St Helens resorted to habit before a big occasion by resting a number of leading players and examining the depth of their squad. As well as fresh legs for Wembley, they ensured that they go into the Carnegie Challenge Cup final on the back of 20 successive league and cup wins stretching back to early April, a record winning sequence in the 13-year Super League era that they are overwhelming favourites to extend against Hull on Saturday.

For all the routine and scrappy nature of yesterday’s victory, it was significant in all but guaranteeing St Helens a top-place finish and a home play-off next month against Leeds Rhinos that will determine the first qualifier for the Grand Final at Old Trafford on October 4. The question of whether Saints can follow up their cup and league double in 2006 is likely to dominate the conclusion to the domestic season, unless Hull can inflict a shock of seismic proportions.

This win, by a makeshift but effective enough combination, reversed the result away to Huddersfield in March, one of only five league defeats suffered by St Helens this season in moving two points clear of Leeds and with a superior points-scoring advantage of 51 going into the final round of regular-season matches a week after the Wembley showpiece.

It was not all plain sailing at the Galpharm Stadium. Jason Cayless, the former New Zealand prop, limped off with knee ligament damage after five minutes and will almost certainly miss the final.

It puts the focus this week on the recovery from a hamstring injury of Maurie Fa’asavalu, who has not trained since the semi-final against Leeds, although the encouraging news was that Paul Sculthorpe, the two-time Man of Steel who has been dogged by injuries for three years, survived a full 80 minutes unscathed for the first time this year.

Sculthorpe’s contract at Knowsley Road is not being renewed and with Salford City Reds and Wakefield Wildcats dropping their interest in the former Great Britain captain, his future is unclear, but as Daniel Anderson, the St Helens coach, acknowledged, “wild horses wouldn’t stop him making himself available for selection for a big game in his last year with the club”.

Sculthorpe had a hand in two of the six tries and gave a reasonably solid all-round performance, despite looking out on his feet towards the end.

Anderson took the opportunity to rest Paul Wellens, Leon Pryce, James Roby, Jon Wilkin and Matt Gidley. He withdrew Sean Long at half-time and gave only limited time to James Graham and Francis Meli. Notwithstanding the cobbled nature of the team, St Helens were never substantially threatened by opponents with little to play for.

Stuart Jones opened the scoring for Huddersfield Giants, but several more opportunities were thrown away and a clinical burst of three tries in 13 minutes by Keiron Cunningham, Willie Talau and Kyle Eastmond emphasised the difference between the teams.

Paul Whatuira pulled back two tries for Huddersfield, but Chris Flannery eased over from Sculthorpe’s pass, Dean McGilvray raced 50 metres after picking up Andy Raleigh’s pass to ground and Eastmond, who looks like missing out on the Wembley squad, added a second try to his five goals.

Scorers: Huddersfield Giants: Tries: Jones, Whatuira 2, Kirmond. Goals: Thorman 3. St Helens: Tries: Cunningham, Talau, Eastmond 2, Flannery, McGilvray. Goals: Long 3, Eastmond 5.

Huddersfield Giants: D Hodgson; M Aspinwall, K Brown, P Whatuira, S Elford; C Thorman, L Robinson; E Crabtree, R Hudson, K Mason, S Jones, J Lolesi, S Wild. Interchange: D Griffin, D Faiumu, A Raleigh, D Kirmond.

St Helens: K Eastmond; A Gardner, L Gilmour, W Talau, D McGilvray; G Wheeler, S Long; N Fozzard, K Cunningham, J Cayless, C Flannery, P Sculthorpe, B Hargreaves. Interchange: F Meli, J Graham, P Clough, S Thompson.

Referee: B Thaler.