Knowles to leave St Helens for NRL at end of 2025

Forward Morgan Knowles will leave St Helens at the end of the 2025 Super League season to join National Rugby League side The Dolphins in Australia.

The 28-year-old has played 220 games over a 10-year spell for St Helens, scoring 32 tries and winning multiple honours including four Super League titles.

The England loose forward joined Saints through the club's scholarship programme when he was 14 years old and made his first team debut in 2015.

He will join up with former Saints boss Kristian Woolf on a two-year deal at The Dolphins, which only formed professionally in 2023.

"St Helens is my club, I was welcomed with open arms as a kid, and I've gone from being a young lad to the man I am now and that's because of all the people involved at the club," Knowles told the club website., external

"I'll forever be grateful to the club for everything they've given me and my family.

"My decision to move on is not something I took lightly. When the opportunity came up, I did not wish to regret anything when the time comes to retire.

"I didn't want any ifs, buts, or maybes in my mind, and it's an opportunity for my family to experience a different way of life too.

"However, it is really hard because I believe in this group we have at Saints and that this year, and in the years ahead, we are going to continue competing for trophies.

"I know there is success on the horizon. To step away from all my friends and such a good place to play, it is extremely hard."

Knowles said he is "driven" and "more motivated than ever" to deliver success for St Helens in his final season.

"I'll be doing everything I can," he added. "I am 'all in' this year to give everything for the playing group who I owe so much to, and to our fans as well to repay all the love I have been given since joining Saints."

Head coach Paul Wellens said Knowles had "always been very open and honest" about his future and "expressed his love and admiration for the people who have helped him along the way".

"Naturally, we're disappointed that we are losing a good player, but we understand and respect Morgan's decision to explore a different opportunity," said Wellens.

"I think this decision makes Morgan more motivated than he has ever been, to go out in the right way."

St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus said Knowles will go down as "one of the great loose forwards in the history of our club".

"We fully understand and appreciate his desire to play in the NRL at this stage in his career and wish him and his family every happiness and success in their new life in Australia," McManus said.

"He will always be very fondly remembered at Saints and will undoubtedly receive the warmest of welcomes both in the club and in the town whenever he returns."