St Helens boss addresses Tristan Sailor criticism after drop calls

St Helens boss Paul Wellens has described the criticism Tristan Sailor has received of late as ‘slightly harsh’.

Sailor has come under scrutiny in recent weeks as St Helens continue to struggle to find the spark needed to find form and consistency in Super League. Wellens’ side have lost four of their last six games in all competitions and that includes three defeats to Warrington Wolves, with Sam Burgess’ side beating them twice in the league and knocking them out of the Challenge Cup.

As such, Wellens has tinkered with his spine as he looks to find that right formula, with Sailor, who started the season at stand-off, being moved back to full-back. However, he has struggled to make the desired impact in either role and in his last eight league outings he has mustered just two tries and three assists.

St Helens would have hoped for and expected more from their major off-season recruit and there have been calls for him to be dropped, with Jon Wilkin and Kevin Brown making the point in Sky Sports last week, while Saints legend Paul Sculthorpe has claimed Sailor is adding nothing to the team.

St Helens boss comes to Tristan Sailor’s defence

Wellens believes that criticism is a little over the top, but he does admit Sailor must take responsibility for finding improvements in his performances.

“I think it’s slightly harsh,” Wellens said when asked about the stick Sailor has received. “At the weekend, he had a hand in few of the good moments we had in terms of scoring tries. Primarily we brought him here to add something to our attack and he’s shown those signs that he can do that.

“He probably marries up with a number of players in our team that we just need to get consistency from and that’s key to any team that wants to be successful. We’ll continue to support him and help him there.

“He needs to take responsibility in trying to find improvements in his game and it’s still very early days in 2025. Whilst we’re not happy with some of the results we’ve had we’ve got to continue working hard together.”