St Helens coach confirms George Whitby return as role against Hull FC revealed

St Helens’ interim head coach Eamon O’Carroll has confirmed half-back George Whitby will make his return from injury off the bench on Thursday night against Hull FC.

Highly-rated young playmaker Whitby, who turned 20 back in May, has been sidelined since undergoing knee surgery at the end of June.

The youth product had been expected to be out a while longer yet, but was named in O’Carroll’s initial 21-man squad ahead of Thursday night’s home clash.

And now, Saints’ interim boss has confirmed Whitby will make a remarkable return to the field against Hull, albeit in a reduced capacity off the bench.

‘He’s had one training session with the team, so George will be on the bench. We have to be smart in terms of his load and his game time’

O’Carroll is expected to remain in charge until the end of the season before departing for rugby union outfit Scarlets.

During his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he confirmed Billy Keeley would start on Thursday night having impressed on debut in defeat at York Knights last weekend.

On Whitby, the Red V’s interim head coach explained: ” He’ll play, George will play, we’re excited about that.

“He’s worked really diligently in his rehabilitation and his prehabilitation, the staff have been fantastic with him and he’s got an opportunity to come back early now, which is great.

“He’s had one training session with the team, so George will be on the bench. We have to be smart in terms of his load and his game time, but he’s excited and ready to go and we’re really happy to have him back in the team.

“There’s going to be an opportunity at some point during the game, if everything goes to plan, where he’ll get to play with Jack (Welsby), Harry (Robertson) and Jacko (Jackson Hastings).

“He’s played a lot of his rugby with Harry coming through the junior ranks, so they’ll have a good combination there and it might be the first time they’ve played in the halves together, which is exciting for the club.

“A lot of the decisions we’ll make now are to perform at our best and get into the play-offs, but we’ve also got to look to our future and give these lads an opportunity.”

‘I’d be doing him some injustice if I said it was luck, it’s certainly not with George’

Whitby marked his first-team bow for Saints with a try at home against Hull KR back in August 2024, and has now scored seven tries in 20 senior appearances across all competitions for the club as well as kicking 31 goals.

Including games played on dual-registration/loan for Halifax Panthers and Salford RLFC, his career appearance tally sits at 28.

Asked about the youngster’s swifter than expected return following his knee surgery, O’Carroll added: “I’d be doing him some injustice if I said it was luck, it’s certainly not with George.

“He’s fully invested in everything that he does, quite military in some respects.

“The way he lives his life, what he does in and around the environment… everything is done with a view to being better. That’s not just when he’s injured, it’s when he’s fit as well, so he definitely deserves to get back.

“The conversation with the physios now is that we want to be smart, particularly with a younger player, we don’t want to be putting him in a position where he’s vulnerable.

“But he was ticking every box, he’s fit and he’s strong… the knee feels good, he feels ready to go.”