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St Helens Chairman Eamonn McManus has praised Saints coach Kristian Woolf for taking his club to the top of the table after an uncertain start to the season.
After the most recent round of Super League matches St Helens sit at the top of the Super League table with nine wins from twelve matches, putting them clear at the top with a win ratio of 75 per cent.
Before lockdown in March Saints had only won three of their six matches, and that was reduced to two out of five after the withdrawal of Toronto Wolfpack.
Since the resumption, however, they have won seven straight Super League games to move to the top of the table.
“Kristian has done a great job at St Helens and I’m sure in time he will be regarded as one of the best coaches we have had at the club,” McManus told League Express.
“It was obviously a challenge for any coach to take over from Justin Holbrook, after Justin won last year’s Grand Final, but Kristian has done it superbly.”
Meanwhile McManus also paid tribute to his former coach, who has taken the Gold Coast Titans from finishing at the bottom of the NRL table in 2019 to ninth place in 2020, narrowly missing out on the play-offs with five straight victories in their final five games of the season.
“Justin deserves congratulations for the improvements he has clearly made at the Gold Coast this season and I’m sure everyone at St Helens is delighted by his continued success.
“What is particularly encouraging is that success in Super League can be carried over into the NRL, which we have also seen with Trent Robinson at the Sydney Roosters after he served his time in Super League with Catalans Dragons.”
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