Waqa Blake will not be presented with a new contract by St Helens in 2025, the club has revealed. The center is one of seven players who will depart at the end of the current campaign; Konrad Hurrell’s name is not on that list.

Blake, a former center for the Melbourne Storm, was unable to duplicate his success in the NRL in England, so his Super League stay with the Saints ultimately proved to be fruitless.

He signed a one-year contract when he joined, but the Saints have stated that it would not be renewed for the following season. He played 24 games for the team in all competitions before being let go.

Hurrell isn’t on that list, though. Like Blake, he is off-contract at the end of this season but the Tongan international is not mentioned in the list of confirmed departures — presenting a clear signal that he is in talks with the Saints about a new contract into 2025 and maybe beyond.

Paul Wellens, the coach of Saints, recently said that the team would like to retain Hurrell if at all feasible, but he did not indicate that a new contract would be extended to him. But it seems like negotiations are still going on in order to keep Hurrell.

Several of the seven departures had previously been verified. In 2025, Tommy Makinson will depart the team to play for the Catalans Dragons, Lewis Dodd will play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL, and Sione Mata’utia will return to Australia.

Youngster Mackenzie Buckley is one of the other departing players; he will not be extended a contract. Young attacker Sam Royle, who made 28 appearances for the Saints first team, is also leaving.

utility return With Wellens leading the way, Ben Lane is the seventh player on the roster as the Saints prepare to enter a new chapter in 2025.

However, it’s unclear if Hurrell will participate in it.

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