Saints 36 Hull KR 12 - The Rebuild Is On As Heroes Depart

With playoff aspirations finally, mathematically absent, Saints were able to focus on beating a scratch Hull KR side and saying goodbye to two modern giants on Friday night.

For too long now the faint hope of maintaining our ever-present record in Super League playoff series has provided a false media narrative. It was somehow liberating to forget about that and instead shine the spotlight on the retiring Jonny Lomax and Mark Percival.

Perhaps because Saints were the only club to qualify for the playoffs in every Super League season since its inception in 1996, the media had rather more faith in that run continuing than we did. Strained mathematics kept hopes alive, but anyone who watched this admittedly injury-ravaged mob perform every week knew that the run was ending some time ago. Probably after back-to-back defeats at York and at home to Hull in late July and early August. Playoff teams don't lose 46-0 at home to Toulouse.

Given how poor we have been, a visit from the Super League and world champions threatened to be a punishing way to bid farewell to Lomax and Percival. Rovers haven't found quite the same form so far this year but still have the weapons to brutally take down one of the weakest Saints teams in a generation. Yet that all changed 48 hours before the game when Robins coach Willie Peters decided to leave the vast majority of his title-winning squad at home.

Unlike Saints, Peters' side have managed to sneak into the playoffs, albeit in the sixth and final slot. At the end of a season which has involved that World Club Challenge epic against Brisbane, a trip to Las Vegas and a run to the Challenge Cup final, he was taking the opportunity to rest his stars for what was - pride notwithstanding - a dead rubber. 

I'm not a fan of that strategy. I have screamed when Saints coaches of the past have done it. This season it ruined both league meetings between the Grand Finalists of the last two years as Wigan fielded their supporting cast when they met Rovers a week before the Wembley cup final. Rovers did likewise when they met Wigan again two weeks ago. 

In truth, any format which decides the champions with a one-off game at the end of a playoff series is vulnerable to tactical squad tinkering. Super League needs to look at its scheduling to at least ensure that marquee fixtures like Grand Final repeats are not scheduled one week out from a cup final that will very likely feature at least one of those teams. 

Lomax and Percival haven't always been in the Saints side during their final season. Injuries have limited Percival to just nine appearances while Lomax has played only 13 of his 391 games in the Red Vee in 2026. Five of those have been off the bench, as both Paul Rowley and interim coach Eamon O'Carroll have grappled with the question of how best to use Jack Welsby, Tristan Sailor and Harry Robertson as well as Jackson Hastings. But with the latter's Saints career ended by suspension and Nene Macdonald and Owen Dagnall injured, both Lomax and Percival featured from the start here.

It all ended in emotional celebration of the careers of both, but not before Saints endured a characteristic wobble just after half-time. O'Carroll's side had been electric late in the first half, racing into an 18-0 lead. Lomax and Percival combined well for two of those three tries. 

First Lomax provided the pass from which Percival squirmed over, before the centre gifted his long-time colleague a try by passing on the try line when he could so easily have scored himself. Lomax added another before the break, leaving Saints with not only a handsome lead but one engineered almost entirely by their two departing heroes. 

And so to the wobble.  Bill Leyland has previous on this ground. He is possibly the only Saints player to achieve legendary status in just two appearances following his Good Friday heroics against Wigan. Getting a rare opportunity for his parent club in this one he went over from dummy-half to get Rovers on the board. With the playoffs gone and a 12-point lead still intact it was tempting to applaud him as enthusiastically as the Rovers fans did.

Rovers' next trick was not so acceptable from a Saints perspective. Warrington product Flynn Holden was making his debut for Rovers, capping it with a sensational individual try. He beat several Saints defenders on his way to the line and suddenly the visitors were in striking distance of an unlikely win, only six points down at 18-12.

