Manu leaving Saints on a high

St Helens forward Willie Manu, who has now retired from rugby league, believes that a sense of destiny helped his team to their Grand Final win over Wigan on Saturday at Old Trafford.

When he joined the club from Hull FC for the start of the 2013 season, one of his aims was to win trophies.

He feels that Saints had to show great self-belief to come through a season where they were hit with a cripplingly long injury list.

“When I first started talking to Saints, the plan was to come here and win some silverware,” he said.

“Finally we’ve got there, so I’m loving every minute of it.

“We started off with that League Leaders Shield, but we knew that the job wasn’t done yet.

“So we worked hard through the adversity, and played for each other as a team, and I think it showed [on Saturday].

“I think we were just meant to win it this year.”

Manu is not the only player leaving Saints, with Sia Soliola, Paul Clough, Anthony Laffranchi and Richard Beaumont all set to depart for various destinations.

“For the boys who are leaving the club, what better end can you get than winning the Grand Final and the Super League Leaders Shield?” Manu added.

“With all the doubters against us, it makes it even sweeter.”