\n The former hooker and captain, already on board as a club ambassador, says he is excited at the prospect of what the new full-time position entails and the impact it could have.\n<\/p>\n
\n St Helens\u2019 record appearance maker and multiple title winner has been appointed as partnership manager (commercial & community).\n<\/p>\n
\n James Roby, who wore the red vee with distinction in Super League for 20 years (Image: Allan McKenzie\/SWpix.com)\n<\/p>\n
\n The remit is wide and varied, which appealed to the 40-year-old with his deep-rooted passion, commitment and drive for the only professional club he ever played for.\n<\/p>\n
\n His brief includes being available to \u201csupport the club\u2019s performance squads and coaching staff\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n Roby, who made an astonishing 594 senior club and country appearances over 20 seasons before hanging up his boots in 2023, said: \u201cI’m really pleased to be returning in a new role.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cSt Helens has been such a huge part of my life, and I’ve always taken great pride in representing Saints. That hasn’t changed.\n<\/p>\n
\n James Roby in the early days of his 20-year top-flight playing career (Image: Simon Wilkinson\/SWpix.com)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe club means a lot to me, as do the people involved and the wider community.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere’s a great opportunity to build on the things that make this club what it is.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cUltimately, my job is to strengthen relationships and hopefully create new opportunities for the club moving forward. It’s a really exciting prospect.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The role will see Roby work across the club\u2019s off-field departments and alongside the Saints Community Development Foundation \u201cto add value to existing partnerships and develop new opportunities both commercially and in the community\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n Saints legend James Roby (Image: Allan McKenzie\/SWpix.com)\n<\/p>\n
\n He will also help strengthen the role of the club and the BrewDog Stadium as a civic hub for the region, bringing together local businesses, partners and supporters to build stronger connections within the community.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe variety is something that genuinely appeals to me,\u201d said Roby.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cSt Helens, like any organisation, has lots of different areas and operations, and I’m looking forward to continuing to learn more about them.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI’ve spent the majority of my adult life at this club, so I know the people and understand the things that have helped make it successful. It’s not just the players on the field.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n James Roby helping to prepare the team on a matchday (Image: Alex Whitehead\/SWpix.com)\n<\/p>\n
\n A key part of Roby’s new role will be developing relationships with the club’s commercial partners and enhancing existing connections.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cPeople who invest in the club have that affiliation with Saints, and they, just like everyone involved at Saints, want success,\u201d said Roby.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWe have fantastic commercial partners, and for me, this is a great opportunity to build those relationships further and make sure they feel part of what we’re trying to achieve.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Saints chief executive Abi Ekoku feels Roby\u2019s appointment reinforces the club\u2019s commitment to strengthening its ties with the town and the wider region.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ekoku said: \u201cHis on-field leadership was inspirational, and his passion for this club and community embodies what it truly means to be a Saint – relentless drive, dedication, integrity and results.\n<\/p>\n
\n “With James collaborating across our commercial and community teams, we will look to build new partnerships, alongside deepening our highly valued existing ones.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former hooker and captain, already on board as a club ambassador, says he is excited at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-818057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}