At that point something in Saints seemed to awaken. They couldn't risk losing to Rovers' reserves and academy squad in the final game of two of their greatest servants. Deon Cross, Jacob Host and Harry Robertson all crossed to restore a bit of order to the party. The last two tries were converted by Lomax and Percival respectively, which was a nice touch. Yet given that they have kicked 516 goals between them for the club it wasn't quite like memories of Paul Anderson at home to Leeds in 2006.

And so it was a fitting send-off of sorts. We'd all prefer them to have bowed out on the winning side in the October 3 Grand Final but that has never felt like a serious possibility in a trying 2026. The club has already moved to ensure a level of improvement in 2027 and beyond with the appointment of current Australian Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters on a three-year deal. But even he will need better luck with injuries.

He's made his first significant contribution with the signing of St George-Illawarra Dragons winger Christian Tuipolutu. He will strengthen the backs with Percival gone and if, as expected, Nene Macdonald also leaves. Hastings is on the list of those departing also with Canterbury Bulldogs' Sean O'Sullivan set to replace him. Like Hastings last year, O'Sullivan is likely to sign a one-year deal as the club waits on the recovery of George Whitby from his recent ACL injury. At hooker, Tom Humphreys' ability to build on what for him has been a breakthrough year could be compromised if Sam Verrells arrives from Gold Coast Titans. He already has according to his Wikipedia, as has O'Sullivan, yet the club has so far kept quiet about both.

The much needed rebuild has seemingly begun.

Leigh 48 Saints 10 - If It's The Hope That Kills You, We're Safe Now

Any lingering doubt about whether Saints could still make the playoffs was extinguished as they were were smashed 48-10 at Leigh.

The pessimists among us have been quite certain that Saints would miss out on knockout football since the loss at York at the end of July. Maybe earlier. But the media narrative has continued to centre around keeping hopes alive. The writers and pundits will have to focus on something else during the final week of the regular season now that the identity of the top six is locked in. 

This column has been as guilty as they have of reminding everyone that Saints had never missed out in the Super League era. Now that it's happened many of you might feel a sense of relief that we can go into our final game at home to Hull KR without having to deal with it. 

Others will be massively disappointed despite the apparent writing on the wall some time ago. Constant presence in the playoffs over a 30-year period is some achievement. It's both a wrench to let it go and a relief to not have to fear another pummelling in a meaningful game.

Interim Head Coach Eamon O'Carroll went into this one with yet more injury problems to deal with in his banged up, inherited squad. Alex Walmsley passed an HIA at the end of last week's loss to Leeds but suffered further concussion symptoms in the week which ruled him out. Nene MacDonald missed out because...well he had played the last three and he is after all...Nene Macdonald. Jake Davies also missed out and is not expected back for the final game due to a shin problem. 

In the days leading up to the game Mark Percival followed Jonny Lomax in announcing his retirement from the game at the end of the season. The former England centre made his Saints debut 13 years ago and has appeared 274 times, scoring 130 tries. A reluctant stand-in, he has also kicked 383 goals for a total points tally of 1,286. He's won four Super League Grand Finals, a Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge. He's another of the locally produced players - like Lomax - who have been at the forefront of the club's success. 

Percival is only 32 but is bowing out largely because the injuries have destroyed his level. His inclusion in the starting lineup for this one gave him only his ninth appearance of the season and his first since the home win over Huddersfield in June. Saints' glory era under Justin Holbrook and Kristian Woolf saw Percival used as a battering ram early in sets to get the team away from its own line. He played one game - a defeat at Hull KR in April 2023 - in the second row. 

This has all added up to a blunting of his effectiveness as a creative runner at centre. For too long fans have clung to the idea of Percival at his best which has not been the reality for some time. It was a surprise to me that he was originally offered a contract to the end of 2027 given the decline in his form and fitness. But while many have been quick to point to the courage shown by Lomax since his announcement the same can be said of Percival. Like Lomax, he was raising his hand for duty here partly because of the enormous need.

