7 Things That Are Wrong With St Helens Right Now

When St Helens lost to Warrington Wolves on Friday night, it was their fourth defeat in a row. It was the first time the club had recorded such a run since 2016. It raises the question of what is going wrong for St Helens.

It’s not an easy answer either, with many factors contributing to the club’s ongoing spiral as they travel to face Leigh Leopards on Friday night. Nothing short of a win will satisfy the club’s loyal fans, who are used to success.

Last season was the first year since 2018 that the club failed to reach the finals, as Paul Wellens’ side were knocked out in both the Challenge Cup and Super League playoff semi-finals. Sure, they won the World Club Challenge, but that feat has since been matched by rivals Wigan Warriors, who now hold all four available trophies.

This makes Matt Peet’s team the first to achieve this feat since St Helens under the management of Daniel Anderson in 2006. Such success seems a long way off with the club in their current state, so we have assessed seven things that are currently wrong with St Helens.

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Seven things wrong with St Helens right now

St Helens are battling an injury crisis

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While they are not the only team battling an injury crisis, it is undeniable how many key players St Helens are missing. The senior injury list currently stands at ten, with at least seven reportedly preferred choices for a 17-man matchday squad.

Perhaps even worse for the club is that of those 10 players affected, seven are forwards, while another two can play in the second row, meaning the pack is decimated. Against Warrington, Wellens had to opt for Moses Mbye as a free-forward and could only take one forward on the bench in young Noah Stephens.

Although the injury list remains the same, St Helens will have an uphill battle to get back into form. Current absentees include: Tommy Makinson, Alex Walmsley, Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles, Jake Wingfield, Matt Whitley, George Delaney, Ben Davies and Konrad Hurrell.

Uncertainty about the spine

The old saying goes: attackers win, full-backs decide by how much. That’s true, but when you’re missing as many attackers as St Helens are, your full-backs have to do something special.

A current problem for Paul Wellens would be that he doesn’t seem to know what his best backbone is, having seen a number of different combinations of one, six, seven and nine in recent weeks. The two recent defeats to Wigan and Warrington have seen Harry Robertson, Jack Welsby, Jonny Lomax and Daryl Clark occupy the positions.

Lewis Dodd was however recalled to the bench for the Wire match, but with the 22-year-old set to depart for the NRL, there is uncertainty over his status. He was criticised by Jon Wilkin for his efforts against Warrington, but like all senior spine players were for their inability to break down a team with just 12 men.

Bang-average attack

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In relation to Wilkin’s comments about St Helens’ key playmakers being unable to overcome a Warrington team who played 50 minutes with 12 men and 10 minutes with 11 men, the fact is that their attack has looked disjointed all season.

Jack Welsby is quietly enjoying a strong season in terms of tries and assists. The fullback has 26 tries or assists to his name so far, a feat only surpassed by Matt Dufty. In this run of four defeats, however, he has only managed one of each.

Combine that with the club’s overall seasonal statistics and it makes for interesting reading. St Helens have made 92 clean breaks (3rd most) but have the lowest average win of any team. It highlights the fact that Saints have so many sets on their opponents’ lines but just can’t break them. Against Warrington they had 38 plays of balls in Warrington’s 20 but only two attempts. A serious concern.

Are St Helens just bullies?

What makes St Helens’ attacking figures even stranger is the fact that despite their ‘poor attack’, they have scored the third most points in Super League with 451 points. That is an average of just over 25 points per game, enough to win the most Super League games.

In this current run of form they are averaging just 11.5 points per game which is a huge drop. The reason for such a large drop is because St Helens’ 451 points this season are incredibly deceptive.

Almost 40% of their points scored have come in just three games against the bottom three teams in Super League. A 58-0 win over Hull FC, 60-4 against Cas and 52-6 against London equates to over a third of their points coming in just a sixth of their games. By comparison, they have scored just 42 points in their last three games in the top three.

Did the Saints sign a good contract?

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As they battle a terrible injury crisis, we have to wonder if that is a byproduct of their recruitment spree in recent years. For the 2024 season, the Red Vee signed just four players, but even one of those was only the confirmation of a loan deal in Tee Ritson.

Both Daryl Clark and Matt Whitley have been hampered by injuries this season, with the latter still injured. That four signings was the fewest of any Super League team for the 2024 season, but it was overshadowed by the fact they signed just two players last season, one of which was Ritson’s first loan deal.

The other player they signed, Wesley Bruines, has already left the club. With only five additions in two seasons, one of which has left, questions have to be asked about the club’s recruitment, especially when compared to Wigan, Warrington and Hull KR.

Can St Helens make it on the road?

With St Helens looking increasingly unlikely to make the top two this season, and missing out on a vital home play-off semi-final, the club’s away form is in the spotlight. They have won just four of their eight away games this season, two of which came in the first month of the season.

The other two away wins came against bottom side London Broncos and 10th-placed Castleford Tigers, two of the games in which they showed their ‘flat-track bully’ approach. They also lost at home to Castleford after the Tigers’ sudden improvement.

With five away games remaining in their remaining nine, plus the trip to Elland Road for Magic Weekend, there are a worrying number of home games that St Helens could benefit from. Making matters worse are the home games they have against the in-form Cas and playoff rivals Hull KR and Salford.

Paul Wellens’ contract situation

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Although all of the above reasons are interconnected, there is currently no bigger problem at the club than the uncertain situation surrounding head coach Paul Wellens.

Wellens is out of contract at the end of the season and the club have yet to give any public indication as to whether they will extend his deal or not. The St Helens manager recently admitted that he and the club are “under pressure” and uncertainty over his future doesn’t help.

When we add to that the fact that St Helens-born Lee Briers is returning to England to become a coach in 2025, the question arises whether the Brisbane Broncos coach will be appointed as Wellens’ replacement.

*Statistics taken from the Super League website*