St Helens ended the regular season top of the Super League table but former St George Illawarra coach Nathan Brown's side claimed the League Leaders' Shield in unconvincing fashion.
Saints went into this weekend knowing victory at Huddersfield would secure the shield and send them into the end-of-season playoffs top of the pile.
Former Warriors man Lance Hohaia crossed over for one of three St Helens tries but he also missed a late field-goal attempt in the 17-16 loss.
Saints' defeat offered Castleford the opportunity to steal the shield when they visited Catalan Dragons on Saturday but, like so many other teams this season, they returned from France empty-handed.
Zeb Taia, who joined the Dragons from Newcastle last year, was among the scorers, while Morgan Escare grabbed a double as the hosts won 28-6.
Those two tries took the 22-year-old to 27 Super League tries this season - second only to Australia's Warrington flyer Joel Monaghan - heading into the play-offs.
Monaghan had taken his tally top 28 on Thursday but he couldn't prevent the Wolves losing 24-20 at defending champions Wigan.
Melbourne Storm-bound Blake Green scored one of Wigan's five tries, while Josh Charnley and Joe Burgess each got two, to leave Wigan second in the table.
And Huddersfield's win eventually ensured that defeat would prove costly for Warrington, seeing them drop out of the top four.
Salford may have already missed out on the playoffs but they finished the season on a positive note, beating Widnes 36-6.
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