St. Helens entered their 137th year in 2009, and were in contention for of rugby league's Super League and Carnegie Challenge Cup competitions.
2009 season Super League XIV Round 1 Saints came back from a 14-nil deficit early in the second half to beat Warrington Wolves 26-14.
Round 2 Saints turned over the much improved from last season Huddersfield Giants 23-6.
Round 3 Hull Kingston Rovers inflicted Saints' first defeat of the season, with Michael Dobson scoring a late penalty goal to give the Robins a 20-19 win.
Round 4 Saints scraped past newly promoted Crusaders in the lowest scoring game in the Super League; Tom Armstrong scoring the only try in a 4-nil win.
Round 5 Saints brushed aside the Salford City Reds by 38 points to 12.
Round 6 Saints edged a heated epic with Leeds Rhinos - winning 26-18 at Knowsley Road.
Round 7 Saints hammered Wakefield Trinity Wildcats by 42-18. The Wildcats are in mourning for reserve player Leon Walker, who died in a reserve game.
Round 8 Saints scraped past a fired up Wigan Warriors outfit, winning 19-12 after being 6-nil and 12-6 down.
Round 9 Saints bounced Hull F.C. in the second game of the Easter period by 44-22.
Round 10 Saints became the first team in Super League XIV to surpass 60 points, winning 68-22 at Castleford. Tony Puletua scored 4 tries but the game is halted for 30 minutes as Joe Westerman suffered a serious head injury.
Round 11 Saints suffered only their second defeat of the season as Bradford come back to win 34-30.
Round 12 Saints produced arguably their worst display of the campaign, losing 38-18 to arch rivals Wigan at the Magic Weekend.
Round 13 Saints defeated Catalans Dragons for the second time in a week, by coming back from 22-10 down to win 32-28 to move them back to the top of the table.
Round 14 Saints survived a second-half rally from Harlequins RL to win 22-12.
Round 15 Saints eased past the challenge of Hull FC, winning 30-6.
Round 16 Saints thrashed Castleford for a second time this season in a 50 points to 10 success.
Round 17 Saints set a new record of 16 consecutive away wins in Super League after cantering to a 44-18 success over Bradford Bulls.
Round 18 Saints shut out the Celtic Crusaders for a second time in the season - in a 30-0 win.
Round 19 Saints lost their fourth game of the season in a shock 20-10 loss to Salford.
Round 20 Saints beat neighbours Warrington for the second time in the league, in another fantastic game, this time by a margin of 40-26.
Round 21 Despite outscoring their opponents Wakefield by 5 tries to four, Saints crash to their second defeat in three games, losing 22-20.
Round 22 Saints bounce back from two defeats in three games with a convincing 44-24 win at Harlequins to take them back to two points clear at the top of the table.
Round 23 Saints edge a third game of the season against Wigan, with Kyle Eastmond scoring a late try to secure a 10-6 victory.
Round 24 Saints lost their third game in six as they crashed to a 26-10 loss at Hull KR.
Round 25 Another below-par performance saw Saints scrape past a youthful Huddersfield outfit by 12 points to 10, after being 10 points down.
Round 26 In a much improved performance, Saints were edged out by bitter rivals Leeds 18-10 in a third superb encounter of the season to all but end their hopes of a fifth consecutive League Leader's Shield.
Round 27 Saints were beaten by Catalans in the last game of the regular season to finish second in the league ladder behind Leeds.
Challenge Cup 2009 Round 4 Saints edged past a second epic in two weeks against Leeds in a bruising encounter - pulling through 22-18.
Round 5 Saints thrashe Catalans Dragons 42-8 to reach the Quarter Finals.
Quarter-Finals Saints trounced a spirited Gateshead Thunder side 66-6 to advance to a record ninth consecutive Semi-Final.
Semi-Finals Despite a Francis Meli hat-trick of tries, the holders Saints were beaten 24-14 by Huddersfield.
Play-Off Series Week 1 Saints beat Huddersfield in Week One to progress to the qualifying round in a 15-2 success.
Week 3 Saints reached a fourth consecutive Super League Grand Final after beating Wigan in a thrilling 14-10 win. They will take on Leeds for a third consecutive time at Old Trafford.
