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Francis MELI [Player Stats]

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Tickle sinks Saints despite Meli's heroics
Sat June 5, 2010
by engage Super League
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Boyhood St Helens fan Danny Tickle kicked a 78th-minute drop goal as Hull produced one of the most stunning comebacks the Super League has seen as they rocked the Saints with four answered tries in a breathtaking second-half at the KC Stadium.

Francis Meli's maiden four-try haul in the English game had given Mick Potter's side what had looked to be an unassailable 26-6 lead with little over 30 minutes remaining, only for the home side to respond with an unstoppable barrage that resulted in them registering three successive wins for the first time this season.

With both sides scoring five tries and missing two goals, the scores were locked at 26-26 when Tickle split the posts from 30 metres out to send the majority of the 13,300 crowd into a frenzy.

The result leaves Saints coach Potter with plenty of questions to answer as his side, missing England star Kyle Eastmond for the first time this season, badly lost their way in the second-half.

That will not bother opposite number Richard Agar too much, though, as his men moved to within two points of the Saints as they consolidated their fourth place.

Hull started well and it was of little surprise when they opened the scoring after 10 minutes.

Tom Briscoe had already been dumped into touch by Jonny Lomax as he looked set to score when the try came, with Briscoe showing admirable strength to drive his way over after Willie Manu's superb offload.

St Helens' rode the early storm though, and levelled things up five minutes later as Meli, back after a three-game absence, leapt above Richard Whiting to take in Scott Moore's kick.

James Roby would have added another try moments later had his snaking run not ended with him colliding with a post, before Meli took in another ball from Moore, this time a pass, to give his side a 20th-minute lead.

Hull had no answer to the momentum Saints had built up, and veteran hooker Keiron Cunningham took full advantage of their increasing vulnerability as he bounced over the line following a 15-metre run.

Hull managed to tame their visitors for a time after that, but Saints rediscovered their rhythm two minutes before the half-time hooter as Meli took advantage of a six-on-one overlap to net his third Super League hat-trick.

His first four-try salvo came shortly after the restart as he made light work of Jordan Tansey and Danny Washbrook's attempted tackles, before Jordan Turner gave Hull hope of a comeback when he stepped his way in with 32 minutes left.

With England hooker Roby leaving the field after a heavy collision, Hull turned hope into a reality as Danny Houghton pounced on a loose ball after Long's kick to slip in under the posts and bring his side back to within eight points.

It was now the Saints' turn to be rattled and Willie Manu brought Hull even closer to them with a close-range bump over the line following Houghton's pass ? although Tickle was unable to convert on this occasion.

Tickle quickly redeemed himself, though, as he pounced on another Meli handling error from another long kick to score in the corner, with another failed conversion tying the scores at 26-all.

Ex-Saints playmaker Sean Long saw a drop goal attempt fall agonisingly short, before Tickle found the mark.

Meli on song in Saints win
Mon May 10, 2010
Source: www.therfl.co.uk

Francis Meli bagged two tries as St Helens moved into the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup with a hard-fought 30-10 win over Harlequins.

Meli crossed twice at the start of the second half as the visitors erased a half-time deficit to see off the battling Stoop side.

The hosts, buoyed by their recent improved form, started in expansive mood and only an error of judgment from Will Sharp prevented Chad Randall from grabbing an opening score. Quins stretched the Saints again minutes later, Tony Clubb bursting clear only for his pass to Luke Dorn to be ruled forward.

Both sides were looking to put the ball through the hands as the action swung from end to end, but the defences were equal to the task. The first score came just before the quarter-hour mark for the visitors, Keiron Cunningham burrowing over from close range after Matt Gidley was held just short.

Gradually the Saints were pinning the home side back in their own half with some tough tackling, although there was still precious little to choose between the sides. However, two costly errors in the space of seconds gifted Quins field position and they made it count, David Howell twisting and turning to ground in the corner. Leon Pryce came close to extending the Saints lead, sauntering through a couple of tackles only for his offload to go to ground.

It was nip and tuck all the way, with neither side looking as though they were going to flag. With seconds remaining in the half, Howell and Sharp combined to open up some space and although Luke Dorn was clawed down, the ball was shipped wide for Luke Gale to stroll over. All that hard work was undone seconds after the restart, Dorn spilling a towering Pryce kick and Ade Gardner scorched over in the corner. Minutes later there was a carbon copy, Eastmond's high kick causing havoc in the home defence and Francis Meli gathered to walk over under the sticks.

