Paul Wellens says St Helens would be as high as second if not for this

Many have suggested that St Helens aren’t where they want to be in the Super League table because of their discipline.

This comes after Morgan Knowles was sent off against Halifax Panthers last week after a five match ban and he has now been given a two-match suspension.

Thus, Wellens has moved to address his side’s discipline:

“It’s finding what and where the line is and that’s where I’ve got to take responsibility. On reflection I don’t feel I’ve been strong enough with the group in terms of identifying what is and isn’t acceptable,” he said on Saints TV.

“We have a number of players here who like to play the game physically and on the edge, but if you are one of those players and that’s the way you like to play then discipline is the most important thing for you.

“Too many times this year we’ve not just gone a bit over but way beyond the line. Last week and the incidents gone previously give us a real opportunity to draw a line in the sand in terms of what I expect of players moving forward.

“I don’t want them to not play aggressively, I don’t want them to not get off the line and not defend tough but there’s a certain moderation of behaviour required if you’re going to play the game in that way. We need to fix that up and fix that up quickly.”

He also suggested that his side would be second if not for their discipline:

“That’s what part of my message to the team this week has been when I spoke around discipline. If we’d have handled a few areas a bit differently in terms of discipline then we’d probably be sat around second or third and people would be speaking about us a little bit differently than they are at the moment. That’s how important it is to get it right because different decisions like that can hurt you, and hurt you pretty badly particularly towards the back end of the season.”