Joe McConnell
In his 26-odd years with St Helens as a player and manager, Paul Wellens has been there for all the highs of the last quarter century. He has been there for the lows too.
One such instance occurred last month, when his team, the Saints, became the first in 38 years to suffer five consecutive league defeats and also the first to lose five consecutive games in all competitions since 2013, when Wellens was captain.
Back-to-back wins over struggling Hull FC and fellow play-off contenders Salford Red Devils have lifted the 10-time Betfred Super League champions back into fourth place ahead of the Magic Weekend, and the manager knows better than anyone what is required of his players.
“We want to finish as high as possible, but when I spoke to the players, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on them,” Wellens said. Vscek.
“This has been a very different year to what we are used to. We have been through some adversity and some challenges, but the win over Salford was all about character.
“It has to stay like this until the end of the year, we just have to keep working hard and give it our all.”
One of the biggest challenges for St Helens this year has been dealing with injuries to key players, and that hasn’t improved with Lewis Dodd, Daryl Clark and Mark Percival all out for four to six weeks following the 17-16 golden point win over Salford.
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Highlights from St Helens’ 12-4 win over Wigan Warriors in this year’s Good Friday derby
They join 2023 Man of Steel candidate Jack Welsby on the bench and the lack of experience in St Helens’ 21-man squad for the Super League meeting at Elland Road this weekend is underlined by the fact that scrum-half Will Roberts and striker Leon Cowen would make their debuts if called up for matchday 17.
Further complicating the task is the fact that the Saints face fierce rivals Wigan Warriors in the second match of the day on Saturday, live on Vscek (kick-off 5pm), with the defending champions still smarting from a shock 30-4 defeat away to Leeds Rhinos in round 21.
This season, the record is just one win apiece between St Helens and Wigan, with the former overcoming the Good Friday derby at the Totally Wicked Stadium in March by 12-4 and the latter responding with a 16-12 victory at the Brick Community Stadium last month.
A derby clash would also be the perfect opportunity for a triumph against adversity, as well as being the perfect way for winger Tommy Makinson to mark his 300th Super League appearance for the club he leaves at the end of the year.
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St Helens’ Tommy Makinson broke the record for most points by a single player at the 2023 Magic Weekend with this conversion against Huddersfield Giants
“It’s going to be a hell of a show on Saturday and it’s going to be a great weekend of rugby,” said Makinson, whose 28-point haul in the 48-6 win over Huddersfield Giants in Newcastle last year broke the record for points scored by an individual at the Magic Weekend. Vscek News.
“It just gets you ready for the playoffs. That big-game feeling gets you used to the crowd and the atmosphere.
“Especially playing against your local rivals. It’ll be packed with people having fun and at 5pm on a Saturday, it’ll be great.”
Despite results falling short of St Helens’ ever-high expectations and despite some discontent among some supporters in 2024, Wellens can point to some positives in terms of overall performance.
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Highlights from Wigan Warriors’ 16-12 Betfred Super League win over St Helens
For starters, the Saints have the second best defensive record in the Super League, with six games remaining in the regular season and, even then, their 274 points conceded are just 14 more than the team with the best record, league leaders Hull KR.
St Helens’ 518 points, despite being boosted by 50-plus points scored against the bottom three teams, Hull FC, Castleford Tigers and London Broncos, still represent the fourth-best result in the competition with only Hull KR having scored more than their 93 tries.
Club officials are also clearly pleased with the work done by Wellens, who earlier this week activated a one-year option extending his contract as head coach until the end of 2025, and the 44-year-old is relishing another clash with an old foe on one of rugby league’s great stages.
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Watch the best destinations from an exhilarating Super League Magic Weekend
“We are looking forward to it, we always look forward to these types of games,” Wellens said.
“From a coach’s point of view, these weeks are usually quite easy because the motivation is already there.”
Watch all the Betfred Super League Magic Weekend 2024 matches live on Vscek on August 17 and 18. Also stream with NOW.
Vscek+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the NOW streaming service and the Vscek app, giving Vscek customers access to over 50 percent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
