The 2026 Saints Academy Tour, proudly sponsored by ASW Solicitors, is fast approaching its end but with it have been some incredible chances to work and see elite environments, and a former Head Coach of ours ensured our young men got to see up close an international side hard at work.
Kristian Woolf, now Head Coach of the NRL side, the Dolphins, and the Tonga Men’s national team, still has a lot of love for St.Helens and invited our Saints Academy Tourists to come and observe a training session as the Tongans prepare for their second match of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.
Tonga faced England in an opening round thriller last Saturday, winning 12-30 for a first-ever victory over England on the international stage.
Saints fans need no re-introduction to how good a coach Kristian is. As our First Team boss, he led our club to three Super League titles in a row from 2020 to 2022, a League Leaders’ Shield, and a Challenge Cup trophy. However, Woolfie has been involved with Tonga’s rise to the impressive international side they have now developed into since joining as an Assistant Coach back in 2013.
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With a few former Saints as part of the Tonga staff, including Will Hopoate and beloved fan favourite Konrad Hurrell, our young Saints visited again the New South Wales Rugby League Training Complex, home to the NSW Blues State of Origin teams.
Getting to train with Woolf taking charge of a field session, and then observe the Tongan team littered with stars across various positions.
Our young forwards could closely see how the likes of Jason Taumaolo or Addin Fonua-Blake prepare for matches, and a similar story for our aspiring pivot players who got to observe Isaiya Katoa, or our outside backs watching Paul Alamoti, Robert Toia, or Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
If all that wasn’t enough, during the Saints’ field session, former England and Great Britain international hooker Josh Hodgson also visited the team, sharing some of his experiences, especially with our young development hookers.
Kristian closed a truly special session by sharing with the Saints Academy just how special our club was to him, and how important and big St.Helens is on both sides of the rugby league world.
Away from one field, our team went to another hallowed piece of turf: the Sydney Cricket Ground (The SCG) for the traditional tour team photo.
This is our club’s ninth Academy Tour, and each one has had moments of tradition, and one of the most important is the team’s visit to the SCG. Around the Club at our training base at Cowley and at the BrewDog Stadium, photos of previous tours have pride of place, and our 2026 cohort will have their team photo join them.
The Saints also got to tick off a wish list activity by going scuba diving. As with all the fun engagements of the tour, it brought the group together to create wonderful memories.
Next up for our Academy: the big last match against North Sydney Bears on Friday afternoon.
