St Helens coach outlines Leigh Leopards plans as youngster’s recall explained

St Helens look set to move Moses Mbye into 9 for their crunch clash against Leigh Leopards: with highly-rated youngster George Whitby to partner Jonny Lomax in the halves having been recalled from Halifax Panthers.

Whitby – who only turned 19 in May – has already hit double figures for Saints appearances having made his senior bow last August against Hull KR, scoring a try and kicking a goal on debut.

The teenager has since gone on to feature nine times across all competitions for Wellens’ side so far this term, scoring a further four tries and kicking 29 goals.

Having played eight games on the spin, he hasn’t been able to work his way back into the side since failing a HIA in Round 14 against Salford, and had looked set to feature for Halifax on dual-registration last weekend.

But the situation has now changed dramatically, and he will get another chance to shine in Super League against the Leopards.

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St Helens coach outlines Leigh Leopards plans as youngster’s recall explained

Whitby was set to be named in the Panthers side for their Championship clash against Toulouse Olympique last Saturday. But the night prior as Saints ground out a 6-0 win away at Leeds Rhinos, they lost both Daryl Clark and Jake Burns to failed HIAs.

As a consequence, Whitby was pulled out of the Fax team at the eleventh hour having already donned their shirt twice this term on dual-registration, and will instead be thrust back into top-flight action on Thursday night.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ ‘The Verdict’ on Wednesday afternoon, Saints head coach Wellens detailed: “There’s a good chance George will come into the 17 this week.

“When he was out of the team, he found himself out through no fault of his own because he got a concussion.

“The two old stagers in Moses Mbye and Jonny Lomax have come into the team and done an exceptional job on both sides of the ball.”

Saints have now won five games in a row, and if they achieve a sixth straight victory on Thursday evening, they’ll leapfrog Leigh to move third on the Super League ladder.

Wellens continued: “Moses has controlled the game really well through his kicking game and Jonny has done what he’s done throughout his career which is to really compete well and to go a long way towards us (helping us in) executing our game plan.

“I’m really pleased with the effort of those two guys, and George Whitby is a phenomenal young player who will get plenty of opportunities moving forward.”

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