St. Helens 2025 season review

Overview
Highs
Lows
2025 RLB Player of the Year – Morgan Knowles
Reasons to be positive in 2026
My 2025 prediction – 5th
Final 2025 position – 5th

Overview

For a club of Saints’ stature, 2025 was largely disappointing, but they still managed to get within 80 minutes of a Grand Final appearance.

A 5th-placed finish was a slight improvement on 2024 and they did pick up a couple of extra victories in the process, but they never realistically looked like being champions either.

On the plus side, they were solid defensively and boasted the third-best defence in Super League. They kept their opposition to single digits on 14 occasions too, but their inability to beat three of the four sides who finished above them meant they were always underdogs in the biggest games.

At the end of the season it came as no surprise when coach Paul Wellens’ contract wasn’t renewed.

Highs

One moment stands out a mile, and that was Shane Wright’s match-winning try in the play-off clash with Leeds at Headingley. With the final hooter gone and Saints having one play left to keep their season alive, they were seemingly heading nowhere. Then, a big shift over to the left eventually saw Wright cross over to leave the Rhinos shellshocked and the Saints ecstatic in one of Super League’s greatest moments of all time, as they won 16-14.

Lows

St. Helens’ shortcomings against the best sides were clear to see throughout the year. They faced Leigh, Wigan and Hull KR eight times over the course of the season, and lost all eight.

Recruitment and retention was more miss than hit too. The decision to give Konrad Hurrell a 12-month extension was a strange one, given that he didn’t play a single game and spent most of the season out on dual registration. Tristan Sailor was ok, but didn’t have the kind of explosive impact many people expected, while injuries played their part too, as they did with most clubs.

Lewis Murphy in particular was a player who looked to be on the right track when fit, but he only managed nine games in Super League.

2025 RLB Player of the Year – Morgan Knowles

Knowles was one of the standouts in Saints’ forward pack, with his form earning him a place in the Dream Team and the England squad for the end-of-season tests. It was a fitting way to bow out for Knowles, who’ll head to the Dolphins next year in the NRL.

Reasons to be positive in 2026

A new coach means new ideas, and Paul Rowley should find Saints a breeze after the nightmares he faced at Salford in 2025.

The squad’s been bolstered by some new faces with Super League experience too, including Joe Shorrocks and Jacob Douglas, but the really interesting one is former Kangaroos and NSW forward David Klemmer. At 31, he’s a little past his prime but there should still be plenty left in the tank for the World Cup-winning prop.

And, stop the press! Jackson Hastings is on his way back to Super League as well. The former Man of Steel will be a welcome addition in the Saints’ halves.