Super League Grand Final Saints lost the grand final to Leeds Rhinos 18-10, this being the third consecutive Grand Final they lose to Leeds.
Upcoming Fixture(s)
Saints will round off their Super League XIV campaign against Leeds Rhinos at the 2009 Super League Grand Final.
News
It has been announced that, for the 2010 Super League Season, Saints have signed New Zealand World Cup winning Iosia Soliola from the Sydney City Roosters on a three-year deal. Additionally, Scrum-half Sean Long will be leaving Knowsley Road after a 12-year stint. He is joining Hull F.C. on a two-year contract. Lee Gilmour is also on his way out of St Helens. The second-row has agreed a two-year deal with Huddersfield Giants for the 2010 season. Young half-back Matty Smith will join Salford City Reds for the 2010 season in a loan agreement. Prop-forward Jason Cayless will be leaving Saints too after 4 seasons with the club owing to a shoulder injury. He will return to Australia. Hull Kingston Rovers prop Nick Fozzard will re-join Saints after being released from the final year of his Rovers contract.
Current squad
2009 transfers Acquisitions Acquisitions Player Signed from When SignedTony Puletua Penrith Panthers October 2008Iosia Soliola Sydney City Roosters (for 2010 season) May 2009Nick Fozzard Hull Kingston Rovers (for 2010 season) September 2009
Losses Losses Player Signed for When leftPaul Sculthorpe Retired October 2008Mike Bennett Retired October 2008Willie Talau Salford City Reds October 2008Dean McGilvray Salford City Reds October 2008Nick Fozzard Hull Kingston Rovers October 2008Steve Tyrer Crusaders (loan) June 2009Matty Smith Crusaders (loan) October 2008Sam Thompson Blackbrook ARLFC Contract terminated and player returned to amateur footballScott Moore Huddersfield Giants (loan) October 2008Sean Long Hull F.C. (for 2010 season) June 2009Lee Gilmour Huddersfield Giants (for 2010 season) July 2009
Fixtures and results Competition Round Opponent Result Score Home/away Venue Attendance Date Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Loss 26–28 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 4,128 27/12/2008 Friendly N/A Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 26–22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 3,549 18/01/2009 Friendly N/A Widnes Vikings Win 54–6 Away Stobart Stadium Halton 2,562 01/02/2009 Super League XIV 1 Warrington Wolves Win 26-14 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 17,009 13/02/2009 Super League XIV 2 Huddersfield Giants Win 6-23 Away Galpharm Stadium 11,338 22/02/2009 Super League XIV 3 Hull Kingston Rovers Loss 19-20 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,830 27/02/2009 Super League XIV 4 Crusaders Win 0-4 Away Brewery Field 6,351 07/03/2009 Super League XIV 5 Salford City Reds Win 38-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,723 13/03/2009 Super League XIV 6 Leeds Rhinos Win 26-18 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,966 20/03/2009 Super League XIV 7 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Win 18-42 Away Belle Vue 6,038 29/03/2009 Challenge Cup 2009 4 Leeds Rhinos Win 18-22 Away Headingley Stadium 17,689 05/04/2009 Super League XIV 8 Wigan Warriors Win 12-19 Away JJB Stadium 22,232 09/04/2009 Super League XIV 9 Hull F.C. Win 44-22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,684 13/04/2009 Super League XIV 10 Castleford Tigers Win 22-68 Away The Jungle 8,003 19/04/2009 Super League XIV 11 Bradford Bulls Loss 30-34 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 11,039 24/04/2009 Super League XIV 12 Wigan Warriors Loss 38-18 Neutral Murrayfield Stadium 29,687 02/05/2009 Challenge Cup 2009 5 Catalans Dragons Win 42-8 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 7,176 10/05/2009 Super League XIV 13 Catalans Dragons Win 28-32 Away Stade Gilbert Brutus 9,065 