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9 minutes ago
St Helens boss Paul Wellens says the arrival of Eamon O’Carroll and Lee Briers to his backroom team can be the impetus his side needs to push on in 2025.
O’Carroll arrived off the back of coaching Championship side Bradford Bulls last term while England men’s assistant coach Briers joined having spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos in Australia.
The pair joined Saints as part of a revamped backroom line-up following a 2024 campaign which saw them finish sixth in Super League, with Matty Smith leaving to rejoin Wigan and France coach Laurent Frayssinous also exiting.
“I feel there’s always expectation around us as a club and this year is no different. Obviously we learned some valuable lessons last year and hopefully as a team we can grow off the back of that,” Wellens told BBC Radio Merseyside.
“I felt the environment needed freshening up a bit and that’s no slight on the people who aren’t here any more. Some fantastic people have left the organisation.
“Some new faces and new minds bring in fresh ideas, fresh enthusiasm for what we’re doing and when you bring in new ideas it brings in a new stimulus for the players as well.”
Having had a transitional year in 2024 following the end of their dynasty which saw massive success between 2019 and 2023, Saints have shored up their squad for the new campaign.
The club have signed Kyle Feldt and Tristan Sailor from the NRL while promising young players George Delaney and Harry Robertson have signed long-term deals ahead of Saturday’s season opener against Salford Red Devils.
Wellens says he will require flexibility between Sailor and full-back Jack Welsby over where each player fits in between full-back and stand-off this term.
“We have to have some flexibility there. It’s unlikely we’ll have both players there all year for every game,” he added.
“They’re both very accomplished in both positions which is a great situation to find ourselves in but we do want to settle on something pretty early.
“We have throughout the course of pre-season trained them both in both positions but come the weekend we’ll go with something we feel is the best fit moving forward.”
