Jonny Lomax says St Helens will draw on relative adversity and relish their unfamiliar role as underdogs when they kick off the new Betfred Super League season next week.

Saints saw their four-year reign end in a play-off semi-final defeat to Catalans Dragons in October, and will lose their status as world club champions to either Wigan or Penrith.

The 33-year-old Lomax, who was confirmed as his club’s new captain earlier this month, will also be leading Saints into something of the unknown this year following the retirement of talismanic hooker James Roby after 551 appearances.

But Lomax, the obvious choice to step into Roby’s shoes, believes the unusual situation will bring out the best in a club that had grown accustomed to both starting and finishing the season on top of the pile.

“Last season still hurts but having had the pressure of chasing more titles released in some ways, there’s a new excitement and a hunger to go out and chase it again,” Lomax told the PA news agency.

“It’s a nice tag being champions, but now someone else has to wear that and take the added pressure and scrutiny that comes with it.

“When you are winning all the time we are never satisfied. If we’d won the title last season we’d have wanted number six then number seven. When you’re chasing something, it really makes you appreciate the ups and downs that get you there.”

Lomax is better placed than most to acknowledge the difficulties of sustaining a career at the pinnacle of the sport.

He overcame a life-threatening head injury as a teenager, after which doctors told him he would never play again, plus three serious ACL surgeries that left him contemplating retirement.

Lomax admits that none of those setbacks were far from his mind when he was asked to replace Roby as captain by head coach Paul Wellens last month.

“I was a little bit taken aback and emotional when I was given the task,” he admitted.

“The good is never without the bad. We see the bad as something we want to push away, but the reality is that that’s where you learn the most – the good habits, the good practice, the resilience and desire to keep showing up.

“It’s probably more about the down moments. They make the highs feel sweeter, and they have probably shaped me into the person who others see as having the right mindset to lead by example.”

There were few higher points for Lomax than their stunning world club win over Penrith in Sydney a year ago, when half-back partner Lewis Dodd converted a golden point drop goal.

And the pain of seeing that title slip from their grasp – potentially into the hands of their Lancashire rivals – at the DW Stadium later this month, is evident for a player who signed for Saints as a 14-year-old in 2005.

But he believes the way in which Penrith responded to the crushing disappointment of their loss to Saints by going on to retain their NRL title last season provides a blueprint for a similar revival.

“To see Penrith go on and win it (the NRL) after that, and to see how that disappointment really drove them on, is a lesson for us,” added Lomax, who is anticipating Wigan’s crack at the Australian champions with mixed emotions.

“In some ways I hope they (Wigan) win,” he smiled. “The NRL is the pinnacle competition, certainly from a financial perspective, but at the same time I think we are guilty of downplaying our own competition a bit.

“We should be proud of the competition and the players we’ve got here. There are players who are certainly good enough to go to the NRL but for whatever reason they might not want to. I think we should champion ourselves a bit more.”

After combined careers totalling 865 domestic appearances, nine Grand Final triumphs and six Challenge Cup wins, two of rugby league’s most talismanic figures will take to the pitch in Perpignan on Friday in the knowledge that their game is almost up.

Either James Roby or Sam Tomkins will feature in their final match in the Betfred Super League play-off semi-final between Catalans Dragons and St Helens, with the winner earning one last shot at enhancing those already-historic statistics in the Grand Final later this month.

While Roby and Tomkins have been at pains to play down the significance of their impending personal retirements, the significance has not been lost on the sport with Saints head coach Paul Wellens convinced it may never again hail stars of such longevity and records of sustained success.

“They are maybe the last of their era,” said Wellens, whose side kept alive their hopes of rounding off 37-year-old Roby’s career with an unprecedented fifth-successive Grand Final win when they nudged to a 16-8 victory over Warrington last week.

“I don’t think anyone will be hitting the astronomical numbers that James Roby has hit in terms of appearances. Players get struck down more with concussions and suspensions and we are looking to reduce the number of games we play each year.

“Sam is someone I was playing against back in 2008 or 2009 when he burst onto the scene with Wigan in a play-off game at Knowsley Road.

“I was like, ‘who is this kid?’ because I was taken aback by someone who came onto the field and really troubled us that night. You just knew at the moment you were playing against a special player and that’s proven to be correct. He’s been one of Super League’s best ever.”

