The big games are designed for the big players to showcase their talents and to that end, Jack Welsby’s 100th St Helens appearance always had an air of inevitability about it. There has been no doubting for some time that the 22-year-old is one of the finest talents to emerge in British rugby league for years, and nights like these simply underline it.
Super League’s benchmark fixture, the derby between St Helens and Wigan, is often a tight, nerve-shredding affair. This was an exception to that particular rule as the side who have won the last four league titles emphatically displayed that the early-season slump which plagued them is now a thing of the past. They are just two points adrift of the top and have won five in a row in all competitions.
