St Helens’ signing Lewis Murphy’s first words as he outlines new motivation

St Helens’ new man Lewis Murphy has spoken for the first time after returning to Super League with the 22-year-old outlining his goals.

Dubbed as one of the most exciting prospects in Super League after his breakout 2022 campaign, Murphy was primed to announce himself as one of the competition’s elite in 2023 before an ACL injury ended his campaign.

That did not stop the NRL interest though with the Roosters signing him for the 2024 season but after just seven appearances for the club’s NSW Cup team, he’s now back in England.

He looks likely to be fending off Jon Bennison and Tee Ritson for a starting shirt but if Murphy can rediscover the form he displayed during his time with Wakefield Trinity then St Helens will have done some marvellous business.

Whilst playing for the Trin, Murphy scored 19 in 24 games with four of those coming against St Helens as Trinity landed a historic win, a performance Murphy has now recalled when stating: “I could even feel the love from some St Helens fans that day, it was a good day.”

St Helens’ signing reveals motivation for 2025

Murphy made those comments when speaking to club media on SaintsTV where he also spoke about his return, his time Down Under and what his ambitions for 2025 are.

“It’s good to be back, I’ve had a good look around, I’ll have to get used to the cold weather again but I’m enjoying it,” Murphy noted with his first words as a St Helens player since his signing announcement back in September.

Whilst his NRL career didn’t take off like fellow English winger Dom Young, that was largely in part due to the fact he was fresh off the back of a season-ending ACL injury. However, the speedster still played seven games in the NSW Cup and was in and around one of the elite rugby league environments with the Roosters meaning he has learned plenty.

Speaking on his time in Sydney, Murphy said: “I loved it. (I’ve gained) A lot of experience, there’s been some challenges along the way but I enjoyed it. I learned so much about myself and so much about rugby league.”

Murphy had penned a two-year deal Down Under but cut it short to sign a contract of the same length with the Red Vee. When asked about what had him ‘fired up’ for the 2025 campaign, the winger sent out a defiant message, stating: “Coming back to Super League and proving who I am again to myself and to everyone else.”

It seems an awful long time since Super League fans got to witness Murphy’s exploits with his last try in the competition all the way back in that incredible performance against Saints in August 2022, over 800 days ago.

Whilst he’ll be desperate to get scoring, he’s also explained that a desire to get playing comes first with the ultimate goal being silverware.

“I’d say mainly it’s to get as much game time as I can and then win a trophy, that would be the main goal but I’ve got to make sure I’m playing those games.”