Where to go when you've reached immortality?

On Saturday morning, St Helens became just the second team in the history of UK Rugby League to travel to Australia, defeat the NRL champions and win the World Club Challenge. The only other side to achieve this feat was Wigan, who defeated Brisbane in 1994. A side that, almost 30 years later, is still talked about to this day.

In August 2019, St Helens went into the Challenge Cup Final against Warrington as huge favourites. Warrington were missing both regular half backs and took the game to St Helens. Warrington played to the best of their ability. St Helens froze on the big stage.

This wasn't the first time though. Between 2007 and 2011, St Helens lost five Grand Finals in a row. Between 2015 and 2018, they lost four Super League semi finals in a row. Between 2009 and 2018, they lost five Challenge Cup semi finals. The personnel changed but, more often than not, St Helens failed on the biggest of occasions.

I have no idea what has happened since that scorching day in August 2019 but St Helens now seem incapable of losing a big game. They haven't lost a play off match since September 2018. They have won four Grand Finals in a row. They have now gone to the home of Penrith and defeated an NRL side that is considered a modern great. The only stain on the last few years are narrow Challenge Cup defeats to Warrington and Wigan.

This St Helens squad has now done it all. It has won the Super League title. It repeated the feat three more times. It ended a 13-year run without a Challenge Cup. League Leaders' Shields have been collected. Now, the mantle of the best club side in the world resides at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

They are led by captain James Roby. He's won everything there is to win in the domestic game at least twice. He's lifted every domestic trophy there is to lift, as captain of his home town team. He is his club's all time record appearance holder. At the age of 37, he is still the cornerstone of the team. 

There is a debate amongst some corners of St Helens support about who their greatest ever player is. A concern at recency bias holds some back from believing that to be James Roby. Yet he could scarcely have achieved more as a player. Even in St Helens (relatively) dry spell of winning one major trophy between 2008 and 2018, Roby was the force that kept St Helens still as a major player. If he is not the greatest, I'd love to know who is.

Even the younger players have done it all. Jack Welsby, at the age of 21, has won every team domestic honour in the sport available to a UK player. The last player to achieve this by that age? James Roby. Welsby, should he want it, will have the pick of NRL clubs waving contracts under his nose. With a new lifestyle and more lucrative contract, plus the chance to test himself against the best, few could hold it against Welsby if he was to take that chance.

The challenge now facing new Head Coach Paul Wellens is what do you do once you've achieved immortality? How do you keep a squad hungry and motivated when there is nothing left to achieve? The carrot of five titles in a row is probably the answer.

Wellens faced taunts in the latter stages of his career for losing five Grand Finals in a row. He described the experience as 'haunting'. Now, he has the chance to achieve the ultimate redemption and lead his men to winning five Grand Finals in a row.

This weekend, the new Super League season began. There are 11 teams who are desperate to knock St Helens off their perch. It will take an almighty effort to stop them.