St Helens boss confirms triple injury boost amid Jonny Lomax verdict

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has provided positive injury updates on three key men and given a verdict on Jonny Lomax and the club captain’s role going forward.

Lomax stepped up in the club’s 40-0 win over Catalans with the captain and other senior players such as Alex Walmsley and Mark Percival putting in very strong performances, whilst youngster George Whitby stole the headlines with his hat-trick.

Having been dropped, Lomax returned off the bench at Magic Weekend in a move that saw Tristan Sailor shift to the wing and Paul Wellens opted with that same set-up last night. During his mid-week presser, Wellens had hinted at that when stating that Sailor on the wing was “an option”, whilst also praising Lomax’s influence off the bench.

“Even when Jonny’s not been in the team, it hasn’t lessened my opinion of what he can bring to the team,” he explained before noting his impact at Magic Weekend.

“I think he showed against Leeds when we played them on the Magic weekend that when he came onto the field, things seemed to settle down and we seemed to start to play a bit more and it obviously freed Jack up to get his hands on the ball a bit more as well.

“There’s always a number of things to factor in when you’re picking a team, particularly throughout the spine where you want to build some consistency. What I need to stress is that Jonny Lomax’s influence on the team, despite not playing for a few games, I’ve never questioned the influence he can have on the team.”

St Helens set for Harry Robertson return

His influence was clear for all to see last night with Saints looking far more assured than in other matches this season. There were strong performances across the board including for home debutant Deon Cross who scored late in the first half.

Asked pre-match about the former Salford man, Wellens explained: “Obviously, he only had a couple of sessions with us in the lead-in to the Leeds game. So, again, he’s probably one of the main beneficiaries from the 8-10 days that we’ve had since that Leeds game.

“He’s a St Helens lad playing for his home town and that’s reflected in his attitude and the way he approaches training every single day. We’re delighted to have him on board, he’s going to be an important player for us.

“We feel the longer he’s here the better he’s going to be an important player for us and we feel the longer he’s here the better he’s going to get.”

It’s expected that Cross will campaign in the centres for now, at least until Harry Robertson returns from his quad injury and Wellens offered an update on the young talent as well as two of the other longer-term absentees.

The Saints boss revealed: “Harry (Robertson), if he doesn’t play Huddersfield he plays Hull KR, likely barring any setbacks. Kyle (Feldt) probably a week or so after that. Hopefully, Joe (Batchelor) is making some good improvements so he will be around in around that time as well, maybe a tad longer.

“They’re all going to be making returns soon but we really can’t put a definitive time frame on them as yet.

St Helens play Huddersfield next week so in effect Robertson could be back then but almost certainly by the end of the month, whilst NRL recruit Kyle Feldt looks likely to benefit from the week off for the Challenge Cup Final if he makes an early June return.

👊 The Saints beat the Dragons strongly at home in Round 11

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— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) May 15, 2025