Waqa Blake update as Paul Wellens discusses St Helens man’s future

Paul Wellens has insisted Waqa Blake’s priority has to be to find ‘consistency’ in his game before any discussions over a potential new deal at St Helens can begin.

Blake has had a hit-and-miss start to life as a Super League player since signing for the Saints in the off-season – but he did produce one of his best performances of 2024 so far in the Saints’ most recent outing against Castleford a fortnight ago.

He initially signed a one-year deal at the Totally Wicked Stadium – and Wellens stressed that any talks over an extension will have to wait until later in the year.

“We’ve not really had many discussions with his situation,” Wellens told Love Rugby League. “The focus on him is to get consistency in his game.

“He’s made some really big improvements in recent weeks. Because he came in midway through pre-season, we had to be patient with him. He’s also come over here on his own, and that’s always a challenge.

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“As the weeks go by, he’s getting that fitness base back, he’s a lot lighter and those improvements are showing in his performances.

“He’s a brilliant finisher, he took a lot of those tries extremely well and he carries the ball out of yardage well.”

Blake has spent the majority of his career playing centre in the NRL, but has been used at both centre and wing since arriving in Super League.

And when asked where he felt Blake was best suited to playing in Super League, Wellens said: “I think he’s a bit of both. I know his preferred position as centre, but in his NRL career he’s done a bit of both. Where we are at the moment, I think he’s better suited on the wing – but that’s not to say we wouldn’t use him at centre either.”

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