As has often been the case in this troubled season Saints were in the fight early on. The first half an hour was a bit of an offensive shootout. Josh Charnley - whose every try now carries a legal obligation to keep you updated on how many he has in his Super League leading career, crossed first while Innes Senior's try rang alarm bells. But a great diving finish by Jacob Douglas brought Saints back into it. Tristan Sailor had created that one and scored the second himself after an outrageous break by Harry Robertson. 

Even though Umyla Hanley's controversial try stretched the Leopards' lead to 18-10 it looked like Saints might get in at half time not only close but unlucky not to be within one score. There seemed to be an obvious obstruction by Adam Cook which allowed Hanley to cut through to score. 

Yet it was Cook's ugly touchdown just before the break which punctured Saints' resilience. He grounded after kicking through a loose ball which probably should have been covered. The difference between going in at half time 18-10 down and 24-10 down always seemed likely to be huge for a team which has been through as much turmoil as Saints have this year.

And it proved too much. Saints all but disintegrated after the break. They let in 24 unanswered points as tries from Edwin Ipape, Hanley, Jacob Allick-Wienke and Rob Mulhern blew the score out to somewhere approaching an embarrassment. In amongst all that Percival - who could be forgiven for tiring by this stage given his lack of game time, was sin-binned for a high shot on Leopards fullback David Armstrong. 

It was telling that not a single Saints forward broke the 100-metre barrier. With Walmsley, George Delaney, Noah Stephens and Matty Lees injured and Daniel Suluka-Fifita suspended there just wasn't the available personnel for the job of gaining field position. When Saints marched downfield they did so on the back of breaks from Robertson, Sailor and Jack Welsby. But even players of that caliber need a pack to play behind.

Just about the only bright spot in that second half was the debut of 19 year-old Oscar Knox. The second rower joins Billy Keeley, Matty Evans, Tom Humphreys and Davies in gaining valuable experience this year. How many of them will be part of Kevin Walters' plans going forward is hard to say, but the Australian Kangaroos coach would be well advised to ensure his squad contains at least a chunk of home grown talent.

We still have one more obligation to fulfill before we can close the book on a desperately disappointing campaign. Hull KR visit on Friday night in what is now a dead rubber after the Robins secured their playoff berth with victory over Huddersfield Giants. 

O'Carroll will be selecting his final lineup before he goes to rugby union and Walters clocks on in his new job. The main decision for O'Carroll - and probably for outgoing Rovers coach Willie Peters is whether to give youth more experience or stick with the principle of fielding the strongest team possible.  With Saints' injury issues they might be almost the same thing. 

You're probably ready for the season to end. But in having one more game to endure, at least you can look forward to getting through it without Jon Wells - or the bloke next to you in the BrewDog - telling you we might still have playoff hope.

Saints 4 Leeds Rhinos 36 - Bruised, Battered, But The Ordeal Still Isn't Over

Friday night's 34-6 home defeat by Leeds Rhinos was an unpleasant reminder of Saints' place in Super League's pecking order in 2026. 

It took time for the tries to come. Saints were in the game on the scoreboard when they trailed only 6-0 after half an hour. Yet even then it was evident that they were losing the ruck. The Leeds ball carriers were making metres much more easily than those of Saints. That allowed the Rhinos to win better field position and eventually capitalise. This was no hard luck story.

Two days before the game interim Head Coach Eamon O'Carroll surprised us with inclusion of Jonny Lomax in his 21-man squad. Lomax - who announced this week that he will retire from the game at the end of the season - had previously been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign after suffering a broken jaw in June. Courage has characterised his career but this seemed bold even by his standards. 

With Jackson Hastings out of the rest of the regular season through suspension and George Whitby beginning his recovery from an ACL injury Saints would have had no specialist halfback available had Lomax not put his hand up. But it was still a surprise and a slight concern to see him named in the starting lineup come game day.

Despite hanging on a little after Chris Hankinson's opening try there was evidence of the sort of grit Lomax is revered for in the early going. Even a 10-minute spell in the sin-bin for Daniel Suluka-Fifita didn't force Saints to concede again. The prop was sat down by referee Marcus Griffiths for a late hit on Presley Cassell. In fact it was Saints who went closest when Deon Cross made a sensational catch to go over in the corner but Tristan Sailor's pass was ruled forward.

