St Helens are approaching the 2026 season with a fresh feel to them after parting ways with head coach Paul Wellens.
The change was a controversial one at the time but the appointment of Paul Rowley will give everyone at St Helens belief that they can push on towards the top of the Super League table next year.
Rowley has been backed with a handful of signings and most of those new additions have come in the pack, with Joe Shorrocks being the latest arrival from Salford Red Devils. He joins his former Salford teammate Shane Wright, David Klemmer, Jacob Host and Jacob Douglas in making the switch to the newly renamed BrewDog Stadium.
Those signings follow the departures of Morgan Knowles, Moses Mbye, James Batchelor, James Bell, Jon Bennison and others.
So, as the Saints prepare to return for the start of pre-season training, we’ve taken a look at how they might line-up come round one.
Well, the first big call Rowley looks set to make in his role on Merseyside is at full-back. Jack Welsby and Tristan Sailor both prefer to play at number one and neither have looked particularly comfortable in the halves.
Welsby won’t look back too fondly on 2025, with a poor Ashes campaign bringing an end to a difficult season for him. But, he probably still edges Sailor out of the starting fold with the Australian perhaps posing a threat and providing cover for a number of positions off the bench.
A three quarter line of Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Mark Percival and Lewis Murphy looks strong, with Jonny Lomax and George Whitby a potential half-back pairing. Whitby impressed last year before Wellens removed him from the side, but the experience of Lomax alongside him will certainly be beneficial.
Matty Lees and Daryl Clark will definitely start at eight and nine and they could be joined up front by former Australia international Klemmer. The forward has been touted as potential replacement for Knowles at 13, but he has spent the majority of his career as a prop and the squad certainly feels more balanced with him in the front-row.
Host and either Wright or Matt Whitley look set to be the starting back-rowers, while Shorrocks might just be a useful addition at loose-forward.
Klemmer starting means Alex Walmsley could be asked to do a job off the bench alongside George Delaney with Noah Stephens set to be the middle forward to miss out.
How St Helens could line up in 2026
Potential St Helens 2026 line-up: Jack Welsby; Kyle Feldt, Harry Robertson, Mark Percival, Lewis Murphy; Jonny Lomax, George Whitby; David Klemmer, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees; Matt Whitley, Jacob Host; Joe Shorrocks
Bench: Shane Wright, Tristan Sailor, George Delaney, Alex Walmsley.
