CALLUM WALKER reflects on a disappointing season for St Helens.
The hope
St Helens had a new coach at the helm in Paul Rowley – a man who had taken Salford Red Devils to a Super League Grand Final and somehow kept a team alive after insurmountable financial pressures.
Rowley had finally got his chance at the top end of the table and brought with him Jackson Hastings, Jake Shorrocks and Nene Macdonald.
These were players Rowley knew inside and out, with NRL forwards Jacob Host and David Klemmer bringing in experience and big-league nous.
There was an overriding feeling that the uncertainty surrounding Paul Wellens’ future – even after making the play-off semi-finals – hadn’t helped Saints in 2025, so the three-year deal handed to Rowley was expected to lay the platform for stability.
With Lee Briers and Eamon O’Carroll as Rowley’s assistants, it was an exciting triumvirate ready to take the bull by the horns.
The reality
Losing just three of their opening 14 Super League fixtures, Saints looked to be well in the driving seat for a top-four finish and a potential chance of silverware. Then, plagued by a massive injury crisis, they plummeted.
They won just three of their next eight fixtures, with a 46-0 home thrashing by Toulouse Olympique the nadir of the season.
Saints may have beaten Catalans Dragons straight after, but that didn’t save Paul Rowley’s job as the Lancastrian left his role in late July.
Things didn’t fare too much better under interim Eamon O’Caroll either, as he guided Saints to just three wins from their remaining eight fixtures, missing out on a place in the Super League play-offs for the first time.
Best players
He might have got a bit of criticism at times, but Jackson Hastings still created 29 tries during the Super League season – second only to Leeds’ Jake Connor.
To put things into perspective, Tristan Sailor assisted 15 tries. The swapping and changing of the St Helens spine didn’t exactly help the team’s attack, but Sailor still performed well in the outside backs.
Harry Robertson’s stock continued to rise as the 20-year-old received the Super League Young Player of the Year award for the second season running following a tremendous year playing at centre and halfback.
In quotes
“I would like to thank Paul for his commitment and extreme hard work as our head coach. He will always be warmly welcomed at the club. The decision was an extremely difficult one for all concerned, and we fully recognise the extra challenges that Paul faced with us this particular season. We as a club must now look forward and do all within our powers to preserve our position as the most successful club in the history of Super League and to restore our position as a silverware contender going forward.” – St Helens owner and Chairman Eamonn McManus after Paul Rowley departed.
“I’ve just mentioned it to the group – it’s obviously really disappointing. It doesn’t sit well with me that I’ve been a part of that, I won’t shy away from it. This group has had a lot of success, consistent success, so to experience a bit of adversity is good in some respects. I think moving on now, I feel the conversations with Eamonn McManus (owner) and Abi Ekoku (CEO), they have absolute clarity in terms of what needs to be done and I’ve every confidence they’ll do that.” – interim coach Eamon O’Carroll on St Helens missing out on the play-offs for the first time following a 48-10 thrashing by Leigh.
“St Helens are one of the most iconic and successful brands in Rugby League. I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead a club with so much history. I look forward to bringing my experiences as a coach and blending those learnings into the winning culture of St Helens. I look forward to being a part of Super League in 2027 with the Saints.” – new head coach Kevin Walters’ first words after signing a three-year deal from 2027 onwards.
In numbers
St Helens missed 957 tackles in 2027, with only Bradford Bulls and Hull KR having worse figures in relation to that statistic.
Tristan Sailor registered 3,724 metres – the fifth-highest in Super League.
Saints failed to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs for the first time in 64 years.
Highlights
There weren’t too many, but two five-match winning runs in the first half of the season saw St Helens hit first on the ladder by Round 11.
One of those victories was an 18-12 triumph over eventual Grand Final winners Wakefield Trinity whilst a 34-24 win on Good Friday saw Saints mount an incredible comeback against their bitter rivals Wigan. Saints would go on to thrash Wakefield 46-16 under Eamon O’Carroll also.
Seeing Harry Robertson receive the Young Player of the Year at the Super League awards night would have been pleasing.
The mounting injury crisis saw youngsters such as Cole Marsh and Billy Keeley make their top-flight debuts – and they didn’t look out of place.
Lowlights
Where do you start? Saints lost their head coach after less than a year, they failed to qualify for the Super League play-offs for the first time in the Super League era and they lost captain Matty Lees for almost all of the season through injury.
A 46-0 home drubbing by Toulouse Olympique proved to be the lowest of the low, whilst Saints also went down 32-0 to Wigan in the Challenge Cup and 48-10 to Leigh in the league. A 30-10 loss to Castleford was also damning.
Looking ahead
It will be another new era for Saints under new head coach Kevin Walters. A coach with remarkable pedigree, Walters won’t arrive until after the World Cup has finished, given his Australia commitments.
That could see Saints start the 2027 season perhaps slowly, but he will have four new big signings to play with in Solomona Faataape (Catalans), Christian Tuipulotu (St George Illawarra Dragons), Sean O’Sullivan (Canterbury Bulldogs) and Tom Starling (Canberra Raiders).
St Helens stalwarts Mark Percival and Jonny Lomax have both retired, whilst Jackson Hastings is expected to move on.
Saints leaked too many points in 2026, so it will be interesting to see whether Walters can rectify that.