If there is a moment where Leeds assumed total control it is probably Jake Connor's 20/40 kick. The stats section of the Super League website doesn't have a separate column for these rare events but what it does tell you is that Connor leads the way in 40/20 kicks with five. Nobody else in Super League has more than three. 

It was part of a pretty masterful performance from Connor whose high risk approach and on-field spikiness have routinely led to accusations that he is overrated. On this evidence he is very much in the conversation for a starting berth in the England side for the World Cup in the autumn. 

He ended with three assists - taking his league leading tally to 42 - and landed five of his seven attempts on goal. All but one of which were from difficult angles. One was a penalty from a long way out which he should probably have done better with than hitting the post. It was a rare blemish. Two of his assists were with the boot as he placed perfect kicks towards the Saints in-goal to allow Ash Handley and Brodie Croft to score. 

As good as Leeds were once they got into their stride Saints started to crumble. The defence offered for Cameron Smith's solo try which stretched the lead to 12-0 was barely worthy of the term. Suluka-Fifita was the first to miss the Wakefield-bound forward, before Jake Davies did so twice either side of the sort of Sailor effort which convinces many that he should not play at fullback. 

As an attacking strategy it works as it gives Sailor space to use his speed and skill. That's in keeping with the modern idea of a fullback. Yet they are still expected to be able to make a tackle when the line is broken. The question of what to do with the former Brisbane Broncos man is a conundrum that will be among the priorities for Kevin Walters when he takes over in 2027. The pair have worked together before when Walters was in charge at Brisbane so familiarity may help.

You have to credit Smith with a piece of inspiration, but it was an embarrassment from a Saints point of view. They made Smith look like prime Rob Burrow running away from us in the 2011 Grand Final. All three defenders have to be stronger there. Davies maybe gets a pass. A lot of smoke has been blown up his posterior since he broke into the first team but his efforts here were reserve grade stuff. It's a reminder that he is a player still in development, and of how heavily Saints have been forced to rely on players in that category amid the injury crisis.

It wasn't just that one play where defensive mishaps occurred. Saints right edge was particularly vulnerable all night. Nene Macdonald - an ex-Leeds man who appears to be unpopular with both sets of fans - was guilty of leaving his defensive post to try to stop Leeds all by himself on more than one occasion. He got close once, getting his fingers to a Croft pass but failing to reel it in. It cost him and the team as Connor and Handley exploited the space to put Harry Newman over. 

The biggest problem with Macdonald has been his lack of availability. He's never had a run in the team due to what appears to be a failing body. But he hardly endears himself to the fans when he tries to take short cuts defensively, especially when they don't pay off. He might have earned better reviews if he had secured the interception and taken it down the field. But even then it's doubtful he still possesses the pace to have gone the distance. 

He's already reportedly been offered to other clubs so it is unlikely he will be Walters' problem. Yet he's the latest in a chain of centres in recent years who hang around without doing very much of anything. Konrad Hurrell and Mark Percival are other recent examples of the genre. 

For a time there was a very real possibility that Saints could be held scoreless at home in the league again. That hadn't happened for 46 years until Toulouse came to town in July. Another occurrence would have been a catastrophe even allowing for the greater quality of the opposition this time. It was avoided when Jack Welsby - a rare positive at centre because the lad can play anywhere - ran around and away from Lachie Miller for a stunning long range try. It was helped by Lomax's magical inside ball. 

That got Saints off the mark to much relief. But if you're looking for other Saints highlights you're probably limited to Shane Wright's try saver on Tom Holroyd in the opening moments of the second half. It was given by Griffiths but overturned on review when it was evident that Wright had got underneath the Leeds man. 

