St Helens boss Paul Wellens has praised the club’s new signings and young debutants for their performances in their Challenge Cup win over amateur side West Hull.
Saints were one of three Super League sides to face a community club in Round Three of the Challenge Cup and as expected, all results went convincingly in favour of the professional outfits.
St Helens defeated a gritty West Hull 38-0 at Craven Park where thousands of fans turned up causing a delay to the game, however, Wellens’ side stuck to the task and came away with a comfortable win.
Speaking post-game to SaintsTV, the head coach labelled it as an “interesting experience” and one that can be considered successful as well.
Paul Wellens said: “It’s an interesting experience and one that for the last few weeks I’ve not been very clear on how to approach it.
“I thought our lads handled it really well and the way they (West Hull) kept competing is a credit to them. They had some real defensive resilience throughout.
“We seem to have come through unscathed so you come away with a win, you’re in the next round of the cup and as it stands, we don’t seem to have any injuries so I’d say that’s a pretty successful day for us.”
St Helens signings and young stars praised for Challenge Cup performances
Owen Dagnall & Alfie Sinclair
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Two more Saints Academy products making their mark and official debuts for St.Helens R.F.C.
Always a special day for a homegrown talent to put on the Red V 🥹#COYS | @plattyphoto pic.twitter.com/o6oxmMaH7U
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) February 8, 2025
A mix of young stars and first-teamers played with two of the club’s three NRL signings making their competitive debuts and both Tristan Sailor and Lewis Murphy got on the scoresheet.
“We feel that they’re going to add a lot to our team this year,” Wellens explained when asked about the duo.
“Although in different positions, they’ve both got pace which is good to have.
“Lewis has shown numerous times at Wakefield and we’re seeing in training that he’s a wonderful finisher and Tristan you can see is a dangerous player who will be hard to handle so I’m happy with how they both went.”
Among the academy prospects to debut were Alfie Sinclair and Owen Dagnall, the latter of whom has recently signed a deal tying him to the club until 2028, and Wellens was eager to note that they were not simply ‘handed’ opportunities.
He said: “Those opportunities have been very much earned through the pre-season and the years in the academy where they’ve developed.”
Another young star to get significant game time was George Whitby who debuted last year against Hull KR and the half saw his stock rise again when playing at KR’s stadium.
Wellens said: “I thought George was excellent today. That was his second game in a Saints shirt and it’s not easy as an 18 or 19-year-old to command a team with the seven on your back but I thought he settled into that really well.”
St Helens will find out their Round Four opponents when the draw is made at half time of their Super League Round One game next Sunday.
