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House of League: How St Helens have benefitted from demise of Widnes Vikings

St Helens and England star Jack Welsby.
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Look across Super League’s four winners, particularly St Helens and Wigan Warriors, and there’s a common denominator: youth development. For so long, the two competition giants have turned out top-quality youngsters who have become the backbone of their squads.

For the Saints, the core of their four-in-a-row success was built on the likes of James Roby, Tommy Makinson, and Jonny Lomax, but also those of a younger generation; Lewis Dodd, and Jack Welsby. At Wigan, it’s the same, with their current squad built on the likes of Brad O’Neil, Ethan Havard, Liam Marshall, etc.

Cracking that youth policy is evidently the key to success. We asked the question to Dave Lyon, part of Red Vee TV, on the House of League podcast, with the St Helens fanatic listing two reasons why the club’s production line is so good and what others can do to reciprocate it.

“You can’t do it overnight,” he said. “The foundation of St Helens, and it’s the same in Wigan, is their community clubs and the junior setups there. Last week, Paul Wellens and a couple of staff held a coaching masterclass. They got all the junior coaches in town into the room and went through it all.

“It’s the Saints ethos. In the community game, the amateur clubs from the age of six upwards are building towards the supply of players for Saints in the future. If you’ve got that base, you will get the best youngsters, and they will come through, make the academy, and then the first team.

“When you look at the success of St Helens, Wigan, Leeds over the years, it’s no surprise to see that the teams who are winning the trophies are the teams who develop and bring their own players through and then supplement them with imports.

“Saints have a conveyor belt, but I think where Saints have benefited, sadly, is from the demise of Widnes. We’ve got quite a lot of Widnes youngsters who come through our academy system, and it’s a real shame that such a hotbed in Widnes has essentially become a feeder town for Saints, but geographically, they are on our doorstep.”

House of League is back for the 2024 season with host Matt Shaw. You can listen to the latest podcast, featuring Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard, below or on your favourite podcasting platform.