Lomax extends Saints contract

Following the announcement of his appointment as Club Captain, St Helens have announced that Jonny Lomax has signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him with the Saints until at least the end of the 2026 season.

Lomax has been a loyal one-club man throughout his professional rugby league career, where every single match of his 326 club career appearances has been for St Helens the past 15 seasons, with season 16 coming this year and now two more confirmed.

A highly consistent and reliable player, Lomax has been an integral part of St Helens winning five Betfred Super League trophies and four League Leaders' Shields. He also played in the Saints' four Grand Final victories in a row - winning the Harry Sunderland Trophy in the 2022 showpiece event.

In addition to the above, Lomax has also won the Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge trophies in 2021 and 2023 respectively, and has been named on three occasions in Super League's annual Dream Team selection.

Speaking to saintsrlfc.com about the news, their new captain for 2024 said: 

"It's a no-brainer for me, the Club means an awful lot to me and I'm proud to represent it. It was a dream come true because all I wanted to do was play for Saints when I was a kid, and I've achieved another dream in my career with the captaincy. Having that opportunity to be captain, potentially over the next three years, is something that I'm very proud of, and something that I hope to do justice as well."

Lomax has been involved in Grand Finals, World Club Challenges, and Challenge Cup Finals, and he is keen to be the man leading his hometown side out on those large stages as St Helens will be aiming to add to their trophy cabinet. And another aim of the England international is to continue building a strong environment for the next generation of Saints players to develop and thrive in.

He continued:

"I'd love to walk out the team on a special occasion, walking out the team at any time is special, but in the last few years in finals what James has got to do over the last few years in finals must be a fantastic feeling. That's what we want to do.

"We want to instil good habits, good processes, and a good culture into the club. You want to help the next group [Academy graduates & players] grow, learn, and evolve moving forward. I suppose in some ways you become a bit of a teacher as well, that can be off and on the field. You want to have an everlasting effect on some of the people that you know hopefully will be here for a long time after I'm gone as well."

Head Coach Paul Wellens spoke about Lomax's news adding: 

"I am delighted that Jonny has opted to extend his stay with the club until the end of 2026.

"It goes without saying that Jonny has been and is still very much an integral part of the team, his professionalism and diligence is second to none and the fact he has achieved great success over a prolonged period of time is clear evidence of this. 

"The Club prides itself on retaining our best homegrown players and in committing his future to Saints it's clear to see that despite achieving so much in the game Jonny retains the determination and drive to help the team to further success."