Paul Wellens named his very young St Helens team to play the Swinton Lions in their 2024 season opener. Konrad Hurrell, a former Leeds Rhinos player, was also included in the Saints’ gameday roster.
Hurrell spent three years with Leeds Rhinos before joining the Saints in 2022. He scored in the Grand Final to defeat his old team in his first season with the Saints.
He had a great start to the 2023 season, but injuries would later plague him. He will compete with recent addition Waqa Blake for a centre position in 2024.
Even so, Hurrell’s inclusion in this young Saints team was unexpected. Paul Wellens gave the following explanation on Saints TV:
Yes, I’m talking about Konrad, who was sidelined by an injury for a good portion of the previous season. He obviously played one test in the Test Series towards the end of the year against England. When Konrad came to see me, he seemed pretty eager and I was happy to encourage him to go for a run. However, I was not interested in playing for the entire eighty minutes.
“We just wrapped up a very demanding training camp in Cyprus on Wednesday, so a good number of players—Konrad included—probably carried some fatigue into that game as well. Still, it was fantastic to get out there and, more importantly for him psychologically, to get some playing time.
Paul Wellens selected a number of standout players for the Saints, even though Konrad Hurrell was the team’s most well-known player heading into the game:
“I just told the team in there that I was happy with everyone’s efforts. I believe they could have tightened the game a little bit if they had handled a few situations in the game a little bit differently. Perhaps he would have succeeded and won it on a different day. Jonny Vaughan in particular pleased me.
He began in the rear and ended in the middle. Looking at the try he scored, it seems to sum up everything Jonny stands for—competing and showing up when it counts. Additionally, he was the first to chase deep and catch the loose ball when they kicked early. Therefore, as a coach, I find those kinds of efforts especially satisfying. I believe there is some rust on everyone here. This time of year, that is a given. Additionally, the circumstances weren’t always the best players.
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