St Helens legend slams ‘poor’ recruitment after Leigh defeat as Paul Wellens airs frustrations

St Helens legend Jon Wilkin has taken aim at the club’s recruitment again following their latest disappointing defeat: insisting they have not taken the priority of having a ‘proper’ scrum-half seriously enough.

The Saints’ latest attacking reshuffle backfired again on Friday night, after they were well beaten by Leigh Leopards to consign them to a fifth-placed finish going into the Super League play-offs in a fortnight’s time.

Paul Wellens opted to go with a half-back pairing of Jack Welsby and Moses Mbye for that game, with captain Jonny Lomax on the bench and Tristan Sailor at fullback. It led to another disjointed display, and another below-par display for a side that look some way away from being Grand Final contenders.

And Wilkin admitted on Sky Sports post-match that the issues have been bubbling for a number of years, and that with the current options they have in the spine, and their shaky, questionable recruitment from overseas, it is no surprise they are under-performing.

He said: “It’s recruitment that’s the problem. St Helens’ recruitment and their overseas players has been poor for a period of time. Since Kristian Woolf, really.

“I just don’t think they’ve taken having a proper scrum-half seriously. Jonny Lomax is creaking, he’s been exceptional but what in the absence of George Whitby do they have? Moses Mbey isn’t the answer I’m telling you now. Jack Welsby, the best player in the competition at times, is out of the game.”

Wellens was left to admit after that game on Friday that his side are ‘not where they need to be’ with just one round of the regular season left in 2025.

He said: “Quite clearly if you look at the last three results, we’re not where we need to be. There are some mitigating factors there but the reality is we’ve conceded 28 points tonight and that’s not good enough. We need to be better there because particularly in the ruck, they were too quick for us.”