Marc Bazeley
Jonny Lomax was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy for player of the match as St Helens clinched an historic fourth-straight Betfred Super League Grand Final triumph with a 24-12 win over Leeds Rhinos; The half-back had previously considered calling time on his playing days due to injury
Last Updated: 25/09/22 1:50pm
Jonny Lomax was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy for his part in helping St Helens to a fourth-straight Grand Final win
Seven years ago, Jonny Lomax was contemplating whether he would even play rugby league again. Now the St Helens half-back’s name is in the history books for his pivotal role in helping them to a previously unprecedented fourth-straight Betfred Super League Grand Final triumph.
Knee injuries and surgery which saw him restricted to 15 games in 2014 and only five at the start of the 2015 campaign had worn Lomax down to the extent he had told his father he was going to call time on his playing career as he could not see himself going through the long rehabilitation process again.
The support of his family and Saints team-mates helped get him through those tough times though, and now the 32-year-old is a four-time Grand Final winner and Harry Sunderland Trophy recipient for his starring role in Saturday’s 24-12 win over Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.
“If I do go back to 2014 and 2015 when I was going into my third ACL operation and the rest of it, I probably did think my career was done and I didn’t want to go through it all again,” Lomax said, reflecting on his personal journey in the wake of that success.
“Thankfully, I’ve got fantastic people around me at home and in my immediate family and the boys here.
“I’d decided in my head – probably purely on emotion because it was emotional at the time – that’s me, I’m done and can’t see a way back.
“There were a few things that happened speaking with my family that probably turned that around.”
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Highlights of the Super League Grand Final between St Helens and Leeds Rhinos.
Along with the members of the Rugby League Writers and Broadcasters Association who voted Lomax as winning of the player of the match award, one other person who was effusive in his praise of the England international was St Helens’ departing head coach Kristian Woof.
The Australian, who is now preparing to lead Tonga at the upcoming Rugby League World Cup before returning home for his new role with NRL expansion club Dolphins, went as far as put Lomax’s contributions to the team’s success during his three seasons in charge alongside those of the club’s inspirational captain James Roby.
“You talk about hard work, selfless acts and what you’re prepared to do for your team-mates and it’s not just about turning up for a Grand Final and doing that,” Woolf said.
“A Grand Final is a reflection of what you do all the time and Robes leads from the front and this team is a reflection of him as a person and in terms of his work ethic and who he is as a player.
The award is nice, but it’s that trophy we’ve lifted as a team is what it’s all about for me. I’d sacrifice anything individually to be a part of this team and come away with the silverware because of the principles we’re about.
Grand Final player of the match Jonny Lomax
“But I’d put Jonny in the same boat, and you talk about two blokes who lead a group in the right direction and in all those things.
“There are no two harder workers, better people or more honest people and they are the reason why there is so much success in this team.”
Lomax, in turn, was quick to highlight Woolf’s contribution to a team which were already Grand Final winners under his predecessor Justin Holbrook and have gone on to establish a level of dominance in Super League hitherto unseen since rugby league’s switch to a summer sport in 1996.
A large part of that, he believes, is down to the 47-year-old’s beliefs aligning with those of the players and St Helens itself – those working-class values which became entrenched on the back of town’s growth as the centre of the glassmaking industry.
Jonny Lomax’s 2022 Grand Final statistics
| Try assists | 1 |
| Metres made | 155 |
| Average metres gained | 6 |
| Tackle busts | 5 |
| Attacking kicks | 9 |
“The principles Kristian is about as a person tie in very well with us,” Lomax said. “It’s about hard work, being honest and keep trying to show up for your mate and that togetherness.
“Kristian has instilled that into us, and he’s definitely made us tougher as a team to beat. It’s not always a perfect game, but one thing he has made us do is compete hard and keep showing up for each other.
“It’s probably instilled into us as well because St Helens is a working-class town, it’s the principles it is built on and that’s what we want to put onto the field, and that’s something Kristian has been strong in his belief in.”
That attitude of teamwork making the dream work will undoubtedly continue whoever succeeds Woolf as head coach for 2023, when Saints will be aiming for a barely imaginable five Grand Final wins in a row.
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Jonny Lomax was proud of his St Helens team after they claimed their fourth Grand Final in a row after victory over Leeds Rhinos.
And while Lomax was proud to have been awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy, becoming the 11th individual St Helens player to win it since it was first presented in 1965, he would gladly swap it for another Grand Final ring.
“The award is nice, but it’s that trophy we’ve lifted as a team is what it’s all about for me,” Lomax said.
“I’d sacrifice anything individually to be a part of this team and come away with the silverware because of the principles we’re about.
“For me, it’s more being proud of being part of this group and that’s the biggest thing I’ll take away.”
