WHEN the hooter went at Old Trafford last month it brought down the curtain on another season, and another decade of Super League.

It has been a tough decade at times – one of transition, including Saints leaving their Knowsley Road home of 120 years.

We have also said farewell to some longstanding legends and welcomed some newcomers who have shone brightly.

At it also yielded two more Super League Grand Final wins for the men in the red vee.

During the off season we are going to take this opportunity to look at the players who have graced the red vee between 2010 and 2019 and ask fans to vote for their Saints team of the decade, position at a time.

First up we will look at the position of full back.

St Helens Star: Men of Steel: Paul Wellens and Jamie Lyon

Paul Wellens

Wellens was the incumbent at the start of the decade and having won every individual honour in the noughties – Harry Sunderland, Lance Todd and Man of Steel - he was not done yet

He had just turned 30 at the start of 2010, but he still had plenty to give and chalked up 20 tries in the 2010 campaign – the last one at Knowsley Road – but the year ended in Grand Final defeat.

Joint skipper with James Graham in 2011 – the tricky year on the road at Widnes, his leadership was key as Saints again reached the Grand Final. Alas Wello’s injury in contributed to a game going away from them in last quarter.

Given the armband full time in 2012 Wellens produced a skipper’s knock to rally the team at new ground after poor start led to sacking of Royce Simmons. He netted 24 tries that year, but the following season new boss Nathan Brown had other ideas about the full back role and he was turned into a utility player.

But injury to Jonny Lomax allowed Wellens a swansong – and he took it to skipper the team to the 2014 Grand final win over Wigan.

St Helens Star:

He limped off on Good Friday 2015 and retired needing major hip surgery after years of sterling service.

St Helens Star:

Jonny Lomax

Lomax first nailed down his spot in the first team at scrum half, but was moved to full back by Nathan Brown in 2013.

He repaid him immediately with three tries in the win over Bradford at Odsal.

There were aspects of full back that suited his style. Brave under the high ball and with a good step and jink linking up, Lomax’s stint in the number shirt was massively disrupted by twice needing major knee surgery.

St Helens Star:

Although he was dislodged from the full back role towards the end of 2017, when Ben Barba arrived, his ability in the role is underlined by his continued selection at international level in the role.

His spell at full back has also helped him on his return to the halves at stand-off, particularly his understanding of where and when his full back wants the ball.

St Helens Star: Ben Barba

The 2012 Dally M winner added a magical touch when he was Justin Holbrook’s calling card signing.

Saints were in the doldrums in 2017 – and the mere mention of his name created a tingle of excitement.

Fans had to hang around for a few weeks on his arrival, while he served his ban for taking cocaine but he slowly began to find his feet and played a part in Saints’ revival at the end of that season.

In 2018 he lit up the competition with 31 tries in 29 appearances and won the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award.

Highlights were his try on Good Friday and back-to-back hat-tricks against Salford and then Cas in the Challenge Cup.

St Helens Star:

Alas his last noticeable act for Saints was missing the tackle on Tom Lineham in the Super League semi-final that meant they ended the season with just a League Leaders Shield.

St Helens Star:

Lachlan Coote

Saints moved swiftly to bring in a replacement for Barba, signing Lachlan Coote from North Queensland Cowboys.

Coote has been different again, with his left foot kicking game being a solid part of Saints’ play in their Super League winning season.

The Scottish international has complemented the work of halves Jonny Lomax and Theo Fages and been a key component of the Saints attack with both edges benefiting from his vision and long pass.

His exploits in “setting up Tommy and Regan” were even celebrated in song this term, and he was no slouch himself in crossing the whitewash.

Last year he scored 16 tries, kicked 117 goals and a drop goal from his 27 appearances in the red vee.

His performances saw him in the running for the Man of Steel, but those were hit by a knee injury sustained in the middle of summer.

He recovered full fitness in time to help Saints to the title, with a quality contribution in the Grand Final.

St Helens Star:

You can vote in the ballot below or by emailing your full back choice from the four above to mike.critchley@nqnw.co.uk

The Saints team of the decade will be named at the end of the year.