It is February 2023 and St Helens RFC have carved out a special slice of rugby league history.
Lewis Dodd’s golden point extra-time drop goal sealed a sensational 13-12 victory over the Penrith Panthers, arguably one of the greatest club sides of all time, in the NRL heavyweights’ own backyard Down Under.
After an unprecedented run of four successive Super League titles between 2019 and 2022, and despite the departure of their coach Kristian Woolf, with club legend Paul Wellens in charge, the future looked bright for the Red Vee.
Fast forward 41 months, and the situation and mood in this rugby league-obsessed town are far bleaker.
After Wellens was dumped from his position last October, despite getting Saints one victory away from a place in the Grand Final, former Salford coach Paul Rowley was drafted in. The ex-England international was seen at the time as the man who could bring an attacking style of rugby back to St Helens as they looked to reclaim their place at the top.
