St Helens chief executive Mike Rush has reportedly turned down the chance to move to St George Illawarra Dragons. That’s according to the Daily Telegraph, who claim the NRL side had been in advanced conversations with Rush about joining their organisation.
The report claims Rush was the frontrunner for the job, but it seems he will be staying put at the Totally Wicked Stadium rather than making the move down under. It comes following a Telegraph report in June 2023 suggesting the Saints man had shown an interest in the Dragons’ head of football role.
Rush is said to have laughed off those claims at the time when they were put to him by Sky Sports and he remains with the club to this day, of course.
The fresh links come following Ryan Webb’s resignation from the Dragons role in September 2024. Webb will remain in place until April but as it stands the club haven’t found a successor with Rush seemingly ruled out of the running.
Rush is no stranger to the NRL and spent a brief period of time working within the Brisbane Broncos set up before joining St Helens as an executive development manager in 1999.
-He has worked his way up the rankings in Merseyside, serving as a player performance manager for four years before taking on the high performance manager role alongside assistant coach duties. However he took the St Helens CEO job in November 2012 and he looks set to remain in that role.
Since becoming CEO he has helped oversee five Grand Final wins, including four in a row between 2019 and 2022. He has also seen four League Leaders’ Shield wins, one Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge success.
The Saints approach the new Super League season under pressure after slumping to a sixth placed finish in 2024, but with Kyle Feldt, Tristan Sailor and Lewis Murphy joining the club in the off-season alongside assistant coaches Lee Briers and Eamon O’Carroll, they will be confident of bouncing back.
