Tristan Sailor, new coaches and Paul Wellens’ pre-season priorities as St Helens return to training

After St Helens returned to training ahead of the 2025 campaign, we’ve assessed some of the dilemmas that head coach Paul Wellens will have to juggle.

It’s been an off-season of major change at St Helens but one of the most significant constants is Paul Wellens himself. It was not until late in the season that the head coach’s 2025 contract was publicly announced, something that had previously prompted plenty of outside speculation about his future.

That speculation rose as the season progressed, even more so due to the mid-season rut that saw the Red Vee lose five games in a row. However, when that was snapped by consecutive wins over Hull FC and Salford, the perfect opportunity presented itself to confirm the one-year extension.

Given that it is just a one-year extension, the club may well find themselves in a similar situation in 2025 but for now, there are far bigger priorities on Wellens’ list as the squad returns to training ahead of the upcoming campaign.

With the pre-season now officially up and running, we’ve examined some of the key tasks that the St Helens boss will have to navigate over the ensuing weeks and months.

What St Helens must work out over the next three months

Find the right coaching dynamic

With Wellens locked in for 2025, St Helens went about announcing the arrival of former player Lee Briers as the club’s new attack coach. Briers had been a success at Wigan Warriors and was key in their 2022 Challenge Cup win but his influence at Brisbane Broncos, particularly during their resurgent 2023 campaign showcased his talents.

St Helens have lacked a true attacking identity in recent seasons and fans will hope that the arrival of Briers can act like a magic wand and fix those issues but sadly, that won’t be the case. Finding the right dynamic in that coaching room has to be a priority this off-season, particularly with the arrival of Eamon O’Carroll.

News of O’Carroll’s Bradford departure was surprising given what a strong squad the Bulls were building and the recent contract extension that the 37-year-old had signed. His exit was based on a desire to return to the North-West, something that has seen him land at St Helens.

All three of Wellens, Briers and O’Carroll are undoubtedly brilliant coaches but Wellens, as the head coach, must now find a way to bring the trio together and get the best out of this talented squad.

Find a way to score against the big teams

As referenced above, one of St Helens’ biggest issues in recent seasons has been their attack with the club having a tough time at breaking teams down on many occasions.

St Helens scored 596 points in Super League, an average of just over 22 points per game but against bottom four teams, that average shot up to 36.1 points per game. By contrast, the figure for points scored against the rest of the top eight dropped to just under 14 points per game.

Obviously, St Helens are not the only team to fare better against the poorer teams but it highlights an alarming inability to score against the strong sides in the competition, one that is arguably papered over when they go and score 40, 50 or even 60 against the lesser teams.

In their 17 games against the other sides in the top eight, they failed to score more than two tries in nine of them, winning just two of those matches underlining the need to improve their attack to the point they can compete in the big games.

Nail Tristan Sailor to one position

One way that Saints could solve their attacking problem is with a star signing from the NRL and they just so happen to have brought in Tristain Sailor, the man who flourished under Lee Briers at Brisbane.

Nailing Sailor to one position will be key as a settled spine is often a more productive spine and throughout 2024, Saints were unfortunate not to be able to boast a settled spine often. That perhaps helps explain their lack of attacking intent which also makes it all the more important that they nail Sailor to one position.

Handing him the number six shirt seems to highlight their preferred position for him but it is a role he has played just eight times in his career, compared to the 61 games he’s played at full-back. Ensuring they leave their 12-week pre-season with a defined one, six, seven and nine has to be high on the club’s priority list.

Solve the centre problem

At the time of writing, there is still uncertainty over the future of Konrad Hurrell. The centre was off contract at the end of the 2024 season but did have a clause to extend his deal for a further year.

St Helens boss Paul Wellens seemed to genuinely be agonising over the decision as he spoke on his love for Hurrell and what he brings to the club but as yet, no deal has been confirmed.

With Waqa Blake having also left, St Helens’ centre options alongside Mark Percival look to be one of Ben Davies, Jonny Vaughan, Owen Dagnall or perhaps an out-of-position second-rower or winger.

Signing Hurrell would solve the problem whilst releasing him and using the quota spot he vacates to find an overseas talent also solves the problem. Either way, it seems that the three-quarter issue is one that Paul Wellens needs to address before Round One of Super League rolls around.