For Tomkins, who won three Grand Finals and two Challenge Cups with Wigan before moving on – via a stint in Australia’s NRL – to make a huge impact on Catalans’ development in 2019, the possibly of culminating his career by facing his former club at Old Trafford remains at the forefront of his mind.

Catalans were pipped to the League Leaders’ Shield on the final day of the regular campaign, but victory over Saints would confirm their second Grand Final appearance against the winners of Saturday’s second semi-final between Wigan and Hull KR.

“The dream ending would be playing Wigan at Old Trafford and winning,” admitted Tomkins.

“I want nothing more than to bring silverware to the Dragons, so to be able to be a part of it in my last-ever game would be a dream come true.

“I’d go as far as to say it would mean more to me than any other trophy I’ve ever won.

“All year people have kept saying, this is your last time doing something – the last time at Wigan, or the last time at St Helens. None of them have really mattered, but this one does.

“The last time playing at home will certainly be special, but I don’t want this to be my last game.”

Tomkins and Roby played together for England on numerous occasions – notably at the 2013 World Cup – and despite their enduring domestic rivalry as respective stalwarts of the sport’s most successful rival factions, the 34-year-old had plenty of praise for his rival.

“He’s been the most consistent player for well over a decade,” said Tomkins. “I don’t know how he is still going at his age. He is a legend of a bloke. Everyone in rugby league knows what a great servant to the game he has been – but hopefully it will be his last game this weekend.”

James Roby will keep his emotions at bay and focus on leading St Helens towards an achievement he believes would eclipse all others when he steps out on home turf for the final time against Warrington in Saturday’s Betfred Super League play-off.

The 37-year-old’s swansong at the Totally Wicked Stadium is guaranteed whatever the result, with a win propelling Saints into a semi-final against Catalans in Perpignan, and one game away from enabling Roby to fulfil his dream of signing off with an unprecedented fifth straight Grand Final win.

Beyond the business-as-usual mantra which has served the home-grown hero so well since he made his Saints debut as a teenager against Widnes 549 games ago, he acknowledged he will be stepping into the unknown when the final hooter brings an end to his last home appearance.

“My whole approach is that it is just another game, but maybe after the final whistle I might think a little differently,” Roby told the PA news agency.

“As of yet, it’s not sunk in that it’s the last time. I’m not the most emotional person.

“But I know after the game it might feel different, depending on the result and the atmosphere, if the fans are singing my name, a little bit of emotion might come out.”

Having announced in February that 2023 would be his final season, Roby, who would duly go on to break his club’s all-time appearance record, started the campaign by lifting the World Club Challenge trophy after a stunning upset win over Penrith in Australia.

The after-effects of that gruelling early trip threatened to curtail his career before the play-offs, with Paul Wellens’ men initially struggling to wrestle their way into the play-off positions before a late flourish sealed their customary post-season place.

Whilst he may be unsure about his emotional response to his final home appearance, Roby is crystal clear on what a fifth successive Grand Final crown would represent in the context of his already-glittering career.

“It’s the ending I would love to pick – to do five in a row, I don’t think that could ever be beaten by any other success I’ve had, or any accolade or praise I’ve had in the past,” continued Roby.

“It would be an amazing accomplishment for us as a team, and to finish on that, I couldn’t think of anything better.

“If you’d told me back when I made my debut that I would be in this position I wouldn’t have believed it.

“My mentality was, I’ve got my foot in the door a little bit here, don’t mess it up, keep your head down, keep your mouth shut and do what’s asked of you.

“It seemed to work well and before you know it you’re 20 years down the line and you’re getting ready to retire.

“I know for a fact I’ve been extremely lucky and privileged to do all this for my home-town club, and I’ll be forever grateful for everything they’ve done for me.”

Roby is honest enough to admit there is little about the matchday experience itself that he will miss: “I just look forward to coming to watch a game without the stress of having to play in it,” he joked.

His investment in the Saints’ cause will not end when he hangs up his famous red vee shirt this weekend.

Roby hopes his legacy of longevity will ensure future generations of Saints players maintain and extend the club’s dominant stature in the domestic game.

“I’ve never led this team on my own,” added Roby. “There’s a bunch of leaders in this team who are individually fantastic, but when it all slots together it becomes bigger than the sum of its parts and we can go on to achieve greatness.

“Hopefully a little bit of me and Louie (McCarthy-Scarsbrook, who is also retiring) will live on in the quality of those we leave behind, and it’s their responsibility and privilege to drive standards until it is their time too to pass on the baton.”