Kristian Woolf says Jack Welsby is relishing in the extra responsibility of being St Helens’ first choice fullback.
The homegrown 20-year-old produced another assured performance in Friday night’s 20-4 win over Wakefield Trinity.
And Woolf believes the way he responded to mistakes in the previous weekend’s win at Hull FC shows Welsby’s character.
Woolf said: “He made a couple of errors last week and the real positive out of that was that he didn’t go into his shell.
“We’ve seen plenty of young blokes not go at the game as hard when they make a couple of errors.
“Jack did the opposite – he kept going, he kept playing the game and kept positive.
“He deserved man of the match last week even though he had those couple of errors.”
Woolf believes that his side has improved already with Welsby and scum-half Lewis Dodd handed key roles this year.
The duo – both 20 – have been given squad numbers one and seven respectively this year following the departures of established pair Lachlan Coote and Theo Fages.
But Saints have made the transition seamlessly in three straight wins, with Woolf also paying tribute to another new member of the team’s spine in close season recruit Joey Lussick.
Woolf added: “He’s done well and been a good foil for Robes.
“On Friday we played Robes for 50 minutes and that’s a good stint for him to play, it means we’re not dragging him along for long stints like last year.
“He gets a bit of a breather at the end of each game and we’ve got a bloke that can come on and make an impact each time.
“The way Joey kicks and can run out of dummy-half, he gives good service like Robes and he’s a good defender.
“I’m happy with what he’s doing and that’s what we brought him here for.”
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