Star Sport

The Jon Wilkin Column - 'Time to switch our focus to playing and winning'

10:05am Thursday 26th January 2012

It is great to be writing a column in 2012 for the St Helens Star in what promises to be an exciting year for me with my testimonial year starting in May after Ade Gardner’s finishes.

Ade and me have had an amazing journey together; we signed within 12 months of each other from rugby league out-posts Hull and Barrow - both on everyone’s list of places to visit before you die.

I am very proud of what Ade and me have achieved at the club and look forward to finishing our careers here together.

The good thing about this column will be that it gives me a chance to exact personal vendettas from the changing room.

Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook …should you be reading this....You hide my shoes every day....This is war... Louie brings a Teddy called Snuggles to training everyday….FACT.

Last Friday’s game against Widnes was everything you expect from a friendly, it was of varying quality and in fits and starts the game resembled a Super League match.

I make a comparison of playing your first game of the year to the first day back at school, you know what you are doing but something as simple as holding the pen feels strange.

Friday night saw the pen replaced by a ball and instead of unsightly handwriting you witnessed scrums, and instead of telling offs by the teacher penalties from the ref!

The result was given importance due to the history books but as a St Helens player you aspire to win every game you play, but honestly, the game was more about combinations and testing those out under fatigue and from that perspective the game was a success.

I am sure the St Helens RFC historians will be disappointed that the first try at Langtree Park was scored by a Widnes player!

Although it is fitting that Paddy Flynn, a native of 'tellins, crossed the whitewash for a hat-trick on the night - something I am sure he will be proud of for years to come.

In many ways I am glad the game is out the way now and we can stop focusing on the stadium and now just concentrate on winning matches this year.

After all that is what we are paid to do, not sit in a nice plush changing room admiring the oak and workmanship of our bespoke lockers in the dressing room.

I really couldn't care less about all those details.

Don’t get me wrong - I am happy we have a facility that will make the club money, keep fans comfy, fed and watered. Rugby is rugby and wherever you play the game it is the same, all that changes with venue is the mindset of the players within the game.

We have to forget about all the nice new bits and just get on with getting ready to win games and be a tough side to play against.

I don’t know about everybody else but the off-season leaves a little hole in my life, rugby gives me a focus to my week and much like the fans it is something to look forward to.

I miss the season because I love the games and the excitement of a match day. It is the best part of the job - the nervous anticipation, pure panic during the match and then the ultimate release of pressure when you win a game. The games are also a chance for me to see my family and friends after the match.

My Dad has taken to the new beer at Langtree Park - Saints Gold brewed by Robinsons. This bodes well for the club as my Dad is somewhat of a fish in the bitter drinking stakes.

I am sure the profitability of the business will be based on my Dad’s involvement this year.

Jon Wilkin

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