BY CHRIS JONES
ST HELENS coach Paul Wellens says that the injury crisis that has engulfed his club this season has an upside, which is the experience he has been able to give some of the club’s younger players.
That may not have looked obvious on Saturday, as an under-strength Saints slumped to a 42-6 home defeat to league leaders Hull KR. But Wellens insists that his club will benefit in the long term.
“Absolutely it does,” replied Wellens when asked whether the injury crisis has its benefits.
“One of the real positives to come out of this situation is my ability to give these young players opportunities. They have come in and shown that they can compete at this level.
“At the start of the year there are always question marks about whether the younger players in your squad can compete at the highest level. When we come out of this tough period, as players start to return from injury, our squad depth will look a lot more impressive than it did, given that we now know that many of these young players can come into the side and perform at this level.
“And it sends the message to a lot of the more experienced players in the squad that these young kids are here to stay. You have to keep competing at a high level because these young lads are not going to give the jersey up easily.”
In the Magic Weekend clash against Wigan, Wellens selected Harry Robertson, Jake Burns, Jonny Vaughan and Noah Stephens, none of whom would have expected to be in the side if it weren’t for the number of stars absent through injury, and against Hull KR halfback George Whitby scored a debut try.
“Whether we are looking at the future of the club will be determined by those players themselves and their attitude, their work ethic and their desire to improve when they come to work every day,” added Wellens.
“The squad and the teams are always evolving but we are very excited about the crop of young players who are on the fringe of the first team.”
However, with four games of the regular season remaining, Wellens is optimistic that some of those injured players will return before the end of the regular season, particularly as their final league game will involve a trip to play-off rivals Leigh for what could be a crucial clash.
“We can’t shy away from our current situation, which is very different from what we have known in the past,” said Wellens.
“Every week is an important game for us now, but fortunately we have a group of players who know what it’s like to play in big games.
“If we can hang tough and pick up the victories we need to force our way into the play-offs, then we feel confident that we can be a real threat.”
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