St Helens' Sione Mata'utia hints at U-turn on future plans after costly mistake

The Aussie ace, 28, made a large mistake to assistance acquisition Leigh triumph connected Friday but he's retired to atone erstwhile Saints play Warrington successful the play-offs - and has near the doorway unfastened for staying connected longer successful Super League contempt announcing instrumentality home

Sione Mata'utia says he’s acceptable to get implicit his gaffe and assistance St Helens marque history.

The Aussie second-row’s costly handling mistake talented Josh Charnley a precocious victor successful Friday’s 18-12 Super League epic. He was besides harshly pinged earlier connected for a artifact which saw Tommy Makinson denied a effort and coughed up the shot adjacent the extremity arsenic Saints desperately tried to rescue the match. Defeat mean Saints they dropped to a last finishing presumption of sixth and indispensable present sojourn third-placed Warrington successful their eliminator alternatively than hosting Salford.

No broadside has claimed the Super League rubric from sixth. Mata’utia, who has won 2 Grand Finals and a World Club Challenge with Saints since joining from Newcastle successful 2021, heads location astatine the extremity of the season. He admitted: “It’s not the mode we wanted to finish.

“But, successful presumption of the crippled itself, it was pugnacious and backmost and forth. It could person gone either way. It was astir apt a bully stepping chromatic into the finals: it was precise akin to what we’re hopefully going to spot there.

“We knew we had to excavation our mode retired of it. It was conscionable silly errors from myself and a fewer different individuals which fto them disconnected the hook. It was a disappointing crippled personally but it was astir apt what we needed moving into adjacent week. We’ll spot however we go. “We’ll effort and rejuvenate acceptable for Warrington."

Now they are into knock-out football, Mata’utia present ever knows his adjacent crippled could beryllium his past crippled with his beloved Saints. The fans favourite announced precocious that helium volition beryllium ending his four-year relation with the nine astatine the extremity of the play and heading location to Australia with his young family. Mata’utia, 28, said: “I conjecture I’ve been playing similar that since I started, particularly since I moved to England; each crippled was going to beryllium my past crippled due to the fact that I’m ever going to spell home.

“I didn’t cognize however agelong I was going to beryllium present for; I was lone going to beryllium present for 2 years and present I’ve been present for four. There inactive mightiness beryllium a accidental to stay. I don’t know. Officially I’ve said that I’m gone.”

The erstwhile Australia and Samoa planetary laughed erstwhile quizzed connected that past remark astir a imaginable U-turn. Mata'utia said: “I don’t know. I’ve been inactive trying to triumph implicit the missus. But we person to springiness the nine announcement arsenic well. I can’t conscionable support dangling successful beforehand of them. I’ll spell backmost location and reassess my concern whether I discontinue oregon not. We’ll spot however we go. But it’s each good.”