‘Special’ Jack Welsby primed for milestone as St Helens boss reveals ‘scary’ thing about superstar

It’s hard to believe that Jack Welsby is still only 22 years of age given what he’s already achieved in the game, with a milestone appearance coming up.

The superstar full-back will make his 100th appearance for St Helens on Friday night when they take on fierce rivals Wigan at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Welsby’s rise to stardom since his first team debut in 2018 has been nothing short of exceptional.

He has already played in three Super League Grand Final victories, a Challenge Cup final triumph and a World Club Challenge victory in Australia.

And last year, Welsby played in his first World Cup, helping England reach the semi-finals. He was also named in the Super League Dream Team for the first time last season.

Joe Batchelor, a team-mate of Welsby for club and country, paid tribute to the full-back ahead of his landmark appearance.

He said: “I definitely knew he was going to be special from the start.

“You could just see from the way he moved and everything in training, you knew he was going to be special.

“If he does play his 100th game on Friday at such a young age, its testament to him. Jack has come in, worked hard, worked with the players around him and he’s a real credit to have around the place. I’m glad he’s on our side.

“His position is such a tough position and there’s loads of stats that people put alongside his position but he’s not worried about any of that, it’s like he’s just playing rugby on the park with his mates, that’s how he goes about things.

“He does so much hard work during the week that people won’t see, he deserves everything he gets in the game.”

Paul Wellens reveals the ‘scary’ thing about Jack Welsby

Photo: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com

Paul Wellens, a legendary full-back turned head coach of hometown club St Helens, says the ‘scary’ thing about Welsby is his constant drive to become an even better player than he already is.

He said: “I always a remember as a young player when we knew little about him – I coached him in the scholars when I first started coaching – but when he came into the first team, both Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd started opening up and scoring tries and you knew then you had something special.

“Obviously he has developed into a wonderful player but I can’t tell you how mature of a kid he is. What you get in sporting environments that a lot of the time you need to have open and honest conversations, you’ve got to be prepared to open up in front of the group.

“Jack’s had a really good ability to do that from such a young age. He’s so mature for someone so young and he adds so much to the group.

“He’s been part of our leadership group now for nearly 18 months and for someone who is only reaching his 100th game now, I think that speaks volumes”

“I was quite surprised when I did find out it was his 100th game when you think about what he’s achieved with the team and as an individual in those 100 games. It’s quite remarkable and we hope there’s many more success down the track for him.

“I think he can certainly get better. I’m in constant dialogue with him and when you’re a kid like Jack who reflects on his performances honestly and always looking for improvement… I think that’s the scary thing with the lad, he’s always striving to get better.

“He’s undoubtedly got huge ability already but he’s always looking for areas of his game where he can improve.

“I’m here to help him do that but my job is always made so much easier because of the way he approaches those situations, how driven he is to be successful and to be better as a player.”

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