JACKSON HASTINGS’ suspension is set to force St Helens into changes for Friday’s clash with Leeds – but interim boss Eamon O’Carroll doesn’t see any cause for panic.
The three-match ban will see the Saints captain spend the rest of the regular season on the sidelines after being given his marching orders for fighting during last week’s win over Castleford Tigers.
But though the halfback is unable to play his part on the pitch, O’Carroll stressed he will certainly be influential off it.
Hastings has four tries and 94 goals for Saints this season, and the interim head coach explained: “He’s disappointed, and he wants to be playing and helping the team.
“I think he feels like everyone else that we were starting to get going a little bit there.
“But I think we’ve had plenty of examples this year, if you go through our players who haven’t been involved – Percy (Mark Percival), Sirro (Curtis Sironen), (Daryl) Clark, (Matty) Lees, (Jonny) Lomax, Matt Whitley, George Delaney – they’re playing a huge role in terms of how they’re performing in meetings with their input, and we expect the same from Jackson.
“If you’re a Saints player, that’s how you perform, on and off the field.
“There’s a bigger picture to it, and he’ll help the team prepare.”
Though O’Carroll would undoubtedly prefer not to tinker with a side on the up after back-to-back wins against Wakefield and Castleford, he insisted he will be confident that the team that takes to the field are good enough to get the job done.
“We’ve got a couple of options that we’ll take a look at,” he explained.
“Ideally, it’d be nice not to have to move people around, but we understand that we may have to do that, and that’s going to be likely as well.
“But one thing that’s important is that we don’t panic. We have to be sure, and I have to be absolutely sure, that whichever decision we go with, it has to be the best for the team.”
Tristan Sailor could be one of those to switch positions against Leeds.
And though it would be a hard decision to move him from fullback, O’Carroll admitted: “I think it would be difficult to take a number of players out of their positions because I feel like we’re just getting some rhythm.
“That’s the unfortunate thing, and that’s why I’ve got some thinking to do.
“Ideally, we’d like minimal disruption, but we understand with our situation – and we’ve had to do it a number of times – that we may have to do that.”