St Helens host Bradford Bulls on Saturday evening in a battle between third and fourth in Super League but there’s a host of players who won’t play, as well as plenty who remain doubtful.
Many will have expected St Helens to feature near the top end of the table but the success of Bradford Bulls, as well as fellow promoted clubs York and Toulouse, has been a welcome surprise in the early stages of the 2026 Super League season.
The Bulls’ home wins over Catalans Dragons and Toulouse Olympique have impressed but they now face the tough task of taking on St Helens away, however, the Red Vee are far from full strength.
Paul Rowley confirmed a fresh injury when speaking to the media earlier this week with England prop Alex Walmsley the latest big name to go down.
Ahead of the 21-man squads, we’ve looked at which players won’t feature on Saturday night and who is in with a chance as we take an early look at the team news.
St Helens team news
Walmsley’s foot injury will rule him out for around six weeks meaning he joins Jonny Lomax (wrist), Jack Welsby (shoulder) and Matty Lees (knee) on the club’s long-term injury list. Not only is each man out for an extended period of time, they’re all vitally important players.
One boost for Saints is that they came past Catalans unscathed bar Walmsley with Nene Macdonald’s substitution confirmed to be precautionary, so he will likely feature in the centres again.
Walmsley could be replaced by Noah Stephens, however, Stephens himself is a doubt. Named in last week’s 21-man squad, Rowley confirmed he was not fit to play and he’s said it could be a similar story this week.
Jake Wingfield and Mark Percival also fall into that boat of those who have come close to being named so they’re also classed as doubts. Another who could add to the pack is Agnatius Paasi, who recently featured for the reserves.
Bradford Bulls team news
Like St Helens, Bradford have a number of players who are out with Jayden Nikorima arguably the most crucial. Kurt Haggerty confirmed that the half is progressing better than expected but he will still miss out.
So too will Jayden Okunbor, Dan Russell and Ebon Scurr whilst Joe Keyes remains a doubt due to a back issue. Guy Armitage could return this week but Will Gardiner is another who will miss out. The ex-Hull FC man hasn’t featured yet in Super League after suffering an injury in January.
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