St Helens are heading into a new era in 2026. With Paul Rowley now at the helm, we’ve taken a look into how their squad is looking and how they are expected to fare in the new campaign.
Replacing homegrown legend Paul Wellens, Rowley has picked up his first role with a ‘major’ club – or at least one that is expected to be competing for trophies.
He has more than earned the right to be the new Saints boss, and it is a solid addition – you could even argue it is their best most important of the off-season.
Rowley excelled with the ‘underdog’ tag throughout his career, including having impressive spells at Leigh, Toronto and most recently Salford, where he guided the side to season finishes well above what they were predicted.
But, with the St Helens job comes pressure, and an expectation to deliver trophies is always on the cards. Having gone almost three calendar years without reaching a major final, Rowley will have pressure on him to take the side back to those glory days.
Whether it will happen this year is a question that can’t yet be answered, though on paper, St Helens have had arguably their strongest period of recruitment for a long time, and it will certainly help them climb up the table and reach the top four, if not top two come September.
Assessing St Helens’ 2026 recruitment
St Helens Ins and Outs for 2026
Ins (7): Jacob Douglas (Wigan Warriors), Jackson Hastings (Newcastle Knights), Jacob Host (South Sydney Rabbitohs), David Klemmer (St George Illawarra Dragons), Nene Macdonald (Salford Red Devils), Joe Shorrocks (Salford Red Devils), Shane Wright (Salford Red Devils)
Outs (13): Joe Batchelor (Hull FC), James Bell (Hull FC), Jon Bennison (York Knights), Leon Cowen (Halifax Panthers – loan), Konrad Hurrell (Lezignan), Morgan Knowles (Dolphins), Kian McGann (Wakefield Trinity), Moses Mbye (Ipswich Jets), Ciaran Nolan (Retirement), Tee Ritson (Barrow Raiders), Will Roberts (York Knights), Dayon Sambou (Wigan Warriors), Jonny Vaughan (Wigan Warriors)
The key takeaways:
Spine conundrum
It surrounded them across the whole of 2025, and if they don’t get it right, it will do so again this year. A working spine partnership is arguably the biggest asset to any rugby league side, and on far too many occasions Saints couldn’t make theirs click last year.
In the pre-season game against Castleford, Rowley selected Tristan Sailor and Jackson Hastings as the six and seven, with Jack Welsby at one and Daryl Clark nine. That is arguably their strongest selection, but under Wellens the Sailor at six plan never really seemed to work.
Rowley’s attacking style of play is completely different to that of Wellens, though, and that could be the spark that gets Sailor firing. If not, the club do have emerging prospect George Whitby and veteran Jonny Lomax in their ranks who are more than capable to fill in at either of the halves positions.
Edge selections
Another position that the Saints are well covered in are the flanks, with the club having many talents who can play centre and wing. Kyle Feldt and Deon Cross have the starting wing jerseys, though Lewis Murphy, Owen Dagnall and Jacob Douglas are waiting in the wings for a chance to shine.
In the centres, Mark Percival and Harry Robertson join Nene MacDonald in those positions, whilst Dagnall and Cross are capable there too.
There’s plenty of speed, experience and overall quality in the outside backs, and that suits Rowley’s game plan. The Saints attack was criticised last year, and if things go to plan, the Red Vee could be one of the most exciting sides to watch in the upcoming campaign.
Youth overlooked?
One thing that could be said about Saints’ squad is that, whilst there is plenty of experience, it could be at the expense of some young talents at the club. In the jerseys 1-13, the average age of the squad is 30.33 – something you’d expect to be a lot lower.
Only two players that are in the 13, Robertson and Welsby, are under the age of 25, and with the likes of Whitby, Dagnall and George Delaney all at the club, have St Helens relied too much on bringing in talent this window, as opposed to giving youth a chance?
Saints have star power, there’s no doubt about that, but one thing they must do this year is to give the youngsters as much game time as they can before the veterans retire and it is their chance to step up and make it in the first team.
Alex Walmsley will be 36 in April, whilst Kyle Feldt will be 34 the week before the season begins. Jonny Lomax will be 36 in September, and it’s those type of players that the club need to start replacing gradually throughout the year.
The overall verdict
Whilst trophies this year won’t be at the top of the priority chart, re-gaining that top four spot, which they lost out on last year, will be. A home semi-final will be the target, but Saints could easily reach the top two if they click early on.
The Challenge Cup will also be a priority, and having not won the competition since 2021, they will be wanting to go deep into that tournament too.
Years two and three of the Rowley era will be where he is expected to deliver, but there is no reason why Saints can’t at least reach the Challenge Cup and Grand Final this year.
What the bookies think
The bookmakers have the former four-peat winners at 13/2 to win the Grand Final, which is the fourth highest overall. To make the play-offs, they are priced at 2/7, with many expecting them to continue their run of making the finals in every Super League season – which is impressive considering we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the competition this year.
Welsby is the club’s favourite to win the Man of Steel, with the England international priced at 18/1 – eight highest overall and tied with Hull FC’s Will Pryce and Hull KR’s Rhyse Martin.
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