St Helens have been on a brilliant run of form as of late, winning 11 of their last 13 matches as they look t o topple rivals Wigan and finish in the top two at the end of the regular season.
Scoring plenty of points whilst conceding very little, the likes of Alex Walmsley, Moses Mbye and Morgan Knowles have been at their brilliant best for the Red Vee over the past few months.
Tristan Sailor is another man key to Saints’ good performances. With 39 try assists in 23 matches, the former Brisbane Broncos man has taken to Super League like a duck to water.
However, whilst his attacking flair has been a highly talked about asset of his game, Saints head coach Paul Wellens has highlighted and praised a more underrated part of the 27-year-old’s game.
Originally brought in as a stand off to combine with Jonny Lomax as the starting halves, the season didn’t start the way the Red Vee would have hoped, with questions raised about where Sailor’s best position was. A switch to fullback came in April, after two defeats to Warrington and a narrow win over Catalans suggested it was time for a change.
A win against Wakefield in round seven looked promising, but defeats to Wigan, Warrington for the third time, and Leeds implied that switching Sailor and Jack Welsby wasn’t the right idea.
However, a two-month injury to England international Welsby a month later gave Sailor another chance in the number one jersey, and second time around he has been one of the best attacking players in the league. 23 of his try contributions have come in his most recent stint at the back, showing his incredible versatility.
St Helens boss hails Tristan Sailor
Coach Wellens was asked this week in his weekly press conference just how important having a man like Sailor in his team is. Playing in four different positions across the year, Wellens said having someone who can cover multiple positions well is so important.
He said: “Sometimes within team sports you go through the course of the year, Tristan’s been a perfect example of that this year for us, someone who will do what is best for the team when it’s not necessarily what, maybe he wants or what’s best for him.
“You need a number of players, well you need all players with that attitude and Tristan’s been a shining example of that. He’s played at one, he’s played a six, he’s played on the wing, he even went into nine for a period of the game last week, so that’s a mark of a man, despite not playing in his preferred position at times, he embraces that because he knows that’s what helps the team.”
