Wellens served as assistant coach to Holbrook and Woolf during a period of unprecedented success for the club as they won four successive Super League Grand Finals between 2019 and 2022, as well as the Challenge Cup in 2021.
He took over from Woolf following the 2022 season and went on to sign a contract extension with the club in 2024 to remain for the 2025 campaign.
During his time as head coach, however, Saints were dethroned by rivals Wigan Warriors, who began a period of dominance of their own during his tenure.
In 2023, Saints fell short of retaining their Super League title for a fifth successive season, eventually finishing third and missing out on the League Leaders’ Shield on points difference following a remarkable regular season campaign.
Their post-season hopes were ended by a 12-6 defeat at Catalans Dragons in the semi-final.
By comparison, 2024 was a difficult season for the club as Saints struggled with a large number of injuries and rarely looked in contention to win silverware.
They claimed the final play-off berth with a sixth-placed finish and pushed Sam Burgess’ Warrington all the way in their eliminator game before succumbing to a dramatic 23-22 reverse.
Despite an impressive start to this season, during which they scored a cumulative 166 points in their opening three games and conceded just six, their form tailed off around the midway point of the season and they eventually finished fifth.
They showed grit to come back and stun Leeds at Headingley in their first play-off game but could not pull off a surprise win at Hull KR in the semi-final.
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