Konrad Hurrell future latest as St Helens coach offers intriguing update on retention plans

St Helens coach Paul Wellens admits the club will sit down and hold talks with Konrad Hurrell ‘very soon’ – after admitting he would ‘love’ to keep him in 2025.

Hurrell will not feature for the Saints again this season after undergoing neck surgery. However, he has returned to the field to begin non-contact training and remains with the group as they prepare for the Super League play-offs.

His existing deal expires at the end of the current campaign, and Wellens admitted on Tuesday that he would be happy to keep Hurrell at the club if the deal works for all parties. However, Wellens admitted no talks are yet to take place – but they would do in the coming days and weeks.

Wellens said: “We’re going to sit down with Konnie very soon. He’s been an important part of our club and our team for a number of years now.

“He’s a well-liked member of the group and that’s why I’m desperate to keep him around the team, he’s such a positive influence. We’re going to have a sit down with Konnie and make some decisions. My gut feeling is he’s a player I’d love to keep around and we’ll have those discussions moving forward.”

Wellens also admitted that those talks must take place soon out of fairness to Hurrell. He said: “We can’t wait until November, that’s not fair on him.”

Should Hurrell stay at the Saints next year, it would almost certainly mean Waqa Blake exits due to restrictions on the Saints’ overseas quota.

Wellens admitted that unlike with Hurrell, the Saints will wait until the end of the campaign to have discussions with both Blake and fellow off-contract man Ben Davies on their respective futures.

He said: “We’ll wait until the end of the season. We’ve had discussions with both players. They’re in the picture in terms of what’s going on moving forward.”

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