St Helens coach confirms early selection calls ahead of Hull FC fixture as George Whitby decision revealed

St Helens interim boss Eamon O’Carroll has confirmed a number of selection calls ahead of the side’s home game against Hull FC.

O’Carroll will take charge of his third game of the Red Vee, after stepping up following the exit for Paul Rowley last month.

Rowley left the club the day before the derby day defeat to Wigan Warriors, before the side then lost 34-32 to York Knights last week.

Following on from what was a spirited but nontheless poor defeat to the promoted side, O’Carroll has confirmed that changes will be made to the squad to face the Black and Whites, who themselves are on a winless run.

The returning George Whitby will play a part, after recovering from a knee issue that required surgery. The young half-back last featured just under two months ago, and has returned ahead of schedule.

Confirming Whitby’s involvement this week, the interim Saints boss said: “George will play.

“We’re excited. He’s worked really diligently in his rehab and his pre-hab. I think the staff have been fantastic with him.

“…George will be on the bench. He’ll play a role. We have to be smart in terms of his loading and his game time. But he’s excited and ready to go, and we’re really happy to have him back in the team.”

On the fact he is an early returnee, O’Carroll added: “I’d be doing him some injustice if I said it was luck. It’s certainly not with George.

“He’s fully invested in everything that he does. He’s quite military in some respects, but he does everything – the way he lives his life, what he does in and around the environment – everything is with a view to being better.

“That’s not just when he’s injured, that’s when he’s fit as well. He fully deserves to get back. There was a conversation there with the physios that we obviously want to be smart, particularly with a younger player.

“We don’t want to be putting him in a position where they’re vulnerable, but he was ticking every box and doing extremely well. He’s fit is strong, the knee feels good, so he’s ready to go.”

O’Carroll also confirmed that Harry Robertson will continue at six, with Tristan Sailor playing centre for the fourth week running.

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St Helens to hand recent debutant first start following impressive display

In the defeat to York, one man who stood out to O’Carroll and the coaching staff was Billy Keeley, who made his debut at the LNER Community Stadium on Saturday.

The youngster didn’t look out of place, and as a reward for that performance, he has landed himself a place in the starting line-up this week.

“I thought Billy Keeley was fantastic at the weekend. He worked really hard, displayed some traits that we want from Saints players. He gets rewarded this week, I’m starting him.