St Helens possess a number of youngsters with ‘genuine superstar ability’ as they prepare themselves for the start of the 2026 Super League season.
That’s the belief of Jacob Host, who is confident that the Saints have built a squad with the right mix of quality youngsters and experienced older heads as they strive to get their hands on silverware once more.
Host is one of six new signings at the BrewDog Stadium this off-season, with David Klemmer, Jackson Hastings, Jacob Douglas and Joe Shorrocks joining the club, too, while Shane Wright has made his loan move permanent. As such, with the addition of new head coach Paul Rowley, it’s fair to say there is a fresh feel around St Helens going into the new year.
And, while Host only arrived in Merseyside earlier this month, the back-rower has been impressed what he has seen so far, with the NRL experience that himself and others possess only adding to that.
St Helens man issues squad verdict
“Some fresh faces can bring some new energy and some new ideas,” Host told St Helens’ club media. “There’s players that have come from different clubs in the NRL that can bring that experience and there’s little things that we can teach and knowledge that we’ve had over the years.
“There’s a lot of young boys in the team coming through with genuine superstar ability, so to have those guys, they’re always asking questions and for us to give them that guidance, I think it will be super important. Obviously you’ve got Klem who’s played, I think it’s close to 15 years in the NRL, and then Jacko and myself have been around for close to a decade too.
“That sort of experience is invaluable and obviously Wrighty has been over here for the last five years so he knows this game as well as the NRL. It’s a great mix of experience and energy and youthful energy. It’s exciting.”
Host signed for the club while Paul Wellens was still in charge, with his addition being announced ahead of the club’s play-off semi-final clash with Hull KR. Rowley has taken over since then, of course, but it’s fair to say the head coach and Host are on the same page.
“The first conversation I had with Rowls, he was running through the fixtures for the season,” Host said. “Obviously Challenge Cup games haven’t been released but we pretty much said to each other, we don’t want to having weeks off when the Challenge Cup games come around, we want to be playing every single week and be right there competing for trophies in the Challenge Cup and in the league as well.
“We don’t want to be thinking about weeks off, we want to be thinking every week is occupied and we’re playing a game. Straight away that sets a tone for the mindset for the year and it’s good to have that from the top and it’s going to filter down through each player.”
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