St Helens boss gives Mark Percival fitness update and discusses his impending headache

Paul Wellens has moved to allay any Mark Percival injury fears after St Helens’ win over Huddersfield Giants on Friday night. The Saints ran out 46-4 winners at the John Smith’s Stadium as they begin to find traction and climb the Super League table after a tough run.

Jack Welsby scored three on the night for Wellens’ side, while Tristan Sailor and Curtis Sironen both got two and Lewis Murphy grabbed himself a try on what was a comfortable night in West Yorkshire for the Merseyside outfit. At the time of writing, the Saints now sit fourth and on the back of two straight wins, they’ll be confident of going to Hull KR next week and upsetting the odds.

Mark Percival will likely be involved in that clash at Craven Park, too, despite leaving the field in the final few minutes against the Giants on Friday with tightness, with Wellens asked about the in-form centre after the game.

“Percy felt a bit tight and obviously we had Owen Dagnall down there on the bench and it was his first Super League involvement,” Wellens said, per the St Helens Star. “So I was keen to get him out on the field and Percy pulling up a little bit gave us the perfect opportunity.”

St Helens boss facing selection dilemma

The result was never in doubt at the John Smith’s Stadium, with Sailor scoring two tries in the opening 10 minutes to put the visitors on the right foot. His form on the wing gives Wellens something of a selection headache moving forwards, though, with Kyle Feldt expected to be fit again in the next three or four weeks.

“It’s going to be a tough decision, isn’t it? You welcome those headaches that you that you get as a coach. I didn’t expect a headache like that but it’s a squad sport,” he added.

“It’s one of the toughest, most brutal sport sports you’ll see and if we have a fully fit squad from now to the end of the season I’ll bite your hand off, but that’s very unlikely to be the case.

“So I’m not going to make any decisions now or any predictions on what the line up is going to be moving forward. We’ll enjoy the result and the victory tonight but when I’ve got time to think and take it all in then I will obviously make those decisions when I need to.”