page_title: History of St Helens R.F.C.
section_title: The Potter years (2009—2010)
hierarchical_section_title: History of St Helens R.F.C. / Summer era / 2000s / The Potter years (2009—2010)
caption_attribution_description: English: Widnes Vikings vs St Helens Karalius Cup 2010. Taken from the North Stand at the Stobart Stadium (Halton Stadium)
context_page_description: St Helens Rugby Football Club was established in 1873 as St Helens Football Club. They are a founder member of the Northern Rugby Football Union, after the Great Schism of 1895. They played in the first ever Challenge Cup Final in 1897 and have since been winners of the competition on 12 occasions. St Helens have played in the premier competition of rugby league, the Super League for each of its 14 seasons to date and have won the title on 5 occasions.
context_section_description: Mick Potter was announced as the successor to Anderson, which received many plaudits from the St Helens fans and the European game as a whole, as the year previous he had led Catalans Dragons to a record—high third—placed finish in the league. On 9 August 2009, St Helens reached a record 9th consecutive Challenge Cup semi—final, where they were beaten by 24 points to 14 by Huddersfield. This prevented Saints from reaching the final at the new Wembley Stadium for a third successive time and from winning the cup for a fourth time running. This defeat naturally came as a shock to the St Helens faithful, after so often in the last 15 years seeing the team reach the pinnacle of this competition and go on to win the cup. It was from here that the criticism began, and questions were raised particularly of his tactics and his activity (or lack of) in the transfer market.
  On 3 October 2009, Saints defeated fierce rivals Wigan to book their place at a fourth consecutive Super League Grand Final,
  only to lose out to Leeds in the final, 18–10, making Leeds the only team to win the Grand Final three times consecutively. A 20—year—old Kyle Eastmond scored all of Saints' points. A trophyless year for the first time since 2003 was another catalyst to Potter's critics abusing and slating his appointment, with even rumours of rifts within the changing rooms.
caption: St Helens against Widnes Vikings in the pre-season 2010 Karalius Cup
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