The Saints’ #32 for 2025 talks about progressing into the First Team ranks, development experiences, and our youngsters’ desires to earn their places in the matchday squad.
Ciaran Nolan is available for player sponsorship in 2025, to express your interest please contact [email protected]
Nolan was one of our Reserves graduates to join this year’s senior St.Helens 2025 squad, and after a strong season it was a just reward for the 19-year-old hooker who came through our Scholarship and Academy teams too.
“I first started playing rugby league when I was about six years old for Latchford Albion for about three years. I actually started playing for the year above because my age didn’t have a team and I loved it, we then created a team so I dropped back down,” Nolan told saintsrlfc.com.
“Then I moved to Rylands [Sharks] when I was about nine, and I spent the rest of my time with them as my community club before joining Saints.”
Five years of hard work has seen Nolan play with our Under 16s, 18s, and then into our Reserves, where he was the starting nine in the Reserves Grand Final win over Wigan Warriors in September.
Ciaran’s aim was always to work hard and try to make it, and he knows he has to continue working hard if he is to earn his senior Saints debut.
“Obviously that’s the ambition, every kid growing up wants to do that but it’s a long process. It feels great to into First Team but I know that’s only the start of the journey. It’s similar when you first join the Club, there’s a lot more to learn and achieve for you to kick on, and that’s the same now at First Team. I’ve got a lot to learn if I want to achieve.”
Acknowledging the benefits of playing in the Reserves Championship, Nolan gets to come up against men of a similar age, but also some with more experience in that competition.
“It’s a step up in physicality, you could be playing against professionals that have played maybe a hundred games professionally, or even more. It is a unique experience, but the more you play, the more you find a way to cope with what those games demand.
“I think it will be the same in the First Team, in that; the more you’re exposed to it, the more you will learn off other people, by being a sponge to take in all you can, from the environment you are in.”
Further experiences came with our dual-registration partner Swintion Lions, who called Ciaran into their squad on three occasions last season. This meant that he made his professional rugby league debut with the Lions, which was a big moment for the young hooker.
“I loved that experience with Swinton and I felt I needed that raw exposure, going into a Championship game. By the second game, I felt like I could adapt a bit more to it to try and overcome the feelings of fatigue or maybe deal with the physicality that I wasn’t used to in that first hit-out.
“I definitely felt like I learned from those experiences. Growing up you want to play the game professionally and to be an athlete, so getting to achieve that last year was massive, and it was a proud moment for me and my family. But that was only a start, I’m even hungrier to play more games.”
That motivation will be a driving factor for his efforts in the Saints’ Pre-Season. With Daryl Clark and Moses Mbye to learn from too, Nolan will have two terrific mentors in his position to learn from.
“It’s tough, there are days where you feel like your body can’t give any more, but we know that when that season comes around, it’s all you ever wanted, to play matches. I feel like I’ve got a bit closer with Moses [Mbye], spending a bit more time with him and I feel like I’ve gravitated these past couple weeks to him, to learn off him, and that’s been really good.”
Nolan is one of our group of Saints who are striving to make their mark to impress Head Coach Paul Wellens. That same drive from all of our youngsters is a shared mindset, as all of those young men have come through our ranks around the same time, as Nolan reveals.
“I think it’s important for us because we have all come into this environment together, having played with each other as well for so many years. We’ve all got that same drive and motivation. Sometimes there might be days where one of us might be less motivated, together with the others we’ll just pick each other up. That’s really important to us as well.”
“To make my debut, it would be incredibly special, especially for my mum and dad who have done everything for me, they’ve been at every game I’ve ever played in. To do that for them, it would mean the world. For me, personally, it’s something that I’ve always wanted, so it would be absolutely massive.”
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