St Helens head coach Paul Wellens gave his verdict after his side beat Salford Red Devils 82-0 in Round One of Super League.
Understandably, Wellens was very pleased but the Red Vee could only beat what was in front of them and in Salford’s case it wasn’t much. Paul Rowley named a 16-man playing squad which was primarily made of reserves and academy players with just three players recognisable to most fans.
That came following the club’s £1.2 million salary cap limit with Rowley revealing confusion and miscommunication regarding their squad selection last week against Midlands, when they named a far stronger side. He spoke with the BBC pre-match to explain his selection choices citing injuries and opting to play a ‘team’ as opposed to individuals.
For St Helens, it meant a relatively comfortable 15-try win the Saints breaking the Super League record for the largest winning margin. Paul Wellens spoke post-match to the BBC, quickly addressing the Salford situation before praising how his side went about business.
“We certainly prepared for a different game,” he explained.
“Obviously, the circumstances it around it – I’m not really privy to all the information so I don’t want to get too caught up in it but credit to the Salford fans who came out and supported what was a weakened team.”
St Helens boss gives verdict after record-breaking win with injury worry addressed
🔻 The Saints kick-off Super League 2025 with a win#COYS | @LPL_Airport pic.twitter.com/RVGXrJ3rRj
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) February 15, 2025
On his own team’s performance, Wellens said: “I think we just did what we had to do. The challenge for the group when the (Salford) squad was announced was that we’d had a great week’s preparation and we had to just go out and play as we’d planned.
“I thought to the guys credit they have done that. It was a pretty ruthless performance whilst at the same time understanding the level of opponents we were coming up against.”
It does mean that St Helens are now entering the second round of Super League having played amateur club West Hull and a team full of reserves in their ‘competitive’ matches, but Wellens isn’t worried about a lack of match sharpness.
He said: “I’m not feeling concerned about that. Some of the work that we’re doing in training is really prepping us and I liked the look of us out there today, we were moving quick and looked fit and energetic.
“Obviously, that is going to be tested a lot deeper in the coming weeks but I do feel that we’re ready for that.”
One major positive for Saints was the ability to put a huge boost on their points difference, something that Wellens confirmed he did remind his players of.
“I did remind the players of it,” he said but noted: “It’s a balance getting the message out as you don’t want to come out and throw the ball about and it become a mess but I thought our players played really well.”
The only concern of the day was Lewis Murphy leaving the field with an injury knock, something that Wellens cleared up by explaining: “Lewis just felt tight in his hamstring and with the game the way it was, we took a precautionary measure but we’re hoping that he’s going to be fine.”
Fellow St Helens signing Tristan Sailor scored four with Wellens hailing his ability, stating: “On Tristan, you see what an electric player he is. Obviously, he won’t have it like that every week but I think he really enjoyed himself out there today. Fans in Super League will enjoy watching him this year.”
