As of May 1st players in Super League can officially begin contract discussions with rival clubs, however, for St Helens the biggest contract to deal with is that of Paul Wellens.
Thefirst-time head coach is out of contract at the end of the season with his initial two-year deal set to come to a close and Paul Wellens has now spoken on the looming matter.
Speaking during his presser ahead of Saints’ visit to Hull KR on Saturday, Wellens confirmed that he was yet to hold contract talks.
“I haven’t held talks yet,” Wellens explained.
“We’ll have to have that conversation and sit down at some point so we have some stability moving forward but I’m very comfortable leaving those discussions for now.”
Who do St Helens have out of contract?
Paul Wellens is among a number of key assets to St Helens that is in danger of leaving due to an expired contract with several high-profile players coming off contract at the end of the season.
Among those is Tommy Makinson with the winger widely reported to be heading to Catalans Dragons with the Red Vee having made a play to bring Tom Davies back the other way, something that Hull KR may have beaten them to the punch with.
There is also the Lewis Dodd reports with NRL side South Sydney Rabbitohs first reported as signing the 22-year-old almost a week ago, something that ex-Saint James Graham has since described as “done”.
Paul Wellens spoke on the issue of squad-building, something that would potentially imply he’s set to be around beyond 2024. Much of St Helens’ success during the Super League era has come on the back of home-grown talent, something that Wellens was himself an example of.
On recruitment, he explained: “Our model is that we always want to retain our better players. We’ve had a lot of success in doing that and had a number of players who’ve been here a long time.
“We always try to retain but should we have players that move on, as has happened in the past, and we have an adequate and suitable replacement in our club, then that’s great.”
There is plenty of players for Saints and Wellens to try and retain though with a total of eight players off contract, with an additional two who have options to extend as well as the pair of Makinson and Dodd who are reported to be leaving.
Should St Helens extend Paul Wellens’ contract?
In truth, this shouldn’t really be a question. Paul Wellens has taken to the role of head coach incredibly well, which was of no surprise given his immaculate IQ on the pitch during his playing days and the roles he has held post-retiring and before taking the top job.
There has been discontent among some St Helens fans of late with the lack of points put on the board being of concern, the Red Vee scoring just under 16 points in their matches against sides not in the bottom two.
By contrast, Saints beat both London Broncos and Hull FC by an aggregate score of 98-4, highlighting that the club are somewhat of a flat-track bully. Regardless, they sit atop Super League one-third into the season and are showing off a historic defence.
Saints have conceded just 70 points in their nine games, 56 fewer than any other side in Super League and that’s a testament to Paul Wellens and the work that he’s done with the club.
It also shouldn’t be forgotten that he has the incredible achievement of winning the World Club Challenge in his first official game as head coach. Mike Rush, get the contract lined up. Paul Wellens is a must-keep for St Helens.
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