Jonny Lomax is calling on role models as he aims to make St Helens glorious again

JONNY Lomax is ready to lead St Helens back to glory with the help of former teammates, legends from other clubs and his family.

They, like his current colleagues, will determine much of the way he approaches his full-time captaincy.

And not being defending champions like the previous four seasons could be a good thing because it was a “pressure release.”

The stand-off has been given the armband permanently following the retirement of legend James Roby.

As he now prepares to do things his way, he will draw on his own experiences on and off the pitch, especially what he went through after suffering a brain haemorrhage as a youngster.

As well as reaching great heights with England, going back to his very first start at junior club Orrell St James will also be part of his working method.

Lomax said: “You learn so much by being around other people. I have had great captains at this club and at international level and people provide leadership in different roles even when they are not captains.

“I have experienced some good teachings and lessons. Hopefully I can do them justice and convey them in the right way.

“Sean O'Loughlin stands out, Sam Burgess another, along with James Graham. I could also go on and on about people like Elliott Whitehead. In my early years at Saints, I was able to watch people like Matt Gidley and Sia Soliola – great people with great values ​​and great beliefs.

“And you become a reflection of the people you spend the most time with. Surround yourself with good people, it gives you a good chance to have good values.

“Outside of rugby I had a good foundation from my family, they taught me good lessons from a young age. That helped me with the setbacks I had, because it taught me to persevere.

“If you pick the right people, you will be in good stead.

“I was captain of my junior club and a number of city teams in which I played. It's a little different than leading a group of men, but if you have a leadership quality, it's largely based on doing the right things.

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“Your voice has no power if you are not prepared to back it up with the right example. I've always had that, I've never asked anyone to do something if I wasn't willing to do it myself.

'Otherwise I'm a hypocrite. That also includes the difficult things.”

Not having Roby on the pitch isn't the only strange feeling that will surround St Helens this season; no longer defending the title will be either.

And 33-year-old Lomax believes the latter is not necessarily a bad thing, adding: “We consider last year's semi-final losses as a disappointment, even though we won the World Club Challenge won.

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“You only remember your last match. You're only as good as your last game and we came up short.

“But now that we've had time to think, if we'd made five in a row, we'd only want six and in a weird way there's almost a little bit of pressure relief, a little bit more freedom and a little bit more excitement .

'That should get us going after it again. I'm not saying we need to change everything, because we just fell short.

“But it gives you the opportunity to have more of a growth mindset, try new things and have a little more freedom, rather than trying to do exactly the same thing.

“That's exciting for us and it sparks a new hunger.”