St Helens legend Paul Sculthorpe has had his say on the club’s call to play George Whitby whilst suggesting another possible change to the team’s spine.
Teenage talent Whitby made his first Super League appearance of the season in Round Seven against Wakefield in place of the injured Jonny Lomax, however, after an impressive performance, Paul Wellens opted to back the youngster over his captain for the Good Friday derby against Wigan.
It was a huge call for Wellens to make and one that proved in good faith as Whitby put in an excellent performance against Wigan, despite Saints losing 24-14.
Both Whitby and Lomax are named to the 21-man squad for tonight’s game against Warrington Wolves and all eyes are on if the 18-year-old keeps his spot.
Former St Helens man Paul Sculthorpe has had his say on the decision to drop Lomax for Whitby, claiming it was a call Paul Wellens “had to” make, and he’s also critiqued the performances of a different star spine player and suggested another possible shake-up.
St Helens legend gives George Whitby verdict
Appearing on The Sportsman’s Last Tackle show, Sculthorpe was asked about the performance of Whitby and gave his verdict on what Wellens had described as his ‘most difficult decision’ in coaching.
Sculthorpe exclaimed: “It’s a massive positive for Saints. It is a big call as Jonny has been at the heartbeat of Saints for over a decade and he’s an outstanding player.
“But, I think performances of recent, not just Jonny, but the team as a whole, (showed) they needed somebody with direction. That’s something I’ve spoken about for the last two years.”
Explaining that, he added: “We don’t have a genuine half who can control the team and the kicking game has not been good enough and it’s such an important integral part of the game that it’s something that we needed.
“Everyone’s talked about George Whitby, of what a player he is and how he can do that. Well you never get to show that unless you play and I thought he did a great job in the previous game and earned his right to keep that spot.
“He certainly didn’t let anybody down and through that experience, he’s only going to grow as a player and he’s going to be leading that Saints team for the next decade.”
Saints’ star signing “disappointing” in recent weeks, claims Sculthorpe
Whilst Whitby has impressed the former back-to-back Man of Steel winner, one of St Helens’ star signings hasn’t of late with Sculthorpe questioning the performances of Tristan Sailor.
Sailor was announced as a new signing late last year with the club very clear on the fact the former NRL man would play six alongside Jonny Lomax, however, he has recently moved to full-back in a swap with Jack Welsby.
Welsby’s performances have continued at a high level but Sculthorpe has questioned those of Sailor, even suggesting that a shake-up with Sailor out for Lomax could be on the cards.
He explained: “I’ll be honest, I don’t think Tristan Sailor is playing well at the moment. He set off like a house on fire at the start of the year, but for me he’s been disappointing in the last month or so.
“Whether that reverts Jack Welby back to full-back and Jonny back in at six remains to be seen but I like Wello’s call and it is a bold call of leaving your captain out but he had to have George Whitby there to control it.”
