ST HELENS coach Paul Wellens has admitted to a “huge headache” ahead of Hull FC’s visit on Friday.
Jack Welsby returned to the fold following a knee injury in last Sunday’s demolition of Huddersfield Giants.
The England star came off the bench in the second half to his preferred position of fullback, where Tristan Sailor has been excelling in Welsby’s absence and shone again before shifting to hooker to finish the game.
While a bench spot was part of Welsby’s managed return to action, he will soon command a starting spot and a change will have to be made to Wellens’ in-form side.
Wellens said of Sailor’s latest performance: “It’s a huge positive but also a huge headache when you’re looking at selecting a team.
“When you look at the 21-man squad we’ve announced, we’re in a healthy position and quite naturally there will be some disappointed players who miss out and players who realistically are worth a jersey, but I can only pick 17 players.
“There are some tough calls I need to make. But if we are to achieve our ambitions this year, and we have very high ambitions, it will take a collective effort.
“So the 17 that play this weekend have a job to do, but I’m pretty certain it’s not going to be the same 17 every week from now to the end of the season.
“There may be a solution (that pleases Sailor and Welsby), but quite naturally you can’t give every player what they want all the time.
“What you need is players within your team who are at times prepared to do what’s best for the team, even if that doesn’t suit what’s best for them.
“We’ve had some good examples of that, like Tristan Sailor at the weekend. He’s not a nine, but he went there because we needed to get Jack Welsby on the field.
“It’s really good for me to know we have players in the squad who are prepared to do those things. I’ve mentioned Tristan there, but there are many more too.”
Curtis Sironen is back in the Saints squad to face Hull after completing his recovery from a head injury.