But you know what? Your ordeal is not over. Despite this fiasco of a performance Saints are not yet completely out of the playoff race. Eleven defeats from 25 league outings signifies quite strongly that they aren't good enough, but the league is very accommodating to the mediocre. Leigh's loss to Huddersfield means that should Saints win their last two and the Giants beat Hull KR or Leigh lose to Wakefield, Saints could still sneak in. 

The other complication is that Saints' final pair of league fixtures are at Leigh this weekend and at home to Hull KR. They need to win both to have any chance. That seems vanishingly unlikely if the standard served up in this one is repeated. But then you think of the way Saints demolished Wakefield recently, or that first half pummelling of Castleford before Hastings' red card and the hope returns. 

Except that Hastings won't be involved and the evidence of the Castleford game after his exit and of this one against Brad Arthur's men suggests he's more pivotal than fans are comfortable giving him credit for. 

So we may well have been put in our place by one of the title favourites here, but it's still not impossible that our place may yet be good enough to rescue that record of having played in every Super League playoff series. 

It's not that we believe. Not really. We just refuse to turn the life support off.

Humble, Granite, Brilliant - Jonny Lomax Announces His Retirement

Seventeen years ago a knee injury to Paul Wellens introduced us to another local lad who would turn out to be one of the greats. The then 18 year-old Jonny Lomax stepped into the fullback role in a 42-18 win over Wakefield Trinity. 

It was the first of 388 appearances in the red vee for Lomax who on Tuesday announced he would be retiring at the end of this season. 

That appearance total may yet grow. Having been initially ruled out of this campaign after breaking his jaw in June Lomax - who had already overcome several knee injuries and a serious head injury before stepping on to the field with Saints for the first time - has raised his hand for inclusion in the 21-man squad to face Leeds Rhinos on Friday night.

This sort of toughness has come to characterise Lomax who had endured 19 operations by the time he was 26. Saints Chairman Eamonn McManus called him 'the bravest of the brave in the bravest of sports'. It's hard to think of anyone in rugby league who has been through more - including that serious head injury at just 14 years of age - and still achieved so much. 

We should not let the bravery stories detract from the fact that Lomax has had a stellar career. He has won four Super League Grand Finals, a Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge. Throw in four League Leaders Shields too. And 15 international appearances. Eleven for England and four for Great Britain. He also won the Harry Sunderland Trophy for the man of the match in Saints' Grand Final victory over Leeds in 2022. 

For a chunk of time during Saints' four in a row period between 2019-22 he had a serious claim to the title of best player in Super League. Not that he would ever say so himself. All this has been achieved with great humility.

Following the retirement of James Roby at the end of 2023 Lomax was named captain of Saints. He had always led by example to others whether by directing operations in the halves or setting the defensive tone. He was never the biggest player but pound for pound he was always among the best defenders in some incredible Saints teams. He was adaptable too, debuting at fullback but playing every position except prop and second row during his magnificent career.

He held the role for only two seasons before erstwhile Head Coach and possible fever dream Paul Rowley appointed Matty Lees to the role. By that time injuries and age were finally catching up to Lomax who was no longer an automatic starter. But safe to say if it hadn't been for the consistency of Roby it might have been Lomax hoisting all of those trophies aloft.

Those injuries have ensured that Lomax won't quite reach the milestone of 400 Saints appearances even if he is restored to the lineup for the last three weeks of the regular season. That's entirely possible with Jackson Hastings suspended for the games against Leeds, Leigh and Hull KR following his brainless swipe at Tyler Dupree last weekend. But whatever figure he has achieved by the time he takes the boots off for the last time his legacy is assured.

In announcing his retirement Lomax said that he was 'grateful for the life the game has given me' and that despite all of the gruelling rehabilitations he has endured he still feels lucky. I am sure there is some luck involved in making it to the top of professional sport but talent, skill, toughness, sheer bloody mindedness and humility have also had a lot to do with Lomax's success. 

'For those that have supported me throughout it all… I hope I have been able to do you proud.' he commented finally. St Helens is proud. Not just the rugby league club or the fans but the whole community. Even rival fans revere and respect Jonny. 

