5 off-contract Super League stars St Helens could target for 2026 including Wigan star

We may have only just started the new Super League season: but recruitment managers and chief executives across the competition are already thinking about 2026.

The changes to the rules surrounding approaching out-of-contract players means that clubs can do their business for next year and beyond far earlier than normal, with the previous May deadline now a thing of the past.

And of all the clubs likely to have a big winter in terms of player overhaul, St Helens will be near the top of the list.

Many of their big stars are off-contract, including almost all of their quota players. The signs point to a big turnover in their squad, with players including James Bell and Joe Batchelor set to depart.

But who could come the other way and through the door at the Totally Wicked Stadium? With dozens of off-contract players to go at.. here’s a look at some options.

Bayley Sironen

One Sironen may well be leaving at the end of this season, with long-serving forward Curtis off-contract and potentially heading home.

But could Catalans star Bayley be a player of interest? There’s no reason the Dragons wouldn’t want to retain him, he’s been very impressive this season.

The 28-year-old will almost certainly be a player in demand. The Saints are likely to need new bodies in the back row with so many players leaving – Sironen would fit the bill in some style.

Toby King

King, already a Super League winner with Wigan in 2023, has admitted he doesn’t know what the future holds at the end of this season, with his Warrington contract up.

The Saints have an intriguing prospect to ponder at centre. Mark Percival is certainly not getting any younger, and while Harry Robertson is fitting in there well, you wonder if that is a long-term option.

That could lean towards centre being a potential position of interest. There aren’t many on the open market better..

Loghan Lewis

Who knows what the situation will look like at Salford Red Devils come the end of this season. As it stands, Lewis has been dealing with an injury in the early stages of the season: but he’s also out of the club’s sustainability cap as it stands.

As we’ve mentioned, St Helens will have quota space coming up later this year. At the age of just 22, Lewis appears to have a huge future ahead of him. Could he be a player the Saints take a look at?

Adam Keighran

Okay, we appreciate this one is somewhat of a leap! But you never know, stranger things have happened – and players have transferred between Wigan and St Helens before!

Wigan may well move on from Keighran later this year, with Zach Eckersley almost certainly ready to start on a regular basis in the coming years.

Does that hint towards Keighran moving on? He’s certainly by no means done as a Super League player if he doesn’t want to be. The Saints might need a centre..

Tom Holroyd

The signs are pointing towards Holroyd re-signing at Leeds beyond the end of this season: a huge coup for the Rhinos.

But if that didn’t happen for whatever reason, and as the club look to rebuild their pack without Morgan Knowles next year, a player like Holroyd – already a Super League starter in his own right and with years ahead of him – could be a great option.

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