IN THE fog that almost forced this match to be postponed last night, Sean Long displayed the crystal-clear thinking that distinguished his dozen years at St Helens and illuminated a famous Hull victory on a remarkable homecoming for the former Saints talisman.

The 33-year-old Long, a four-time Grand Final winner and serial Challenge Cup victor with St Helens, haunted his old club on his competitive Hull debut with a typically teasing, controlling and cavorting display that included a flamboyant swallow-dive for a decisive touchdown after 47 minutes.

The boos that rang around the ground were aimed at the St Helens players after a dispiriting opening loss.

“I’d not been as nervous for a game for a long time,” Long, the Hull captain, said. “I had to keep it inside and suck it all up, but I’m really pleased with the performance.”

Only on the agreement of referee Ben Thaler, match commissioner David Campbell and Bob Singleton, the ground safety officer, did the match go ahead, albeit 15 minutes late in the hope that conditions would improve. They did, though not much.

The feeling persisted that St Helens would rather it had been called off. The home side lost Ade Gardner (ribs) and debutant Iosia Soliola (ankle) during a torrid opening half. Once Long, like a searchlight operator in the fog, located his kicking range, Hull cranked up the pressure.

With the ball in hand close to the post, Long’s predatory abilities will be all too familiar to the Saints. The scrum-half beautifully drew the unstoppable Willie Manu on to the ball at pace, after Craig Fitzgibbon’s dummy run had sucked in Chris Flannery and Nick Fozzard.

Hull continued to throw their big men at Saints with relish. Leon Pryce was swatted off by the imposing figure of Epalahame Lauaki, whose fend was matched by clever footwork that left Paul Wellens and Jon Wilkin desperately clutching at the New Zealander as he crashed over. Danny Tickle’s conversion gave Hull a 12-point cushion at the break.

Tickle increased the advantage with a simple penalty given away by Keiron Cunningham, before Tickle’s offload and Richard Horne’s support sent a delirious Long clear beneath the posts a minute later. Lauaki pulled off a wonderful try-saving challenge on James Graham, who added to Saints’ injury woes by withdrawing with a chest injury.

Tom Briscoe shook off a couple of tackles in an 80m break, all the more extraordinary because he sprinted for Hull’s fourth try in one boot. Fitzgibbon added the conversion after a knock to Tickle. But after more than an hour in Long’s shadow, Kyle Eastmond, Long’s former Saints apprentice, helped set up Matt Gidley’s 64th-minute try, which prevented Saints from suffering the ignominy of being “nilled” for the first time at home in the Super League.

Having switched off, the visitors made the mistake of inviting more trouble when Pryce and Wilkin combined to put Flannery over for a second try while Hull full-back Jordan Tansey was in the sin-bin for a professional foul. The Hull ship was steadied by Long’s kick taking a ricochet and Kirk Yeaman emerging from the gloom to score their fifth try.

Star man: Sean Long (Hull) Scorers: St Helens: Tries: Gidley, Flannery Cons: Eastmond 2 Hull: Tries: Manu, Lauaki, Long, Briscoe, Yeaman Cons: Tickle 3, Fitzgibbon 2 PG: Tickle Referee: B Thaler (Castleford) Attendance: 12,142
St Helens: P Wellens; A Gardner, M Gidley, I Soliola, G Wheeler; L Pryce, K Eastmond; J Graham, K Cunningham (capt), N Fozzard, T Puletua, C Flannery, J Wilkin. Replacements: J Roby, S Moore, P Clough, M Fa’asavalu.
Hull: J Tansey; C Hall, R Whiting, K Yeaman, T Briscoe; R Horne, S Long (capt); M O’Meley, S Berrigan, L Radford, W Manu, D Tickle, C Fitzgibbon. Replacements: E Dowes, E Lauaki, P Cusack, D Houghton.