By now Saints had their tails up and Quins were looking ragged, and the visitors cashed in with a further score as Meli cruised over after Pryce's looping pass left him in acres of space. Eastmond then booted a penalty as St Helens pulled further clear. Quins did offer themselves some hope thanks to a lightning break from Dorn, only for Ryan Esders to knock on with a try begging. The hosts were still battling, but Saints were just about succeeding in keeping them at arm's length.

St Helens did afford Harlequins the respect of taking more points with the boot when they were offered, Eastmond slotting over another penalty with 10 minutes remaining to pad the lead to the 14-point mark. And Pryce rounded things off, fending off tackles to cross with ease, Eastmond converting to finish off the scoring.

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2012 Stobart Super League

St Helens 

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2011 International Origin

Exiles 
1 games; 1 tries, 4 points. 
		 [View] International Origin [10 Jun 11] W 16-12 v England (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
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2011 engage English Super League

St Helens 
22 games; 12 tries, 48 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [12 Feb 11] D 16-16 v Wigan. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 2 [18 Feb 11] W 56-22 v Salford City (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [25 Feb 11] L 18-25 v Warrington (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 4 [05 Mar 11] W 22-16 v Catalans (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 5 [11 Mar 11] L 16-27 v Harlequins (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [19 Mar 11] W 30-16 v Leeds (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 7 [25 Mar 11] W 28-16 v Bradford (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 11 [22 Apr 11] L 24-28 v Wigan (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 12 [25 Apr 11] W 22-20 v Castleford (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 13 [02 May 11] D 24-24 v Hull FC (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 14 [14 May 11] L 18-40 v Huddersfield (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 15 [27 May 11] W 28-12 v Crusaders (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 16 [03 Jun 11] W 42-16 v Leeds (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 18 [17 Jun 11] L 10-32 v Wigan (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 19 [24 Jun 11] L 28-35 v Warrington (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 20 [01 Jul 11] W 28-14 v Hull FC (H). [CT] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 21 [10 Jul 11] W 46-6 v Wakefield (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 22 [15 Jul 11] W 40-18 v Catalans (H). [CT] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 24 [12 Aug 11] W 19-6 v Huddersfield (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 25 [21 Aug 11] L 22-24 v Hull KR (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 26 [02 Sep 11] W 31-6 v Salford City (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Finals Week 3 [01 Oct 11] W 26-18 v Wigan. [CT] 
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2010 engage English Super League

St Helens 
23 games; 23 tries, 92 points. 
		 [View] Round 2 [14 Feb 10] W 38-6 v Bradford (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 3 [20 Feb 10] W 42-12 v Les Catalans (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 4 [26 Feb 10] W 22-16 v Wakefield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 5 [07 Mar 10] L 24-28 v Hull KR (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [12 Mar 10] W 37-30 v Crusaders (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 7 [19 Mar 10] W 28-18 v Warrington (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 8 [28 Mar 10] W 24-6 v Huddersfield (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 9 [02 Apr 10] L 10-18 v Wigan (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 10 [05 Apr 10] W 52-18 v Castleford (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 11 [10 Apr 10] W 32-24 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 16 [04 Jun 10] L 26-27 v Hull FC (A). [WG] 16 Pts; 4t
[View] Round 17 [11 Jun 10] W 30-22 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 18 [20 Jun 10] W 26-24 v Wigan (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 21 [09 Jul 10] L 20-30 v Catalans (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 22 [18 Jul 10] W 32-18 v Harlequins (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 23 [25 Jul 10] W 50-6 v Wakefield (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 24 [31 Jul 10] W 26-24 v Warrington (A). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 25 [13 Aug 10] W 60-12 v Bradford (H). [CT] 
[View] Round 26 [21 Aug 10] W 36-10 v Crusaders (A). [CT] 
[View] Round 27 [04 Sep 10] W 40-30 v Castleford (H). [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Finals Week 1 [10 Sep 10] W 28-12 v Warrington (H). [CT] 
[View] Finals Week 3 [24 Sep 10] W 42-22 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Grand Final [02 Oct 10] L 10-22 v Wigan. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
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2009 engage English Super League

