Waddell's debut came in a match on September 3, 1910 against Oldham where he scored a try in a 16–5 victory “which delighted the Knowsley Road crowd. During his time with St Helens he made 97 appearances and scored 18 tries, for 54 points. After Waddell had been injured at Gallipoli he spent some time recovering in England. He was interviewed by the St Helens Newspaper and Advertiser on Friday, February 25, 1916 and said “I don’t think I shall play football again, but I shall go to see the boys on Saturday when they play Barrow”.