Analysing the changes Lee Briers will bring to St Helens’ attack in 2025 including strengths and weaknesses

For many St Helens supporters, Lee Briers’ arrival cannot come soon enough – but they will have to wait for a good few months yet.

Briers is on his way back to Super League in 2025 to take up a role with the Saints and whatever title he ends up landing, make no mistake about it, his role is simple: to redefine and enhance St Helens’ attack. He will be solely responsible for the way the Saints attack next year.

What can supporters of St Helens expect? While he’s had great success with Brisbane’s attack, perhaps more notably in 2023, the best starting point to examine his style and ethos is just over the Billinge Hill at Wigan Warriors.

Although it was the Saints who ended up lifting the Super League title in 2022, Wigan’s attack two years was unquestionably the best in the competition in a whole variety of metrics: as well as arguably in terms of style.

Wigan scored 818 points in 2022; the next highest was Salford on 700. They were comfortably ahead of some of the game’s other top sides two years ago in that regard and when you consider Wigan scored 722 last year, and are on track to score around 740 based on their points-per-game so far this year, it’s clear they haven’t quite been as crisp post-Briers.

But it was the way Wigan played which is what earned Briers interest from the NRL. Briers’ attacking ethos is centred around support play – something the Saints have historically been good at too. Wigan were comfortably clear in that metric when Briers was heading up their attack.

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You could quite literally find any highlights package of the Warriors in 2022 and see an image like the one below but this one was in the derby against his future employers, St Helens, at the Brick Community Stadium.

Second-phase rugby, with players encouraged to flood onto broken play and support. As mentioned, St Helens already rank highly in the world game – not just Super League – for support runs so there will not be an enormous transition required in that regard. But Briers will attempt to take it to yet another level.

It was a style Brisbane adopted when Briers arrived at the club; he transformed their attack from one of the most rigid and ordinary in the NRL in 2022 to one of the most eye-catching, high-scoring within a season.

Only Penrith scored more points than the Broncos in 2023 and their success came in playing with more risk, and with more runners in support.

However, it is a style that does not come without its risks. Brisbane have not been able to replicate their success of last season, though they can still make the play-offs in the NRL: and they top the error count in the entirety of the competition.

It’s high-risk and when it works, it’s successful and it’s entertaining to watch. But it will lead to errors.

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Carries from back-field will likely also look different under Briers’ watch. Nowadays, clubs prefer their back five to do some of the heavy lifting early in tackle counts, to get them out of trouble and on the front foot.

However, the attacking structures Briers will likely favour are much more fluid and expansive. Expect more risks early in tackle counts, and more chancing of the arm, so to speak.

Wigan were brilliant at it in 2022, catching teams out. Brisbane were also superb at it last season. It’s no coincidence that the man who headed up both those attacks was the same.

Pace in the backs will be a priority, which is why the addition of Tristan Sailor is such a mouthwatering one to consider. He will likely go in at fullback with Jack Welsby at half-back; and you only have to find clips of what Jai Field was doing during 2022 under Briers’ style to imagine Sailor being capable of something similar.

With that in mind, the Saints may have to freshen up their three-quarter line a touch; the argument is perhaps that it is not the sharpest in terms of pace.  But despite the noise and hysteria surrounding the Saints at the minute, there are real foundations already laid for Briers to come in and build upon.

Nearly 30 years ago, Briers had to leave the Saints as a teenager because he couldn’t force his way into one of the most entertaining sides Super League has seen. Next year, he returns tasked with restoring the Saints’ reputation in that regard.

It will be fascinating to watch unfold.

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