St Helens 
23 games; 12 tries, 48 points. 
		 [View] Round 7 [27 Mar 09] W 42-18 v Wakefield (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 8 [09 Apr 09] W 19-12 v Wigan (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 9 [13 Apr 09] W 44-22 v Hull FC (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 10 [19 Apr 09] W 68-22 v Castleford (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 11 [24 Apr 09] L 30-34 v Bradford (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 12 [02 May 09] L 18-38 v Wigan. [WG] 
[View] Round 13 [16 May 09] W 32-28 v Les Catalans (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 15 [05 Jun 09] W 30-6 v Hull FC (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 16 [12 Jun 09] W 50-10 v Castleford (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 17 [21 Jun 09] W 44-18 v Bradford (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 18 [26 Jun 09] W 30-0 v Celtic (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 19 [03 Jul 09] L 10-20 v Salford City (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 20 [11 Jul 09] W 40-26 v Warrington (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 21 [17 Jul 09] L 20-22 v Wakefield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 22 [25 Jul 09] W 44-24 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 23 [31 Jul 09] W 10-6 v Wigan (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 24 [16 Aug 09] L 10-26 v Hull KR (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 25 [21 Aug 09] W 12-10 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 26 [04 Sep 09] L 10-18 v Leeds (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 27 [11 Sep 09] L 12-24 v Les Catalans (H). [WG] 
[View] Finals Week 1 [19 Sep 09] W 15-2 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Finals Week 3 [03 Oct 09] W 14-10 v Wigan (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Grand Final [10 Oct 09] L 10-18 v Leeds. [WG] 
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2008 World Cup

Samoa 
3 games; 2 tries, 8 points. 
		 [View] Pool C [05 Nov 08] L 16-34 v Ireland. [WG] 
[View] Pool C [31 Oct 08] W 20-12 v Tonga. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Ranking Games [09 Nov 08] W 42-10 v France. [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
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2008 engage English Super League

St Helens 
29 games; 14 tries, 56 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [10 Feb 08] L 22-24 v Hull KR (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 2 [15 Feb 08] W 30-22 v Warrington (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [22 Feb 08] W 22-16 v Bradford (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 4 [02 Mar 08] W 34-30 v Wakefield (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 5 [07 Mar 08] W 30-29 v Hull FC (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 6 [15 Mar 08] L 10-24 v Les Catalans (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 7 [21 Mar 08] W 46-10 v Wigan (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 8 [24 Mar 08] L 26-28 v Huddersfield (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 9 [28 Mar 08] L 10-14 v Leeds (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 10 [06 Apr 08] L 24-30 v Castleford (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 11 [11 Apr 08] W 58-12 v Harlequins (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 12 [25 Apr 08] W 30-22 v Warrington (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 13 [04 May 08] W 57-16 v Wigan. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 14 [17 May 08] W 28-10 v Les Catalans (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 15 [25 May 08] W 16-8 v Hull FC (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 16 [06 Jun 08] W 52-10 v Hull KR (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 17 [13 Jun 08] W 58-20 v Bradford (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 18 [20 Jun 08] W 26-12 v Leeds (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 19 [29 Jun 08] W 46-16 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 20 [05 Jul 08] W 54-0 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 21 [11 Jul 08] W 68-12 v Castleford (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 22 [18 Jul 08] W 46-12 v Wigan (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 23 [03 Aug 08] W 42-10 v Wakefield (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 24 [09 Aug 08] W 17-16 v Warrington (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 25 [17 Aug 08] W 32-16 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 26 [24 Aug 08] W 40-22 v Huddersfield (A). [BE] 
[View] Round 27 [05 Sep 08] D 16-16 v Wigan (H). [WG] 
[View] Finals Week 2 [19 Sep 08] W 38-10 v Leeds (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Grand Final [04 Oct 08] L 16-24 v Leeds. [WG] 
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2007 World Club Challenge

St Helens 
1 games; [View] WCC [23 Feb 07] W 18-14 v Broncos (H). [WG]
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2007 engage English Super League

St Helens 
23 games; 16 tries, 64 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [09 Feb 07] L 6-14 v Harlequins (H). [WG]
[View] Round 2 [18 Feb 07] L 22-29 v Wakefield (A). [WG]
[View] Round 3 [04 Feb 07] W 18-10 v Huddersfield (A). [WG]
[View] Round 4 [02 Mar 07] W 34-22 v Bradford (H). [WG] 
[View] Round 5 [09 Mar 07] W 48-12 v Warrington (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 6 [17 Mar 07] L 12-24 v Hull FC (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 7 [23 Mar 07] W 42-14 v Hull KR (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 8 [06 Apr 07] W 32-14 v Wigan (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 9 [09 Apr 07] W 48-4 v Salford City (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 10 [13 Apr 07] W 53-10 v Catalans (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 11 [21 Apr 07] L 19-38 v Leeds (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 12 [29 Apr 07] W 44-6 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 13 [05 May 07] W 34-18 v Wigan. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 16 [01 Jun 07] W 27-26 v Salford City (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 20 [13 Jul 07] L 4-10 v Bradford (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 21 [20 Jul 07] W 19-12 v Wigan (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 22 [03 Aug 07] W 31-20 v Hull FC (H). [WG] 12 Pts; 3t
[View] Round 23 [11 Aug 07] L 0-21 v Les Catalans (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 24 [17 Aug 07] W 32-20 v Salford City (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 26 [07 Sep 07] W 36-16 v Warrington (H). [WG] 12 Pts; 3t
[View] Round 27 [14 Sep 07] L 12-20 v Wigan (A). [WG] 
[View] Finals Week 2 [28 Sep 07] W 10-8 v Leeds (H). [WG] 
[View] Grand Final [13 Oct 07] L 6-33 v Leeds. [WG] 
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2006 engage English Super League

