Analysis – Matt Newsum, BBC Sport rugby league journalist
Rowley’s appointment should fill fans with excitement at the prospect of attacking rugby league given the evidence of his time in charge at Salford, Toronto and Leigh previously.
While defensive steel was set in place by Woolf and continued under Wellens, Saints have never quite taken the handbrake off going forward in the same way since Holbrook departed after 2019.
Rowley’s sides have had flair as a hallmark, and the way in which his Salford team unpicked the visiting champions-elect Saints in 2022 remains a masterclass in breaking down elite defence.
Popular with his players, Rowley has evoked loyalty wherever he has coached, and it has paid off. Leigh were led into Super League, he established a completely new club in Toronto and at Salford he helped deliver play-off campaigns as a regular occurrence before their off-field issues bit this season.
Saints will be his biggest job yet, but it is an opportunity hard earned after building excellent squads and delivering progress throughout his career.
To some extent it is a different challenge to what Rowley has been used to, getting the best from elite players such as Jack Welsby and young Harry Robertson, rather than building a team from those perhaps not necessarily deemed to be at the top of the game.