CALLUM WALKER looks back at a season of frustration for St Helens supporters.
The hope
2024 had been a disastrous year for St Helens and for Paul Wellens. They had just scraped into the play-offs but were knocked out in the first round at the hands of Warrington, which led to an off-season of soul-searching.
And to judge from their recruitment, Saints were hunting for a new creativity for 2025, as Brisbane Broncos livewire Tristan Sailor joined the club along with North Queensland’s veteran winger Kyle Feldt and former Wakefield winger Lewis Murphy, who joined after an injury-hit year at Sydney Roosters.
Apart from that, there wasn’t much of a player turnover and there was hope that this would ensure some kind of stability heading into a campaign where Saints just had to improve.
The reality
That being said, Saints’ 2025 campaign unfolded similarly to 2024. Their season was full of inconsistency, with some great moments, some moments to regret and a general sense of unease amongst their supporters.
Saints this time finished fifth, gaining two more wins than in the previous year, and they made it to the semi-finals of the play-offs, where they were eventually defeated by Hull KR.
So they could certainly point to some improvement over the previous year in terms of results, if not their style of play.
But much of the season had been dominated by talk over the future of head coach Paul Wellens, whose exit from his boyhood club was confirmed following the end of the campaign.
Wellens had struggled to name his best squad, with the number of spine combinations hitting double figures just after the midway point in the season.
Jack Welsby spent a massive chunk of the year out with injury, whilst the loss of Sione Mata’utia and Tommy Makinson looked to have had a bigger impact than many thought they would. The key takeaway from 2025 for Saints was that they had failed to win a trophy again, although that was also true of ten other Super League clubs.
Best players
There can be no disputing that Harry Robertson enjoyed the best season of his short career so far. The 19-year-old was outstanding for St Helens, scoring 15 tries in 25 appearances and he was also talked about as a potential England selection for the end-of-season Ashes Series against Australia, although ultimately he failed to make the cut.
Morgan Knowles was his irrepressible self, earning yet another appearance in the Super League Dream Team. Despite signing for NRL side Dolphins, Knowles continued with aplomb in the Red Vee, arguably having one of his greatest campaigns for several seasons.
In quotes
“I’ve never been on social media. I only know some of the things that get posted on there through my children. I’ve got a couple of older children who probably don’t report back, but I’ve got a young daughter who’s in Year 11 that probably feels it because she sees the things. Paul’s the same, he’s got children. One’s working and one’s at school. It’s hard.” Saints chief executive Mike Rush speaking out about the social media abuse head coach Paul Wellens faced during 2025.
“I spoke before the game about having big-game pedigree and that’s about understanding moments in big games. To our credit tonight, we weren’t perfect but we stuck to the task and played to the end. That shows you the rewards you can get. Sometimes emotions get the better of you but that’s not a bad thing in professional sport. It’s a tough job at times and to get nice moments like that is special. I couldn’t celebrate those moments without the hard work of the players.” Paul Wellens on Saints’ last-gasp 16-14 play-off win against Leeds.
“It was a really tough decision to leave. I’ve got nothing bad to say about the club. I’ve grown up in St Helens and it’s all I’ve known during my life, so this is a new experience. It’s a special place, special club and to leave did take a lot of thought. But I’m comfortable with the decision I’ve made and I can’t wait for the next challenge.” Morgan Knowles said after signing for the Dolphins following ten years at Saints.
In numbers
20 tries Kyle Feldt notched in his first season as a St Helens player following his move from the NR’s North Queensland Cowboys.
3,718 metres made by Tristan Sailor, putting him in the top five for the entire competition.
17 pairs of hands were involved in Saints’ last-minute try against Leeds in the play-off eliminator.
Highlight
There can only be one winner here – the eliminator play-off against Leeds Rhinos at Headingley.
With Saints having the ball as the hooter sounded, one final play, including the likes of Harry Robertson and Tristan Sailor, would finally see new signing Shane Wright dive over in what was quickly dubbed the new ‘Wide to West’ moment.
Head coach Wellens sprinted onto the field in absolute joy, whilst the scenes amongst the away end at Headingley were quite unforgettable.
Lowlight
The 34-4 loss to Hull KR in round 13 was the lowest point of Saints’ season, with the Robins tearing Wellens’ side apart with ease to register six tries.
A 20-12 defeat to Warrington in the Challenge Cup quarter-final would also signal yet another year without Wembley success.