He has inspired and delighted us all in equal measure for nearly two decades. And don't rule out the possibility of him conjuring up some more special moments if he does fill the void left by Hastings in the coming weeks. 

Many fans have expressed a desire to see him stay with the club in some capacity. Yeah. About that. Our record of employing great players of the recent past isn't brilliant. There is definitely scope for him to contribute on the medical side as he is qualified to do so. But if he does that he'll be busier than he was as a player with the state of our casualty list. 

Whatever he does next he will do it brilliantly, but quietly...

Saints 36 Castleford Tigers 12 - Saints Sizzle, Then Fizzle After Hasting Red

It started superbly.  It fell a bit flat after half-time.  But ultimately Saints can be happy with a 36-12 win over Castleford Tigers. 

It could have been so much more emphatic.  Saints led 30-0 at half-time against a side which – let’s not forget – had beaten us 30-10 at the OneBore Stadium in May.

Saints were sensational in the first half.  Interim coach Eamon O’Carroll – keeping the seat warm for incoming Australian Kangaroos Head Coach Kevin Walters – stuck with the positional change from the win at Wakefield which saw Tristan Sailor operate at fullback with Jack Welsby in the centres.  O’Carroll has hit upon something which is working well for now. 

Both Sailor and Welsby were outstanding in attack in that first 40 minutes, each racking up over 200 metres by the end of the game.  Welsby scored a scintillating interception try inside the first five minutes while Sailor also got his name on the list of try scorers a few minutes before the half-time turning point.  More on which later.  Others to cross in that period were the much maligned Shane Wright, young winger Jacob Douglas and deputy hooker Tom Humphreys. 

Castleford – who had Director Of Rugby Chris Chester in temporary charge after the departure this week of Head Coach Ryan Carr for ‘personal reasons’ - had no answers as they slumped to a 16^th defeat in 24 Super League outings,  It leaves them 10^th in the table with three games left to play.  All of which makes you wonder how Saints managed to lose to them but we are where we are.

About that turning point.  Events took a turn for the worst when Jackson Hastings was given a red card by referee Tom Grant just as the first half was about to end.  Grant made some strange decisions – including his failure to pick up on at least one and probably two forward passes which led to Castleford tries in the second half – but he had no option but to send Hastings packing. 

The Saints halfback got into a spat with another ex-Wigan man in Tyler Dupree on the other side of the field to where play was focused.  It all ended with Hastings landing a right cross on the visage of Dupree.  For his part, Dupree was sin-binned and was still not issued with a red despite his willingness to carry on the shenanigans on the sideline afterwards.  Meanwhile, the West Stand suffered an irony bypass in singing about Dupree’s Wigan past while ignoring that of Hastings.  On the field and in the stands, it was all very undignified.

The red card ruined the game.  Perhaps understandably, Saints were nowhere near as effective with 12 men as they had been with 13. The second half fizzled out into a bit of a non-event.  The highlight reel rugby disappeared while there was never any realistic chance of the Tigers working their way back into the game.  By the end, Saints had 10 men as both Alex Walmsley and Chris Matagi saw yellow inside the last 10 minutes.  Yes it was a slightly fraught performance from Grant but O’Carroll will not have been impressed by his side’s discipline.  These things kill you in closer games, which we have already seen at times this year.

Hastings has been handed a three-match ban which rules him out of the rest of the regular season.  It also causes O’Carroll a massive headache as he will have no fit specialist halfback to call on against Leeds, Leigh or Hull KR in the run-in.  Which is particularly frustrating because the last two wins against Trinity and Castleford, coupled with Hull KR’s late season wobbles, have opened up a slight opportunity to sneak into the top six.    

Optimism is increasing among the fans that Saints could pull it off.  But the fixture list is particularly unkind before you even consider the absence of Hastings or the injured George Whitby.  Hastings has been criticised by some and he certainly let the side down in this one, but he hasn’t been the total disaster that some would have you believe. 

