St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has a tough job ahead of him in the 2025 Super League season to close the gap to the top four.
2024 was a year to forget, with the Saints finishing in 6th place, the lowest in their Super League era and Wellens is happy to put that chapter behind them and start afresh in 2025.
He believes in his current squad and is challenging them to perform more consistently than they did last season.
Speaking to the press, the St Helens boss said: “We’re a motivated team the the moment and we hope we get to see that reflection in our performances.
“We have a group of committed men who are working hard for each other.
“We’ve learned some valuable lessons through those tough experiences but we also understand that we have to go out there and perform consistently,” he added.
Whilst he has a full-strength squad for their opener, their Challenge Cup win over West Hull has given him some options for his 21-man squad.
He added: “I thought George Whitby equipped himself well, there’s always healthy competition for places and I have some tough decisions to make for the weekend in the coming 24 hours.”
When it comes to his new players, he highlighted Tristan Sailor and Kyle Feldt in particular.
On Sailor, he said: “You don’t buy players like Tristan and put shackles on him.
“We want him to go out there and play what he sees, play off instinct because that’s what made him the player that he is.
“There’s a good chance that things can happen around him and we have tweaked a few things to integrate him.”
Feldt faces competition on the wing from Jon Bennison and Lewis Murphy but he’s happy with the way he’s handled himself following his move from the NRL.
He said: “He’s settled into the environment brilliantly, and I think it’s important that his family has settled in well first and foremost.
“I think with any overseas player, you get that and it allows you to come into work and enjoy being in work with his teammates
“He’s a very level-headed man, very calm so there’s a lot to like about what Kyle’s going to bring to the team throughout the course of the game,” he finished.
Paul Wellens’ Saints side face Salford on early Sunday evening.
The game will be shown on Sky Sports+ as well as BBC2 from 5.30pm as well as on Super League+.
