly their own way on the field so far this year and reaching for the panic button now would be very premature, but now they can take this as a brutal dose of reality.

This team has done some great things to start this year and have altered perceptions in doing so, but truly great things are done in the biggest of moments.

On that front, Warrington Wolves still have catching up to do.