St Helens coach confirms Victor Radley interest amid star’s issues Down Under

St Helens boss Paul Wellens admits that Victor Radley is a player of interest to him and the club, with the England international reportedly needing a move away from Sydney Roosters.

Sydney-born Radley, who represents England through his Sheffield-born father, is currently embroiled in a drugs-related saga Down Under involving former team-mate Brandon Smith.

Former Kiwi international Smith will appear in court on Thursday, when he is expected to plead not guilty to unlawfully supplying a dangerous drug as well as using or disclosing inside knowledge for betting.

Radley has not been charged with any crime and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. However, he is implicated due to the fact police will present text messages involving the 27-year-old.

The Roosters do not want to terminate Radley’s contract, but have reportedly now told his management team to find him a new club, and urged them to do so in Super League.

St Helens coach confirms Victor Radley interest amid star’s issues Down Under

Radley has spent his entire career so far with the Roosters having made his NRL bow back in 2017, but the prospect of him featuring in Super League now appears more likely than ever.

And if he does, Saints wish to be involved in the discussions to bring him to the UK, as head coach Wellens confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of their final ‘regular’ game of the season at home against Castleford Tigers on Friday night, Wellens detailed: “There’s no doubting he’s a quality player.

“There’s obviously a fair bit going on over there at the moment with his personal situation, and I’m not privy to any of the information surrounding that so I wouldn’t want to comment on that one bit.

“But what I would say is that if a player of his quality wanted to come over to Super League, then we’d certainly like to be in the conversation there.

“But it would need to be under the right circumstances. There’s a lot going on, and I have to stress that he’s a player who is very attractive under the right circumstances.”

Sydney native Radley first donned a shirt for England in 2022, and is now closing in on the milestone of 200 senior career appearances.

He is able to slot into a handful of roles, but loose is his primary position: so he would be a direct replacement for the departing Morgan Knowles, who himself is heading to the NRL in 2026 with the Dolphins.

Wellens added: “I know he (Radley) is a good player and we’ve got players here that have played with him for England, and they all speak really highly of him.

“But other than that, I don’t know anything, I’ve not spoken to him personally.”

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