# 2015 St Helens RLFC season

The 2015 St Helens R.F.C. season is the club's 141st in its history; its 120th in rugby league. The Saints entered the season as defending champions after winning the Super League XIX title against Wigan Warriors 14-6 at Old Trafford after also winning the minor-premiership by topping the Super League ladder. Following the departure of previous head coach Nathan Brown, Saints entered the season with a new coach, former Saints player Keiron Cunningham
Saints began the defence of their title by playing the Catalans Dragons at Langtree Park which they won. In February Saints played the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the World Club Challenge which they lost 35-0.

## 2015 transfers in/out

In
| Player | Previous Club | Contract | Date Signed |
| Atelea Vea | London Broncos | 2 Years | July 2014 |
| Travis Burns | Hull Kingston Rovers | 3 Years | September 2014 |
| Matthew Haggarty | Dewsbury Rams | 3 Years | February 2015 |
| Shannon McDonnell | Wests Tigers | 2 Years | April 2015 |
| Adam Quinlan | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 6 Months | July 2015 |
Out
| Player | Signed for | Contract | Announced |
| Sia Soliola | Canberra Raiders | 2 Years | August 2014 |
| Anthony Laffranchi | Retired | N/A | August 2014 |
| Paul Clough | Bradford Bulls | 2 Years | September 2014 |
| Carl Forster | Salford Red Devils | 1 Year | September 2014 |
| Willie Manu | Retired | N/A | October 2014 |
| James Tilley | Rochdale Hornets | 1 Year | October 2014 |
| Gary Wheeler | Warrington Wolves | 1 Year | October 2014 |
| Richard Beaumont | Leigh Centurions | 1 Year | October 2014 |
| Connor Dwyer | Swinton Lions | 2 Years | November 2014 |
| Jordan Hand | Whitehaven | 1 Year Loan | December 2014 |
| Shannon McDonnell | Wests Tigers | 1 Year | January 2015 |
| Alex Clare | Released | N/A | January 2015 |
| Matthew Haggarty | Dewsbury Rams | Loan | Feb 2015 |
| Lance Hohaia | Retired | N/A | April 2015 |
| Paul Wellens | Retired | N/A | June 2015 |

## Other staff
### Technical staff

| Name | Job title |
| Keiron Cunningham | Head coach |
| Sean Long | Assistant coach |
| Jamahl Lolesi | Assistant coach |
| Matt Daniels | Head of strength and conditioning, head trainer |
| Ade Gardner | Assistant strength and conditioning coach |
| Joey Hayes, Nathan Mill and Adam Rowland | Physiotherapists |
| Craig Richards | RL Coach Development Officer |
| Steve Leonard | Merseyside RL Development Manager |
| Derek Traynor | ASSE Manager & Under 19's Coach |
| Ian Harris | Training steward |
| Alan Clarke and Stan Wall | Kit manager |
| Neil Kilshaw | Player Performance Manager |
| Paul Johnson | Club Chaplain |
| Derek Jones | Masseur |
| Kel Coslett | Gameday manager |
| Simon Perritt | Club doctor |
| Ian Talbot | Lead Community Rugby League Coach |

### Boardroom staff

| Name | Job title |
| Eamonn McManus | Chairman |
| Mike Rush | Chief executive officer |
| Colin Whitehead | Accounts |
| Dave Hutchinson | Head of Sales & Marketing |
| Paul Sculthorpe | Business development manager |
| Steve Law | Merchandising manager |
| Mike Appleton | Media manager |
| Mark Onion | Marketing manager |
| Christine Hesketh | Ticket Office manager |
| Peter Speakman | Lottery Operations |
| Helen Emanuel | Hospitality manager |
| Gordon Pennington | Saints Community Development Foundation |
| Bill Harris | Ground Safety |

## Preseason

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
Saints played two pre-season games to warm up for their title-defence. Both games were played at Langtree Park with the first match against Widnes Vikings ending in a 16-20 defeat and the second, against rivals Wigan Warriors ending in a 28-12 victory.
| Date | Competition | Vs | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Att | TV | Report |
| 18/01/15 | Friendly | Widnes Vikings | H | Langtree Park | L | 16-20 | Greenwood, Swift, Roby | Makinson (1), Hewitt (2) | 3,508 | No | |
| 25/01/15 | Friendly | Wigan Warriors | H | Langtree Park | W | 28-12 | Greenwood (2), Swift, Vea, Makinson | Makinson (4) | 6,888 | No | |

