Paul Wellens makes St Helens ‘champion team’ claim after Warrington Wolves Challenge Cup defeat

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens insists they can still be a ‘champion team’ this year if they are able to take control of games more often.

Saints were beaten 20-12 at Warrington Wolves in their Challenge Cup quarter-final on Sunday afternoon, and with that defeat, their hopes of lifting the cup were shelved for another year having not tasted glory in the competition since 2021.

Sunday’s defeat was their second in just over a fortnight against the Wolves having been beaten 14-12 on home soil in Super League 16 days ago.

After six league games, Saints sit 4th on the ladder having won four: with Wakefield Trinity, Wigan Warriors and Warrington again on the horizon before April is out.

Paul Wellens makes St Helens ‘champion team’ claim after Warrington Wolves Challenge Cup defeat

At the heart of Saints’ problems so far this season has been an injury crisis which only got worse on Sunday, with both Jake Wingfield and Mark Percival failing HIAs.

Addressing the issue he faces of having to re-jig his side yet again for next weekend’s clash with Wakefield post-match, Wellens said: “I’m fine with it, I’m comfortable with it and the players are comfortable with it.

“We have to deal with the circumstances, there’s no point whinging and moaning about it.

“We’ll recover well from this game and find some solutions. Like champion teams do, and that’s what we want to become, champion teams handle those situations.

“That’s what we’re going to need to do.”

Saints haven’t won a major honour since completing their four-peat of Super League titles back with their Grand Final win against Leeds Rhinos in September 2022.

Wellens continued: “The work ethic side of things, we’re there as a champion team.

“The willingness to do it tough and turn up for each other is absolutely there, and that’s no surprise because there’s a large number of the team who were part of the team that won four Grand Finals back-to-back, so they know what it looks like.

“The other side of our game, having a bit more control in games, is the area that we need to improve.

“I am confident, and I know the players feel the same way, that we’re a team that is very much improving, but we still have to work really hard to make those improvements.”