St Helens Head Coach: 11/8 Rowley the early favourite after Wellens exit

St Helens are being tipped to look at Salford Red Devils head coach Paul Rowley following Paul Wellens’ exit from the Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday.

Wellens, who led Saints to the 2023 World Club Challenge title in the first game of his coaching career, leaves the club after three years in which they also reached two Super League semi-finals and the last four of the Challenge Cup once.

But after the departure of the former Saints full-back of 18 years following their exit from the play-offs at the hands of Hull KR on Saturday, the 10-time Betfred Super League champions are now expected to make a move for Paul Rowley, whose reign at Salford Red Devils has been littered with financial issues and off-field trouble over the past 12 months.

Rowley is 11/8 the favourite for the Saints gig, with an expectation that Salford’s decision not to apply for a Super League in 2026 will lead to their coach seeking employment elsewhere.

The 50-year-old has led the Red Devils to two play-off campaigns in four years at the Salford Community Stadium, with a defeat at St Helens in the 2022 semi-final foiling their bid to reach the Grand Final.

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He was previously coach of the Leigh Centurions, leading them to two Championship titles, before taking on the same role with Toronto Wolfpack for the Canadian clubs first two seasons in the British pyramid.

Rowley is far from the only candidate for the role though, with Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner a 5/2 chance.

Gardiner could potentially follow in the footsteps of Kristian Woolf in taking up a dual role. The current Dolphins head coach won three Super League titles with Saints in three years, while also holding down his role as Tonga boss.

Having recently been announced as Mel Meninga’s assistant at the NRL expansion club Perth Bears for 2026, Gardiner could potentially be coaxed to change plans having just ended his spell as one of Ivan Cleary’s staff at Penrith Panthers.

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Elsewhere in the betting, former Saints forward David Fairleigh is priced at 7/2 despite having not coached a club since his spell as North Queensland Cowboys number two ended in 2019.

Since that time he has been coaching the NRL’s match officials, so it would be quite the key change for Fairleigh to be offered the lead job at Langtree Park.

Former South Sydney Rabbitohs boss Ben Hornby is at 5/1, alongside Adam O’Brien, whose spell with Newcastle Knights ended at the culmination of the 2025 season.

Daryl Powell’s name has also been linked, with the Wakefield Trinity coach a 7/1 chance in Betfred’s market.

Powell led Trinity back to the Super League top six in 2025 at the first attempt following promotion from the Championship. Previously, he had led Castleford Tigers to a Challenge Cup final, a Grand Final and the 2017 League Leaders’ Shield before moving on for a doomed spell at Warrington Wolves.

Former Catalans Dragons and England coach Steve McNamara is an interesting addition at 12/1, while Wellens’ former assistant Lee Briers is at 14/1 along with Saints legend Sean Long, whose Oldham side finished fourth in the Championship this season.

Long had previously led the Roughyeds to the League One title, and before that was eight points clear at the top of the Championship with Featherstone Rovers before being sacked over creative differences with the board.

But after the relative failures of Wellens and Keiron Cunningham before him, Saints may be wary about employing another former Red Vee playing legend in the role for some time to come.

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