Three players who will captain St Helens in the next decade

Being a captain takes all sorts of leadership skills; vocality, communication and an inspiring character are all vital elements of leading a team.

Second up in this series is St Helens, whose current skipper James Roby is approaching retirement age.

But, just which three players would take the Saints’ mantle within the next decade?

Matty Lees

He made his debut in 2007, but since then, Matty Lees has gone on to become an incredibly important player for St Helens. A rampaging prop forward that never takes a backwards step, Lees has stepped up to the plate since the departure of Luke Thompson, taking the game to his opponents on a regular basis with some hard-hitting defence and metre-eating runs. Still only 23, Lees has a brilliantly mature head on young shoulders and will be vital for Saints in the next decade.

Mark Percival

Mr St Helens himself, Mark Percival has gone from strength-to-strength in recent seasons under bosses Justin Holbrook and Kristian Woolf. Although injured for the back end of 2020 – meaning the centre missed out on the Grand Final victory – Percival will no doubt be integral to Saints in the next decade. Already showing the capabilities needed to become captain, the England number four has the skill, temerity and respect of his peers to take the armband and do a successful job.

Lewis Dodd

He’s just 19 years of age, but Lewis Dodd is already being heavily talked about as a superstar. The halfback is greatly respected at the Lancashire club and head coach Kristian Woolf has talked him up to be a major player for St Helens in the future. Of course, his halfback leadership skills shouldn’t be underestimated either which makes Dodd an ideal candidate to take the responsibility later on his career.