Joey Lussick: St Helens boss praises ’sharp’ hooker with ‘great contribution’ in win over Warrington

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens was delighted with the performance of Australian hooker Joey Lussick during the side’s 24-20 win over Warrington on Friday night.

Lussick, 27, was named on the bench ahead of the Super League Round 18 clash and was introduced to the action at the Halliwell Jones Stadium just beyond the 30 minute mark.

It was an earlier appearance from the interchange bench than usual for the ex-Salford number nine, with 18 appearances now to his name in 2023, including five tries.

He was recalled into first team action ahead of the clash with Castleford at the Totally Wicked Stadium, with boss Wellens admitting to a period of reflection after Morgan Knowles was utilised at nine during the defeat to Hull in Super League.

St Helens opened the scoring on against Daryl Powell’s side through centre Mark Percival, with James Bell also scoring for a 12-6 lead at the break.

Warrington fought from behind to gain a 20-12 lead in the second half, with Matty Ashton scoring his second and full-back Matt Dufty crossing for his eighth of the season.

However, Wellens’ side remained resilient and sealed the victory thanks to tries from star man Jonny Lomax and half-back Lewis Dodd.

Having praised veteran Lomax in the changing rooms following the triumph, which saw the side jump to third on the Super League table, Wellens also shared his admiration for Lussick in his post-match press conference.

St Helens boss Wellens pleased with Joey Lussick 

“My intention was to always try to get Joey out there a little bit early,” Wellens said.

“I thought he did a great job as well. He’s a sharp player, he livens us up around the ruck when he comes on and I think complements James really well.

“Obviously we got James back out there on the back end of the game, the wise old head who could manage it out.

“I thought both Joey and James had great contributions.”

The victory marked St Helens sixth in their last seven games in all competitions, with the world champions returning to their best form for the business half of the season.

It’s a short turnaround now for the Saints, with a home clash with Catalans ahead next Thursday.

“I think the way we kept turning up for each other in difficult moments and kept working hard defensively, they challenged us and challenged us a lot and a couple of times they opened us up,” Wellens said on his side’s performance against Warrington.

“I think even when you go eight points down and the crowd are right behind them [Warrington], for us to keep our composure and keep going about our business and flip the game on its head was really pleasing.”

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