George Whitby hat-trick sinks Catalans Dragons to raise St Helens' spirits
St Helens eased the pressure on their underfire coach, Paul Wellens, with one of their most encouraging performances of the season to defeat Catalans Dragons and lift the mood around one of Super League's most successful clubs for one week at least.
Having only just scraped into the playoffs last season, the side who won four successive Grand Finals between 2019 and 2022 look to be in danger of a similar fight this year. They started the weekend outside the top six with real pressure increasing on Wellens, one of the club's greatest-ever players.
They faced a Dragons side here without a number of their key players and with that in mind, you felt the onus was on Saints to go out and put on a display. They duly did that to run out comfortable winners with a much-improved display to move into the top four before Friday night's fixtures.
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This Saints squad is approaching a major rebuild, perhaps as early as this winter, with a number of their long-serving stalwarts approaching the end of their careers. But one player Wellens, or whoever is coaching the club in 2026, can build around is young half-back George Whitby, the latest talent from Saints' never-ending production line who starred here with a hat-trick.
The teenager scored two wonderful tries and produced a composed and measured display beyond his years to guide Saints to a routine victory. He opened the scoring after just two minutes when Tristan Sailor's wonderful break laid the platform for Whitby to break the deadlock, before Alex Walmsley forced his way over the line nine minutes later.
The Saints could, and perhaps should, have scored more points against a Catalans side visibly struggling after last weekend's bruising Challenge Cup semi-final loss to Hull KR. But after spurning several opportunities, they finally extended their lead when Deon Cross punctured the Catalans line four minutes before the break, before Whitby claimed his second on the hooter.
That made it 24-0 and at that stage, it was merely a question of how ruthless Saints wanted to be. The answer? Fairly. Sailor has had his critics since arriving from the National Rugby League and has played a plethora of positions, but he looked settled here on the wing, claiming a well-deserved try after a magnificent offload from Mark Percival.
Lewis Murphy then made it 34-0 with a flying finish before Whitby claimed his hat-trick after more exceptional buildup play.
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