St Helens’ play-off hopes are now officially over, but that is the last thing on interim boss Eamon O’Carroll’s mind at present.
A youthful and depleted Saints side travelled to Leigh Leopards tonight, and lost 48-10 in another underwhelming display by the Red Vee this year.
Jacob Douglas and Tristan Sailor added scores for the away side, but fatigue eventually caught up to what was majorly a reserve-grade side due to the sheer amount of absentees the club have to deal with.
O’Carroll faced the Sky Sports cameras for the penultimate time this week, and gave his assessment of the evening’s events.
On missing out on the six, he said: “Yeah, a real shame, real shame.
“To be honest with you, I’m not really thinking too much about that at the moment. When I get in and around the group, they’re very disappointed there, but they should also be proud as well.
“I think, obviously, the scoreline blew out there, but there was some real Saints traits in there, and since I came into this job, that was one of the main objectives, to get us back to that.
“To say that there’s 17 players who I couldn’t pick today, I think some of them young boys and some of them leaders did everything that we want from a Saints player, so we’ve got to hang on to that.
Kevin Walters, who this week has been in the UK putting plans in place ahead of the new season, will be O’Carroll’s successor after the World Cup, and the departing coach believes there are plenty of positives for the Kangaroos boss to take into his first season in charge.
“[There’s] a level of disappointment where we’re currently at. In this club, this particular group’s had a lot of success over the years, so to have some adversity, I think it’ll be good for it in the long run.
“It won’t feel like that now, but I think that’ll be good for them as well. There’s youthful energy in there and some really good, experienced players, but we won’t shy away from the fact that there’s got to be some change in there as well.
Eamon O’Carroll teases rugby league return ahead of exit to rugby union
Asked how he has found being head coach of St Helens, albeit on an interim basis, O’Carroll said: “I’ve loved it. I really have. It’s a huge honour to say that I’ve had the opportunity to do that.
“It’s been under testing circumstances, but I’ve really enjoyed it. I think collectively as a group, everyone involved, we’ve made a difference.”
The question was put to him whether we could potentially see him back in the 13-man code, to which he replied: “You know what? I’ve had a taste of it now. I really enjoyed it, so never say never, but I’m fully focused on what comes next.
!I’m really looking forward to the challenge of going to rugby union. It’s something that, you know, I’m excited about, something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. But I love my league, so maybe one day I’ll be back.”