He has 29 assists while operating in one of the most bang average Saints sides in living memory.  Only reigning Man Of Steel Jake Connor has more.  Imagine how many Hastings could have if he had been playing in a team which hadn’t been a bit of a basket case for most of the year. 

This is a team which has been all but ejected from playoff contention by a combination of their own lack of quality and their ludicrous injury situation. On that note, it feels like we get one player back only to lose another.  Deon Cross returned for this game but only because Lewis Murphy suffered a quad injury last week.

If Saints don’t qualify for the playoffs then it is possible that Hastings has played his last game for the club having joined on a one-year deal.  The thinking behind it from former Head Coach Paul Rowley was probably that he could act as a useful mentor to Whitby – some might say stop gap -  before the youngster is ready to take over the responsibility of leading the side around the field.  But Whitby’s ACL injury rules him out of a decent chunk of 2027 as well as the end of this campaign.  If Saints don’t retain Hastings they are going to need to recruit another 7.  And if Whitby is still their man then you are looking at another temporary fix.  Perhaps even a loan in keeping with our ‘identity’.

But maybe Whitby isn’t the man anyway.  Many fans have expressed doubts about whether he is the real deal.  His injuries – especially this latest and most serious episode – have instilled grave doubts.  The rumour regarding a return for Lewis Dodd persists, although that would be a little too regressive for my tastes.  We have seen that movie before.  He too is a halfback with historic injury concerns.  They are still casting a shadow over his development.  Some point to a limited kicking game also, although others blame his penchant for persistent bombing on former coach Paul Wellens.

Daniel Suluka-Fifita arrived to a few groans having failed to establish himself in the Canterbury Bulldogs first team at the start of the year.  However, he is now finding his best form and has been an integral part of these last two wins.  He again topped Saints metre-making charts among the forwards with 121.  That adds to the 163 he managed at Wakefield last week and shows that he is capable of getting the team down the field.  That is going to be crucial as Walmsley’s career winds down.  Next year will surely be his final year and with Matty Lees also leaving at that time Saints are going to need others to step up.  Noah Stephens is also going to be hugely important in that if he can stay injury free next term.

And so the season remains alive, albeit on life support going into the final three weeks.  It is perhaps testament to how well they have played in the last two weeks that there is even the merest sniff of a chance to make the six.  But if – as I suspect – we don’t make it then those defeats to York and Hull earlier this month take on a whole new level of frustration.  As poor as we have been at times this year, it didn’t need to be this way. 

The hope will probably kill us but there are just one or two signs – not least a spectacular coaching appointment for 2027 and beyond – that Saints are not going to be out of the picture for very long.

Kevin Walters - A Bold Statement

It’s bold, it’s audacious, it’s frankly quite stunning.  It’s the appointment of current Australian Test Head Coach Kevin Walters as Saints Head Coach from the start of the 2027 season. 

Walters has agreed a three-year deal to take over the reins after the troubled tenure of Paul Rowley and the current interim period under Eamon O’Carroll.  He will join at the end of the 2026 World Cup which takes place in Australia and Papua New Guinea in October and November.

When Rowley left and with recruitment having been at a distinctly Poundland level during his tenure there were concerns over Saints’ financial health.  Yet it is hard to imagine that a coach with such lofty status comes cheaply.  And on a three-year deal which is quite a commitment.  That bastion of truth Love Rugby League reports that the deal is worth £1million over the three years. 

Perhaps the prospect of a cash injection from the NRL has convinced the owners to dig deep in the belief that it will all work out swimmingly.  That deal with the world’s premier rugby league competition isn’t done yet so fingers crossed that the club isn’t being placed in financial peril in the meantime.  The contrast between this reportedly lavish spend and some of the recent recruitment would seem stark.

Assuming it is an expensive move and given his standing in the game there will be pressure on Walters to turn around our ailing ship.  General consensus among fans I have chatted to and tweeted with is that it will take around three years to put out the binfire that is the make up of our squad.  So anyone expecting Grand Final triumph in 2027 might have to hold their proverbial jets. 