16/05/2009 Super League XIV 14 Harlequins RL Win 22-12 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,359 22/05/2009 Challenge Cup 2009 QF Gateshead Thunder Win 6-66 Away Gateshead International Stadium 4,325 30/05/2009 Super League XIV 15 Hull FC Win 6-30 Away KC Stadium 12,009 05/06/2009 Super League XIV 16 Castleford Tigers Win 50-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 9,680 12/06/2009 Super League XIV 17 Bradford Bulls Win 18-44 Away Grattan Stadium 10,599 21/06/2009 Super League XIV 18 Celtic Crusaders Win 30-0 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,684 26/06/2009 Super League XIV 19 Salford City Reds Loss 20-10 Away The Willows 4,808 03/07/2009 Super League XIV 20 Warrington Wolves Win 26-40 Away Halliwell Jones Stadium 12,075 11/07/2009 Super League XIV 21 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Loss 20-22 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,651 17/07/2009 Super League XIV 22 Harlequins RL Win 24-42 Away Twickenham Stoop Stadium 4,258 25/07/2009 Super League XIV 23 Wigan Warriors Win 10-6 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 15,563 31/07/2009 Challenge Cup 2009 SF Huddersfield Giants Loss 14-24 Neutral Halliwell Jones Stadium 10,638 09/08/2009 Super League XIV 24 Hull Kingston Rovers Loss 26-10 Away New Craven Park 8,976 16/08/2009 Super League XIV 25 Huddersfield Giants Win 12-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,708 21/08/2009 Super League XIV 26 Leeds Rhinos Loss 18-10 Away Headingley Carnegie 19,997 04/09/2009 Super League XIV 27 Catalans Dragons Loss 12-24 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 8,268 11/09/2009 Super League XIV Play-offs Qualifier Huddersfield Giants Win 15-2 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 6,157 19/09/2009 Super League XIV Play-offs Semi-final Wigan Warriors Win 14-10 Home GPW Recruitment Stadium 13,087 10/10/2009 Super League Grand Final Final Leeds Rhinos Loss 18-10 Neutral Old Trafford 63,259 17/10/2009
League table
2009 Squad As of 29 July 2009:
NumberNationalityPlayer namePositionWeight (kg)Height (m)D.O.B.Previous club1Paul Wellens (VC)FB961.8527/02/80St Helens Academy2Ade GardnerW941.8826/06/83Barrow Border Raiders3Matthew GidleyC941.8601/07/77Newcastle Knights4C51Francis MeliW1001.8827/04/79New Zealand Warriors62Leon PryceSO981.9109/10/81Bradford Bulls7Sean Long (VC)SH851.7524/09/76Widnes Vikings8Jason CaylessPR1061.9315/01/80Sydney Roosters9Keiron Cunningham (C)HK1021.7528/10/76St Helens Academy10James GrahamPR1061.8810/09/85St Helens Academy11Lee GilmourSR991.8813/03/78Bradford Bulls12Jon WilkinSR971.8501/11/83Hull Kingston Rovers13Chris FlanneryLF1001.8605/06/80Sydney Roosters14James RobyHK871.7822/11/85St Helens Academy15Bryn HargreavesPR1031.8314/11/85Wigan Warriors16 1Tony PuletuaSR1101.9225/06/78Penrith Panthers17Paul CloughSR981.8327/09/87St Helens Academy18Kyle EastmondSH751.6717/07/89St Helens Academy19Chris DeanC861.8017/01/88St Helens Academy20Gareth FrodshamPR1001.8918/12/89St Helens Academy21Gary WheelerSO871.7930/09/89St Helens Academy22Sean MagennissSR911.8202/12/89St Helens Academy23 3Maurie Fa'asavaluPR1051.9112/01/80Samoan Rugby Union24Andrew DixonLF941.8328/02/90St Helens Academy25Jamie FosterC851.8727/07/90St Helens Academy26Andy YatesPR981.8623/02/90St Helens Academy27Jamie EllisSH851.7904/10/89St Helens Academy28Matty AshurstSR901.8601/11/89St Helens Academy29Tom ArmstrongW921.9012/09/89St Helens Academy30Jonny LomaxFB821.7704/09/90St Helens Academy31Jacob EmmittPR1021.8604/10/88St Helens Academy32Paul JohnsonC881.8713/03/88St Helens Academy
1 - Meli and Puletua won caps for New Zealand before switching to Samoa
2 - Pryce is of Jamaican origin
3 - Fa'asavalu switched his allegiance to England under the residency rule
References
External links St Helens' official website engage Super League official website