JACK WELSBY is developing into one of the main leaders at St Helens, according to Saints coach Paul Wellens.
At 22 years of age, the fullback is already one of the top performers in Super League and he is currently enjoying a hot streak of form.
Welsby scored sensational match-winning tries in Saints’ victories over Leeds Rhinos and Salford Red Devils.
He then provided excellent assists for two of Tommy Makinson’s three tries against Huddersfield Giants on Challenge Cup Final weekend.
Wellens is not surprised at all by those moments but has been pleased to see the England international develop most as leader this year.
“For the last three or four years his ability has been clear to see for everybody,” said Wellens.
“He’s continuing to grow as a person and as a player. He’s certainly continuing to grow as a leader and I think that’s the area he’s developing most.
“His ability to affect games in the way he has, that’s always been there. But in and around the group, his voice is becoming more and more apparent in terms of his leadership qualities.
“Helped by Jonny (Lomax), Robes (James Roby), Morgan Knowles and Matty Lees, we have a lot of players with real leadership qualities within the team, but Jack has really matured in the last twelve months.
“As a young player, you may have the leadership qualities but you might not quite yet have the runs on the board to be able to voice your opinion, particularly around players like Jonny and Robes, who have been here such a long time.
“But once you show that you can impact games, once you show how much you care and how hard you work, that’s when you can start to have a voice around the group.
“Jack is not alone in that, but Jack has found his voice among the group and his opinion is more than well respected.”
In Wellens, Welsby has a former Saints great in his position to learn from, but the head coach says he is cautious not to work too much with him.
“There are still things that Jack can work on and be cleaner on in his game, which is probably a frightening prospect when you see how good he is at this moment in time,” said Wellens.
“We’re working hard on certain things in Jack’s game where he can be a little bit better.
“He’s working hard on his defensive side of the game – he has a huge responsibility in organising the defensive line and putting himself in the line where he can be effective at times. It’s little details like that.
“But I don’t want to over-coach Jack because he is a fantastic player in his own right, and if I start to fill his head with a load of nonsense, I take away from what makes him a great player.
“In certain aspects I try to help him, and in others I leave him alone.”
