SAINTS skipper Jonny Lomax marked his 300th Super League game with a real captain’s knock at Headingley last Friday.

Lomax, who has clocked up that record across 16 seasons from 2009, had to roll his sleeves up at times and defend like a trooper when it looked like Leeds were going to run riot with some of his cover tackling being invaluable.

Coach Paul Wellens hailed the toughness of the long-serving number 6 and his willingness to compete.

They are qualities that Saints needed because the way Rhinos started it looked like it was going to be an incredibly long night.

Wellens said: “For Jonny that is 300 Super League games and a lot more than that as well in a Saints shirt.

“He is an absolutely wonderful person, a great competitor and I thought he was the best player on the field tonight.

“What he has a real ability to do, and when people talk about tough players, no one really goes to half backs they always go to the big men, the tough men through the middle.

“But there isn't a tougher competitor in the competition in Johnny Lomax.”

And with Mark Percival suspended and Tommy Makinson pulling out in the warm-up, Lomax was called upon to kick the goals.

And kick them he did, nailing all three including a brace from the touchline that were priceless in making the score go up in sixes.

Wellens said: “I think the last time he kicked was at Wakefield away a couple of years ago where he kicked them off the sidelines to help us win the game there as well.

“So I think might be calling on him to do it a little bit more on recent evidence.

“Lewis Dodd’s groin was tight and he was going to kick, but then obviously that became a bit of a problem for him.

“Obviously, we lost Tommy in the warm up and he was another option and Jonny being Jonny as the great leader he is he put his hand up for the team.”

Lomax has reached this latest appearance milestone despite losing a good chunk of playing time in the middle of his career, particularly 2014 and 15 when he had to comeback from back-to-back ACL injuries.