## Super League XX & World Club Series Fixtures/results

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
| Date | Competition | Rnd | Vs | H/A | Venue | Ref | Score | Tries | Goals | KO | Att | TV |
| 06/02/15 | Super League | 1 | Catalans Dragons | H | Langtree Park | P Bentham | 18-7 | Vea, Turner, Savelio, Makinson | Makinson | 20:00 | 12,008 | Sky Sports |
| 12/02/15 | Super League | 2 | Salford Red Devils | A | AJ Bell Stadium | B Taylor | 6-52 | Percival (2), Turner (2), Greenwood (2), Thompson, Makinson, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Savelio | Percival (6) | 20:00 | 4,975 | Sky Sports |
| 22/02/15 | World Club Series | - | South Sydney | H | Langtree Park | R Silverwood | 0-39 | | | 20:00 | 17,980 | Sky Sports |
| 27/02/15 | Super League | 3 | Castleford Tigers | H | Langtree Park | R Silverwood | 21-14 | Swift, Makinson, Jones, Percival | Percival (2), Wilkin (DG) | 20:00 | 10,066 | Sky Sports |
| 06/03/15 | Super League | 4 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | A | Belle Vue | R Hicks | 16-20 | Wellens, Greenwood, Turner | Percival, Makinson (3) | 20:00 | 9,676 | Sky Sports |
| 13/03/15 | Super League | 5 | Widnes Vikings | A | Halton Stadium | R Hicks | 20-30 | Hohaia (2), Vea, Thompson, Turner | Burns (5) | 20:00 | 7,772 | |
| 19/03/15 | Super League | 6 | Warrington Wolves | H | Langtree Park | B Thaler | 32-24 | Greenwood, Wilkin, Swift, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Makinson | Burns (6) | 20:00 | 12,618 | Sky Sports |
| 27/03/15 | Super League | 7 | Hull Kingston Rovers | A | KC Lightstream Stadium | J Child | 24-22 | Wilkin, Makinson, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Turner | Burns (3) | 20:00 | 7,311 | Sky Sports |
| 03/04/15 | Super League | 8 | Wigan Warriors | A | DW Stadium | P Bentham | 12-4 | McCarthy-Scarsbrook | | 15:00 | 24,054 | Sky Sports |
| 06/04/15 | Super League | 9 | Hull F.C. | H | Langtree Park | R Hicks | 20-28 | Makinson, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Turner | Makinson (4) | 20:00 | 11,088 | |
| 12/04/15 | Super League | 10 | Huddersfield Giants | A | John Smith's Stadium | J Child | 8-11 | Turner | Burns (3), Walsh (DG) | 15:00 | 5,825 | |
| 17/04/15 | Super League | 11 | Leeds Rhinos | H | Langtree Park | B Thaler | 16-41 | Makinson, Turner (2) | Burns (2) | 20:00 | 12,640 | Sky Sports |
| 24/04/15 | Super League | 12 | Widnes Vikings | H | Langtree Park | P Bentham | 34-16 | Walsh, Burns, Walmsley, Fleming, Makinson, Percival | Burns (5) | 20:00 | 11,271 | |
| 01/05/15 | Super League | 13 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | H | Langtree Park | C Leatherbarrow | 44-4 | Walsh (2), Charnock (2), Makinson (2), Turner, Swift, Masoe | Burns (4) | 20:00 | 10,001 | |
| 09/05/15 | Super League | 14 | Catalans Dragons | A | Stade Gilbert Brutus | J Child | 33-26 | Swift (4), McDonnell | Walsh (3) | 17:00 | 8,886 | Sky Sports |
| 22/05/15 | Super League | 15 | Hull F.C. | A | KC Stadium | M Thomason | 10-17 | McDonnell, Makinson | Makinson (2), Charnock (2), Turner (DG) | 20:00 | 10,320 | |
| 31/05/15 | Super League | 16 | Warrington Wolves | N | St James' Park | R Silverwood | 20-16 | McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Swift, Wilkin | Makinson (4) | 15:15 | 26,970 | Sky Sports |
| 05/06/15 | Super League | 17 | Salford Red Devils | H | Langtree Park | B Thaler | 32-12 | Makinson (2), Swift, Turner, McDonnell | Makinson (6) | 20:00 | 11,664 | |
| 12/06/15 | Super League | 18 | Wigan Warriors | H | Langtree Park | R Silverwood | 30-14 | Swift, Turner, Burns, McDonnell, Wilkin | Percival (5) | 20:00 | 15,500 | Sky Sports |
| 18/06/15 | Super League | 19 | Castleford Tigers | A | The Jungle | R Silverwood | 25-24 | Walsh, Walmsley, Greenwood, McDonnell | Percival (4) | 20:00 | 6,086 | Sky Sports |
| 03/07/15 | Super League | 20 | Leeds Rhinos | A | Headingley Stadium | R Silverwood | 46-18 | Jones, Turner, Amor | Percival (3) | 20:00 | 18,514 | Sky Sports |
| 10/07/15 | Super League | 21 | Huddersfield Giants | H | Langtree Park | B Thaler | 35-34 | Quinlan (3), Percival (2), Greenwood | Walsh (5+DG) | 20:00 | 11,164 | Sky Sports |
| 16/07/15 | Super League | 22 | Warrington Wolves | A | Halliwell Jones Stadium | J Child | 14-20 | Roby, Masoe, Turner | Walsh (4) | 20:00 | 11,618 | Sky Sports |
| 25/07/15 | Super League | 23 | Hull Kingston Rovers | H | Langtree Park | R Hicks | 52-12 | Greenwood (2), Burns, Dawson, Vea, Quinlan, Flanagan, Swift (2) | Walsh (8) | 20:00 | 10,781 | Sky Sports |

