Waqa Blake’s Focus on Consistency Crucial for Potential St Helens Deal, Insists Paul Wellens
St Helens legend Paul Wellens has emphasized that Waqa Blake’s priority must be to find ‘consistency‘ in his game before any discussions over a potential new deal can begin at the club.
Blake, who signed a one-year contract with the Saints in the offseason, has had a mixed start to his Super League career so far. However, the Fijian international impressed in the team’s recent outing against Castleford two weeks ago, delivering one of his best performances of the 2024 season.
Wellens, who is the Saints’ head coach, stressed that any talks regarding an extension for Blake will have to wait until later in the year. “We’ve not really had many discussions with his situation,” he told Love Rugby League. “The focus on him is to get consistency in his game.”
The former Saints fullback acknowledged that Blake’s transition to the UK has posed some challenges, as he has “come over here on his own.” However, Wellens has noticed significant improvements in Blake’s fitness and performances in recent weeks.
“As the weeks go by, he’s getting that fitness base back, he’s a lot lighter and those improvements are showing in his performances,” Wellens said. “He’s a brilliant finisher, he took a lot of those tries extremely well and he carries the ball out of yardage well.”
While Blake has primarily played as a centre in the NRL, Wellens believes the 26-year-old is currently better suited to the wing position in Super League. “I think he’s a bit of both,” the coach said. “I know his preferred position as centre, but in his NRL career he’s done a bit of both. Where we are at the moment, I think he’s better suited on the wing – but that’s not to say we wouldn’t use him at centre either.”
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