Season Recap: St Helens

St Helens

Where we are

The 2019 Betfred Super League champions and League Leaders’ Shield winners, St Helens, have struggled at the start of the season. The end of 2019 saw their coach, Justin Holbrook, return to Australia to coach Gold Coast Titans. 

Kristian Woolf replaced Holbrook and it would have been a tough ask for anyone to follow in the footsteps of Holbrook. 

Woolf previously coached Tonga to the 2017 World Cup semi-final and shocked Australia in 2019 with a 16-12 victory. 

The club have struggled at the start of the season only winning two out of five games. To make matters worse, their star forward Luke Thompson has left the club to join Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. 

Saints’ round seven fixture against Castleford Tigers was the last Super League game to be played before lockdown, Woolf’s men lost 28-14. 

Next Game

They were the last fixture before lockdown and Saints will be involved in the first fixture in Super League’s return. The Red Vee face Catalans Dragons who have won their last three games. 

The previous meeting between the two clubs saw Saints beat Catalans 50-14 with Matty Costello scoring a hat-trick. 

The clip you’ve all been waiting for ... 👀

🔴⚪#WelcomeHomeJammer pic.twitter.com/428kI1orbG
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) July 23, 2020

Ins & Outs

A big loss for St Helens as Luke Thompson left his contract early to join Canterbury. However, the return of a legend will ease pain for the club and its fans. James Graham returns to the club after leaving them nearly a decade ago for the NRL.