PAUL WELLENS hailed Tristan Sailor for taking on a new role in St Helens’ win over Huddersfield Giants.
Jack Welsby’s return from injury left Wellens with a big decision to make on how to accommodate both players.
In the event, Welsby only came off the bench in the second half, playing at fullback with Sailor moving to hooker.
But Sailor’s exceptional display in the victory has made a long-term solution no clearer.
“I’ve got to pay him huge credit because he’s been playing really well for a good number of weeks now,” Wellens said of Aussie Sailor.
“We had a conversation during the week around how his role may change in the game when Jack comes onto the field and he didn’t bat an eyelid. He just said: ‘yeah, no problem, whatever’s needed’.
“I love players like that who just adapt and get on with the job.
“(Welsby) coming off the bench and playing some limited game time, I thought it was the best way to approach it.
“The temptation with your best players is to throw them straight back in. But given that we were in a good spot, I didn’t feel the need to. I think it worked well for us today.”
Sailor led the way in a Saints show that produced nine tries.
“I think the fans enjoyed that today, enjoyed watching the way the team went about their business,” added Wellens.
“We scored some really nice tries, and probably left a few points out there as well.
“We didn’t nail a couple of breaks, and in bigger games moving forward you don’t get all those opportunities so we can be hard on ourselves there.
“But there was a a lot to like about what we did.”