## 2015 squad statistics

* Appearances and Points include (Super League, Challenge Cup and Play-offs) as of 24 July 2015.
| No | Player | Position | Age | Previous Club | Apps | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
| 1 | Jonny Lomax | Fullback | 24 | St Helens Academy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Thomas Makinson | Winger | 23 | St Helens Academy | 19 | 17 | 22 | 0 | 112 |
| 3 | Jordan Turner | Centre | 26 | Hull F.C. | 23 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 61 |
| 4 | Josh Jones | Centre | 21 | St Helens Academy | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | Adam Swift | Wing | 21 | St Helens Academy | 26 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 6 | Travis Burns | Stand off | 31 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 23 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 68 |
| 7 | Luke Walsh | Scrum half | 27 | Penrith Panthers | 11 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 50 |
| 8 | Mose Masoe | Prop | 25 | Penrith Panthers | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 9 | James Roby | Hooker | 29 | St Helens Academy | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | Kyle Amor | Prop | 27 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 24 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Atelea Vea | Second row | 28 | London Broncos | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | (c) Jon Wilkin | Second row | 32 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| 13 | Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook | Loose forward | 29 | London Broncos | 24 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 14 | Alex Walmsley | Prop | 24 | Batley Bulldogs | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 15 | Mark Flanagan | Second row | 27 | Wests Tigers | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 16 | Lance Hohaia | Scrum half | 31 | New Zealand Warriors | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 17 | Mark Percival | Centre | 20 | St Helens Academy | 17 | 9 | 27 | 0 | 90 |
| 18 | Luke Thompson | Prop | 19 | St Helens Academy | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 19 | Greg Richards | Prop | 20 | St Helens Academy | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Paul Wellens | Fullback | 35 | St Helens Academy | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 21 | Joe Greenwood | Prop | 21 | St Helens Academy | 14 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 22 | Matty Dawson | Wing | 24 | Huddersfield Giants | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 23 | Jordan Hand | Second row | 21 | St Helens Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Andre Savelio | Prop | 20 | St Helens Academy | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 26 | Lewis Charnock | Stand off | 20 | St Helens Academy | 4 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| 27 | Dave Hewitt | Stand off | 20 | St Helens Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Jack Ashworth | Second row | 20 | St Helens Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Olly Davies | Second row | 20 | St Helens Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Matty Fleming | Centre | 20 | St Helens Academy | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Matty Fozard | Hooker | 20 | St Helens Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Matthew Haggarty | | 20 | St Helens Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Ricky Bailey | | 20 | St Helens Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Shannon McDonnell | Fullback | 27 | Wests Tigers | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| 35 | Morgan Knowles | | 20 | St Helens Academy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Danny Richardson | | 20 | St Helens Academy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Adam Quinlan | Fullback | 22 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
= Injured = Suspended

