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
| 2015 St Helens RLFC season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super League XX Rank | 4th | |||
| Play-off result | Leeds Rhinos 20-13 St. Helens | |||
| Challenge Cup | Semi-final | |||
| 2015 record | Wins: 19; draws: 0; losses: 11 | |||
| Points scored | For: 766; against: 624 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| Chairman | Eamonn McManus | |||
| Head coach | Keiron Cunningham | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Langtree Park | |||
| Avg. attendance | 12,364 | |||
| High attendance | 17,980 (vs South Sydney Rabbitohs, 22 February 2015) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Adam Swift (17) | |||
| Goals | Travis Burns (28) | |||
| Points | Tom Makinson (112) | |||
| ||||
Saints began the defence of their title by playing the Catalans Dragons at Langtree Park which they won.[1] 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 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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 |
2015 squad
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 | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
.png.webp){kind=icon}
= 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.
Table as of 26 July 2015:
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Pts For | Pts Agst | Pts Diff | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos |
23 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 758 | 477 | 281 | 33 |
| 2 |  St. Helens |
23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 598 | 436 | 162 | 32 |
| 3 | Wigan Warriors |
23 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 589 | 413 | 176 | 31 |
| 4 | Huddersfield Giants |
23 | 13 | 2 | 8 | 538 | 394 | 144 | 28 |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers |
23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 547 | 505 | 42 | 26 |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves |
23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 552 | 456 | 96 | 24 |
| 7 | Hull F.C. |
23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 452 | 484 | (-32) | 22 |
| 8 | Catalans Dragons |
23 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 561 | 574 | (-13) | 20 |
| 9 | Widnes Vikings |
23 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 518 | 565 | (-47) | 19 |
| 10 | Hull Kingston Rovers |
23 | 9 | 0 | 14 | 534 | 646 | (-112) | 18 |
| 11 | Salford Red Devils |
23 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 447 | 617 | (-170) | 17 |
| 12 | Wakefield Trinity Wildcats |
23 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 402 | 929 | (-527) | 6 |
| Teams qualifying for the Super League Super 8 Playoffs | |
| Teams in position to join 4 championship sides in the Super League "Qualifiers" Super 8's. |
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.
Table as of 25 September 2015:
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Pts for | Pts agst | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds Rhinos (Q) |
30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 944 | 650 | 41 |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors (Q) |
30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 798 | 530 | 41 |
| 3 | Huddersfield Giants (Q) |
30 | 18 | 2 | 10 | 750 | 534 | 38 |
| 4 | St. Helens (Q) |
30 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 766 | 624 | 38 |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers (U) |
30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 731 | 746 | 32 |
| 6 | Warrington Wolves (U) |
30 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 714 | 636 | 30 |
| 7 | Catalans Dragons (U) |
29 | 12 | 2 | 15 | 711 | 746 | 26 |
| 8 | Hull FC (U) |
29 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 596 | 688 | 24 |
(Q)= Qualified for playoffs (U)= Unable to qualify for Playoffs
| Team finishing top of the table, earning the League Leaders Shield | |
| Teams qualifying for the Super League 2015 Play off Semi-finals. | |
| Teams season is complete.. |
| # | Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
References
- "Super League: St Helens 18-7 Catalans Dragons". BBC.co.uk. BBC Sport. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
- "Team Coaching and Staff | Welcome to the Official Website of St. Helens R.F.C." Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Who's Who". saintsrlfc.com. 14 February 2015. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
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