St Helens 
22 games; 12 tries, 48 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [11 Feb 06] W 40-16 v Harlequins (A). [WG] 
[View] Round 2 [17 Feb 06] W 44-8 v Castleford (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [24 Feb 06] W 13-4 v Leeds (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 4 [03 Mar 06] W 18-10 v Warrington (A). [WG]
[View] Round 5 [12 Mar 06] W 18-16 v Huddersfield (A). [WG]
[View] Round 6 [17 Mar 06] W 38-16 v Bulls (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 7 [24 Mar 06] W 46-0 v Hull (A). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 8 [07 Apr 06] W 16-6 v Harlequins (H). [WG]
[View] Round 12 [28 Apr 06] W 34-8 v Wakefield (H). [WG]
[View] Round 13 [06 May 06] L 16-19 v Huddersfield (A). [WG]
[View] Round 15 [27 May 06] W 28-14 v Wigan (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 16 [08 Jun 06] L 26-27 v Hull FC (H). [WG]
[View] Round 17 [16 Jun 06] L 18-20 v Bradford (A). [WG]
[View] Round 18 [24 Jun 06] W 28-6 v Salford City (H). [WG]
[View] Round 22 [22 Jul 06] W 18-14 v Leeds (A). [WG]
[View] Round 23 [04 Aug 06] W 56-8 v Huddersfield (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 24 [13 Aug 06] W 72-4 v Castleford (A). [WG]
[View] Round 26 [01 Sep 06] W 34-12 v Wakefield (H). [WG]
[View] Round 27 [09 Sep 06] W 54-18 v Leeds (H). [WG] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 28 [17 Sep 06] W 38-30 v Warrington (A). [WG] 
[View] Finals Week Two [29 Sep 06] W 12-8 v Hull FC (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Grand Final [14 Oct 06] W 26-4 v Hull FC. [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
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2005 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
21 games; 8 tries, 32 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [13 Mar 05] L 20-26 v Sea Eagles (H). [WG]
[View] Round 2 [19 Mar 05] W 24-12 v Broncos (A). [WG]
[View] Round 3 [27 Mar 05] L 22-32 v Cowboys (H). [WG]
[View] Round 4 [03 Apr 05] W 46-14 v Souths (H). [WG]
[View] Round 5 [09 Apr 05] L 6-24 v Tigers (A). [WG]
[View] Round 6 [17 Apr 05] W 30-26 v Knights (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (80th)
[View] Round 8 [01 May 05] L 14-16 v Panthers (H). [WG]
[View] Round 9 [07 May 05] L 24-28 v Sharks (A). [WG]
[View] Round 10 [15 May 05] L 6-10 v Roosters (H). [WG]
[View] Round 11 [21 May 05] W 34-16 v Souths (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (49th)
[View] Round 12 [29 May 05] W 21-4 v Tigers (H). [WG]
[View] Round 13 [04 Jun 05] L 18-32 v Dragons (A). [WG]
[View] Round 14 [12 Jun 05] W 24-16 v Storm (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (29th)
[View] Round 15 [18 Jun 05] L 18-28 v Eels (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (25th)
[View] Round 16 [26 Jun 05] W 30-18 v Broncos (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (68th)
[View] Round 17 [02 Jul 05] L 16-24 v Cowboys (A). [WG]
[View] Round 18 [10 Jul 05] L 24-26 v Bulldogs (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (31st)
[View] Round 19 [16 Jul 05] W 24-22 v Roosters (A). [WG]
[View] Round 20 [23 Jul 05] W 24-16 v Raiders (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (70th)
[View] Round 21 [30 Jul 05] L 34-42 v Panthers (A). [WG]
[View] Round 23 [13 Aug 05] L 10-22 v Storm (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t (36th)
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2004 NRL Telstra Premiership

New Zealand Warriors 
2 games; 2 tries, 8 points. 
		 [View] Round 1 [14 Mar 04] L 20-28 v Broncos (A). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 2 [20 Mar 04] L 10-16 v Dragons (H). [WG] 4 Pts; 1t
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Meli, Francis

Player profile, news and statistics.