St Helens boss Paul Wellens previews his side’s trip to Wakefield on Saturday and provides some updates about key players within his squad.
After two fairly comfortable games, Wellens is hoping for a much tougher opponent in Wakefield.
Saints have started the season with an 82-0 victory over Salford Red Devils before beating Castleford Tigers 46-6 last week.
With a points difference of +122, Saints fans will be hoping for more points on the board against a Wakefield side that currently sit mid-table.
During his press conference ahead of Saturday’s game, Wellens gave fans some positive news regarding forward James Bell.
Wellens said: “There’s a good chance that James Bell will come back into the team.
“He missed out last week and was unfortunate because he hadn’t done anything wrong but it afforded him the opportunity to rest up a bit of a knee issue that he’s been having.
“He’s trained well so all being well, Belly will come back into the team.”
Bell’s return will give Saints’ pack even more strength, especially following the news that Morgan Knowles will miss the match after failing last week’s HIA test.
Another player eyeing up a potential return to the Saints side is Moses Mbye.
Yet to feature in 2025, Wellens hopes Mbye can overcome a knock that’s meant he’s missed Saints’ opening two games.
Wellens added:Â “Given the fact that Moses picked up a knock in the pre-season trial, we always felt that we may need to use Jake in there and if we do then we’ve got every faith in him.
“Yeah, he’s okay. He’s trained with the squad fully today. He had a bit of a calf issue that he pulled out of training with last week.
“He’s had it scanned and there is nothing really significant there but obviously, it just gives him the peace of mind that there is nothing significant. He trained really well so he certainly comes back into contention.”
St Helens boss Paul Wellens also touched on Konrad Hurrell’s stint on dual registration, noting the player hasn’t sulked but admitted Hurrell requested the game time.
He finished:Â “I can’t credit him enough in terms of his approach to the dual reg situation. He’s an experienced player and someone who has been here a while now and had success here but he was the one knocking on my door looking to get some games because he knows that’s what he needs at this moment in time.
“He’s a huge influence in this group, very much a leader in the environment and very much someone who lightens the mood as well so he’s great to have around.
“People probably won’t understand the severity and enormity of the surgery that Konrad went through so to find himself in the position that he is at the moment is a credit to him.”
St Helens travel to Wakefield on Saturday with a 2.30pm kick-off, with the game being shown on BBC Two and Sky Sports+.
