Jon Wilkin: Paul Rowley's St Helens dismissal after nine months doesn't surprise me - 'Fans voted with their feet in bizarre, sad time for club'
Sky Sports Rugby League's Jon Wilkin, who played for St Helens for 16 years between 2003-2018, says dismissal of Paul Rowley after just nine months and 23 games - the shortest tenure in history - 'did not surprise' him; Rowley left Saints day before club beaten heavily at Wigan Warriors
Friday 24 July 2026 23:01, UK
Sky Sports Rugby League's Jon Wilkin says the departure of St Helens head coach Paul Rowley did not surprise him, saying Saints fans voted with their feet amid a "bizarre time" for the club.
Thursday morning brought news out of nowhere that Rowley had left St Helens with immediate effect, a day before the club's big Super League derby clash away to Wigan which they ultimately lost heavily 38-16.
Indeed, Rowley had already named his squad for the contest, with his sacking at nine months and 23 games, the shortest St Helens coaching stint of all time, and the shortest in English rugby league for over 50 years.
"I'm not surprised," Wilkin, who played for St Helens for 16 years, said. "I think the writing has been on the wall for Paul Rowley at St Helens.
"The most telling thing in Rowley's demise was the attendance for the Catalans game.
- French stars as Wigan add to Saints' disarray
- Rowley steps down as St Helens head coach
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"It's a club that struggles commercially to make ends meet and is under all sorts of financial pressure, and when fans vote with their feet, and with the discord and the vitriol which they've shown towards the appointment of Paul Rowley from very early on in the year when he was at the top, the writing's been on the wall.
"For me, the fans are just simply not happy with the substance of the team, the personnel of the team, the style of play, and the change in tack from what's been a champion club.
"In 2024, there was an average of 13,000 at home games, and that fell to 11,000 in 2025. And tonight at Wigan, in a stand that holds 5,500, there are only 1,700 in there. Every time I played here, that stand was full.
"It's the lack of engagement with fans. And I think there's a disconnect between players and fans too."
Wilkin: A bizarre time for this great club St Helens | 'I find it desperately sad'
More from Sky Sports Rugby League's Jon Wilkin on the state his former club are in:
"If you think, only nine months into his [Rowley's] tenure, that he can't get a tune out of players and he's got a decimated team, he's had loads of challenges, but if they need to change the coach to get a group of players towards getting into the play-offs, I'm sorry.
"I was at St Helens for 16 years; it's the most un-St Helens thing that I've ever said.
"'We need to change our coach now to get into the play-offs and get our players motivated.' It's a bizarre time at this great club.
"It's a shocking position to be in. But I can't imagine they have made this call without making a plan.
"They are making some loose decisions at the minute, that's safe to say.
"They need a big personality, who gets a big club, to excite fans and players.
"I don't like the state St Helens are in. It makes me sad to look at that stand down there in Wigan. For a club that recently won four in a row, I just find it desperately sad."
Tomkins: Timing of Rowley dismissal is 'horrendous' for St Helens
Sky Sports Rugby League's Sam Tomkins said:
"It's the timing. The timing is horrendous.
"The day before a huge game, their play-off hopes sitting in the balance. The day before they play Wigan, they sack the head coach. It's a lot to process, and I'm as stumped as anybody.
"It could be they feel they're going in the wrong direction this year, although they sit in the balance in sixth, and they'll be looking for a big change in terms of performance on the field.
"You very often see it - a coach changes and the players respond, but it's a big gamble. It's just, again, bizarre timing. It blew my mind.
"I'm shocked. I certainly thought Paul Rowley had a little bit more time. Saints have been up and down this year.
"I don't think any coach of a top side after 20 weeks into a season, his first season, would decide that's his time to go. It will have been a conversation between club and coach, and they've decided that's the best way to go.
"It would amaze me if Paul Rowley took it on himself to say I want to leave. But we're a results-based business, and I don't think it's Saints have lost too many games this year, I think it's probably the manner in which they've lost at times.
"This is a side that has always made the play-offs. Never once have they missed the play-offs. There is a chance they could slip out of there.
"St Helens have gone: 'We make a decision now that we go in a different direction, and hope the players react to that and performance on the field changes'."
2026 Super League - key dates and what to look out for
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