A lot also rests on whether Walters will have full control over recruitment.  This has been the one area which Saints have made an absolute dog’s dinner of in recent seasons.  Rowley must have had some control judging by the number of ex-Salford players who arrived just before and just after his appointment.  On that basis – and if spending is now our thing – it is reasonable to expect Walters’ contacts book to provide one or two more encouraging additions.  Reece Walsh is probably already looking at properties in Fingerpost as I write.

Yet even a State Of Origin and Kangaroo coach can’t overhaul the squad as quickly as we would like.  Some of our less successful recruits have every right to be nervous, but whoever was appointed was always going to have to list pragmatism and patience among his qualities.  Many of our underperforming players are sitting on contracts which they won’t be willing to give up easily.  Walters’ success or otherwise should probably be judged on improvement year on year rather than on how many pots end up in the cupboard.  That will be seen as negativity from some, but it feels like that is just where we are at the moment. 

Walters has coached in Super League before.  After a long spell as an assistant at Brisbane Broncos under Wayne Bennett and two years as head coach of Ipswich Jets in the Queensland Cup he took over at Catalans Dragons in 2009.  He made the playoffs with the French outfit in the mediocrity rewarding days of a top eight playoff system, but won only six out of 27 games in his second and final season in Perpignan.  Objectively that is terrible, but it should be remembered that the Dragons had been a Super League entity for only three years before his arrival.  And few have managed to turn them into a force in the league.  Steve McNamara led them to a Challenge Cup victory in 2018 and the League Leaders Shield in 2021 but outside of that they have been a byword for underachievement. 

More time spent as an assistant – this time with Melbourne Storm – was followed by another stint working under Bennett at Newcastle Knights.  This is where it gets complicated.  His record as a head coach was pretty underwhelming at that point but it did not stop him from being appointed as the head coach of the Queensland State Of Origin team when Saints icon Mal Meninga left to coach the Australian national team in 2015.  Walters won a couple of series’ against the Blues of New South Wales in four attempts before being appointed head coach of the Broncos in 2020.

Star power seems to have been a huge help to Walters in terms of his coaching career.  He has close to 300 NRL/ARL appearances to his name as a player, featuring 20 times for Queensland and 11 times for Australia.  He even managed four games for Warrington, which is proof if you require it that his is a massive name.  Nobody likes a famous recruit more than the Wire.  He’s had success as a coach but it is fair to suggest that it hasn’t always been that which has landed him the huge jobs he has held. 

Before his appointment as the Kangaroos coach his last big achievement at club level was guiding the Broncos to the 2023 Grand Final.  But even that is tinged with tragicomedy.  Leading 24-8 going into the final quarter of the game the Broncos contrived to lose 26-24 to serial NRL winners Penrith Panthers.  A year after Walters departed the Broncos they won a Grand Final under architect of Wigan shithousery Michael Maguire.  But a quick glance at the current NRL table shows that Maguire’s champion team are above only hapless St George-Illawarra.  Successful coaches can oversee the odd abomination in the cutthroat environment of the NRL.

Walters is seemingly a players’ coach rather than laying claim to any level of tactical genius.  His previous experience working with Lee Briers is a fascinating dynamic.  Briers went up in all of our estimations by leaving Wigan for the Broncos in 2022 where he worked under Walters for three seasons.  

Briers’ reputation as an attack coach flourished, but has stalled back in his home town under Rowley and previously Paul Wellens.  Perhaps this is the appointment that Briers needs to finally bring his ideas to fruition.  But again, we keep coming back to it, he will need some better players and that will take time.

Positivity vacuums abound among the Saints fan base particularly on social media.  But even they should recognise that this is an ambitious, exciting appointment. Any new coach should be backed until they give you reason to do otherwise, but there seems more reason than usual to employ some cautious optimism around Walters.  Securing one of the biggest names in the game has arguably erased any doubts about how big a deal Saints are despite their whiffy league position. 

Things are looking up, aren’t they?