St Helens will ‘question everything’ after Leigh Leopards loss claims, analyst says

Former England international Kevin Brown says St Helens players and staff will be ‘questioning everything’ after suffering a fifth straight Super League defeat. The former Wire man reflects on their shock 46-4 defeat to Leigh Leopards.

Leigh scored eight tries as they put St Helens to the sword and helped pile the pressure on underfire coach Paul Wellens. The defeat marked the first time Saints have lost five games in a row since 1986, highlighting the massive slump the club are in.

Much of this good form can be attributed to a terrible injury problem, which was only made worse last night when star player Jack Welsby was forced off the pitch after just four minutes with a hamstring injury that Paul Wellens says could take months to recover from rather than weeks.

Wins for Salford and Catalans today would move both teams ahead of the Saints, leaving Wellens’ side just two points off the play-off spot in sixth place. It is such a poor and uncharacteristic run of form that former club captain Jon Wilkin struggled to predict it.

In an interview with Sky Sports after Warrington’s huge win over Wigan, Wilkin simply said: “Yeah, and they’re just not there, are they?”, to which presenter Brian Carney described Wilkin’s thoughts as an “understatement”.

St Helens in “uncharted territory”

Credit: Imago Images

Although the loss to Warrington Wolves, a team of twelve players, last week was seen as the low point for St Helens, this was surpassed by the loss to Leigh, with the Leopards going wild and showing Saints how bad they were all over the pitch.

Jon Wilkin continued his assessment, explaining: “They’re just nowhere near where they need to be.”

That was something Kevin Brown also noted when he noted the club’s meteoric decline over the past five weeks, but also over the past 18 months: from world champions to a 38-year losing record.

Brown explained: “Well, it’s just uncharted territory. I think the mental load they’re going to have after this game and the last five weeks is going to make them question everything.

“We’ve just heard Matty Peet say that when you lose a game you start to question yourself more and look at yourself more. St Helens have had that five times in a row and were beaten soundly by a team that likes to throw the ball around.”

“St Helens expected to go to Leigh, get back on the winning track and win that game.”

Not only did St Helens not win, they lost by such a margin that serious doubts will be cast on their ability to win when they play Hull FC next week. The Black and Whites recently beat champions Wigan at home.