Eamon O’Carroll lands Super League job as he reflects on Bradford Bulls experience

St Helens have announced the addition of former Bradford Bulls head coach Eamon O’Carroll to Paul Wellens’ coaching staff. O’Carroll will join the club as an assistant coach, where he will be working alongside fellow new recruit Lee Briers.

Wellens has changed up his coaching team for the 2025 Super League season and he’ll hope the fresh voice and input of O’Carroll can help him push Saints back into the title picture after an underwhelming 2024 campaign.

The 37-year-old arrives with plenty of coaching experience, having worked with Catalans Dragons as an assistant before taking on the head coach reins at Newcastle Thunder in 2020. He returned to Perpignan in 2022 before taking Bradford Bulls to third in the Championship last time around.

The Bulls reached the Championship play-off semi-finals, only to lose out to Toulouse Olympique, and O’Carroll, who represented Wigan Warriors, Hull FC and Widnes Vikings as a player, will be hoping that experience can stand him in good stead moving into the new season.

“I’m really excited and honoured to be joining a club of the stature of St Helens,” he told the club website. “It’s a huge honour not just for myself but for my family as well.

“I feel refreshed after a couple of weeks off and I’m ready to go, settle and be closer to home and my family at a really good club. This is huge for me, and I feel I can really get stuck in and work well at St Helens.”

He added: “The first time I spoke to Paul, his enthusiasm about the club – he cares so deeply about it and has been here for so long as a player and coach. I felt that intensity when he spoke, making it clear straight away what he expects from everyone in the group, staff included, and I got excited about that.

“I think Lee and I work very similar, we are about high energy and want to get a buzz around the boys, help them develop and drive standards, so I am sure we’ll work well together. We all had a meeting the other day and spoke about a few things, I got such good vibes immediately, so we’ll work really well together.”

Speaking on his time at Bradford, who he left last month, O’Carroll added: “I loved my time at Bradford, it was fantastic, and I learned a hell of a lot with a great support network around me, it has only been positive for me there.”