TRISTAN SAILOR says he’ll be unafraid to take risks as he prepares for a major role in St Helens’ hoped-for revival.
A new arrival from Brisbane, Sailor has been handed the club’s number-six shirt and will form a spine with Jack Welsby, Saints skipper Jonny Lomax and hooker Daryl Clark.
The 26-year-old has been busy in pre-season developing an understanding with his team-mates that will allow him to express himself.
“I’m a very confident player. I use my speed and agility and ball playing,” said Sailor.
“I’ll be risky, I’m not going to lie, and sometimes it won’t come off, but I do take the risk because I believe in my ability to execute. It might seem off the cuff but everything I do is calculated in some way, shape or form.
“The boys know what I bring. I’m not comparing myself to him, but Percy (Mark Percival) was saying they had something like that with Ben Barba in 2018 (when the Australian won the Man of Steel). He had something off the cuff and the boys understand what that brings.
“It’s exciting that they are open to me playing my rugby, because the more open you are, I think the better I’ll play.”
Saints’ attacking game plan is being honed by Lee Briers, one of two new assistant coaches for this season alongside defensive guru Eamon O’Carroll.
England number two Briers returns to Super League after two years working alongside Sailor at Brisbane.
“Briersy and I get along so well and that’s been since day one of our first pre-season there,” said the halfback.
“Briersy had just come in too. He was in charge of our ‘reserves’ team in training against the NRL team and we were carving up the NRL team a bit, so he was promoted to be the proper attack coach.
“He’s one of the smartest footy brains I’ve ever met. The good thing about him is he’s not rigid in his ways. He’s open to everyone having their opinion and he’ll take it into account.
“At the Broncos you could see, especially in 2023, that he was able to get the best out of certain players like Ezra (Mam) and Reece (Walsh).
“He’s brought that to Saints. He has implemented attack systems in certain ways where everyone has a holistic understanding of what they need to do.
“I’m so excited because the system he’s brought in isn’t the same as Broncos but it’s something that will benefit our players and cause some headaches for defenders.”
Sailor revealed Briers’ ability to be several steps ahead: “I’m friends with Jai Field and he told me that one time at Wigan they had a Challenge Cup game after a (league) round game a couple of weeks earlier against the same team.
“Briersy changed their whole attack for three weeks so they studied the wrong thing, then went back to their old attack! That just speaks for him and how far ahead he thinks.”