## Standings
### Regular season

The 2015 Super League season will see teams play every other team twice each, once home and once away, whilst playing one team for a third time at the Magic Weekend, which is a bonus round. After 23 games the league table is frozen and the teams are split up into 2 of the 3 "Super 8's". Teams finishing in the top 8 will go on to contest "Super League" and will all retain a place in the 2016 competition, as they go on to play 7 more games each, as they compete for a place in the Grand Final. Teams finishing in the bottom four (9-12) will be put alongside the top 4 teams from the 2015 Championship, in "The Qualifiers" Super 8 group. Where these teams will reset their season standings to 0 and also play 7 extra games each, as they attempt to earn a place in the 2016 Super League competition.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos | 23 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 758 | 477 | +281 | 33 | Super League Super 8s |
| 2 | St Helens | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 598 | 436 | +162 | 32 | Super League Super 8s |
| 3 | Wigan Warriors | 23 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 589 | 413 | +176 | 31 | Super League Super 8s |
| 4 | Huddersfield Giants | 23 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 538 | 394 | +144 | 28 | Super League Super 8s |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 547 | 505 | +42 | 26 | Super League Super 8s |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 552 | 456 | +96 | 24 | Super League Super 8s |
| 7 | Hull F.C. | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 452 | 484 | −32 | 22 | Super League Super 8s |
| 8 | Catalans Dragons | 23 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 561 | 574 | −13 | 20 | Super League Super 8s |
| 9 | Widnes Vikings | 23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 518 | 565 | −47 | 19 | The Qualifiers |
| 10 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 534 | 646 | −112 | 18 | The Qualifiers |
| 11 | Salford City Reds | 23 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 447 | 617 | −170 | 17 | The Qualifiers |
| 12 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | 23 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 402 | 929 | −527 | 6 | The Qualifiers |

### Super 8's

* Super League
The Super League Super 8's sees the top 8 teams from the Super League play 7 games each. Each team's points are carried over and after the 7 additional games, the top 4 teams will contest the playoff semi finals with the team in 1st hosting the team in 4th, and the team finishing 2nd hosting the 3rd placed team; the winners of these semi finals will contest the Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford. Teams finishing 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th after the 7 additional games will take no further part in the 2015 season and will play in Super League again in 2016.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos (L, C) | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 944 | 650 | +294 | 41 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 798 | 530 | +268 | 41 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Huddersfield Giants | 30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 750 | 534 | +216 | 38 | Semi-finals |
| 4 | St Helens | 30 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 766 | 624 | +142 | 38 | Semi-finals |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 731 | 746 | −15 | 32 | |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves | 30 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 714 | 636 | +78 | 30 | |
| 7 | Catalans Dragons | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 739 | 770 | −31 | 28 | |
| 8 | Hull F.C. | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 620 | 716 | −96 | 24 | |
| # | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information | Match Information |
| # | Home | Score | Away | Date and time(Local) | Venue | Referee | Attendance |
| Semi-finals ||||||||
| SF1 | Leeds Rhinos | 0 – 0 | St. Helens | 2 October, 20:00 BST | Headingley Carnegie Stadium | | |
| SF2 | Wigan Warriors | 0 – 0 | Huddersfield Giants | 1 October, 20:00 BST | DW Stadium | | |
| GRAND FINAL ||||||||
| F | Winner SF1 | 0 – 0 | Winner SF2 | 10 October, 18:00 BST | Old Trafford, Manchester | | |

## 2015 Tetley's Challenge Cup Fixtures\Results

LEGEND :
* Win
* Draw
* Loss
| Date | Competition | Rnd | Vs | H/A | Venue | R | Score | Tries | Goals | KO | Att | TV |
| 15/05/2015 | Challenge Cup | Round 6 | York City Knights | H | Langtree Park | W | 46-6 | Swift (3), Makinson (4), Percival, Flanagan | Makinson (3), Charnock (2) | 20:00 | 3,271 | N/A |
| 28/06/2015 | Challenge Cup | Quarter-final | Widnes Vikings | H | Langtree Park | W | 36-20 | Swift, Percival (2), Dawson, Amor, Turner | Percival (6) | 16:00 | 8,806 | BBC Sport |
| 31/07/2015 | Challenge Cup | Semi-final | Leeds Rhinos | N | Halliwell Jones Stadium | L | 24-14 | Percival (2), Savelio | Walsh | 20:00 | 11,107 | BBC Sport |