The Winners: 2025 Kevin Thompson LDSL Awards Evening

On Tuesday 25th November 2025, we hosted the Kevin Thompson LDSL Awards Evening at the BrewDog Stadium!

The event was sponsored by JR Levins Solicitors. We would like to thank them for supporting the Saints Community Development Foundation’s Kevin Thompson LDSL Awards Evening.

First Team players Jonny Lomax and Noah Stephens were joined by former St. Helens Women’s player Naomi Williams at the event. We would also like to thank them for coming along and helping out during the evening.

We had five awards on offer during the evening in the Hall of Fame Lounge, with the event getting underway at 6pm and running for two hours.

The winners of each awards are as follows:

Coaches Player of the Year

Winner: Luke Evans

Head Coach, Gareth Foster: “What can you say about this lad? He leads by example, sets standards, encourages others to be better and helps less confident members feel more confident.

“He is everything we look for in a Saints player. The boy I met ten plus years ago to the man that is sat before us today, I couldn’t be prouder of the progression he’s made and that is down to people like Jodie Wetton, Victoria Kelly, Peter Eden and our very own Karen Sumner.”

Parents Player of the Year

Winner: Josh Bold

Head Coach, Gareth Foster: “The next winner is another guy who has been with me for more years than I can remember. His enthusiasm for Rugby League is unmatched.

“Josh is quite simply one of the most competitive blokes you could ever meet. His will to win sometimes gets the better of him but my word, give me ten of this guy!”

Players’ Player of the Year

Winner: Dillon Johnstone

Head Coach, Gareth Foster: “This, for me, is considered the best award of the evening, as it’s voted for by you, the players.

“Tonight’s winner is one of the most gifted in terms of the skill, ability and his Rugby IQ is natural. He just gets the game.”

Highest Attendee

Winner: Isaac Swift – Attended all 29 training session and festivals in 2025!

Head Coach, Gareth Foster: “The next person puts his all into everything and give it his all from training, to festivals, he plays his very best.

“This year he hasn’t missed a day of training or any festivals. So I would like to give this award to Isaac Swift.”

Most Improved

Winner: Evie McBride-Skeech

Head Coach, Gareth Foster: “This girl for me is one of the programmes biggest success stories. She has her issues away from the pitch health wise but her effort, enjoyment and commitment can never be questioned.

“On occasions, you literally have to force her to sit and relax. It gives me great pleasure to award this award to Evie!”

All 40 members of the squad on the night also received a certificate for their efforts during the 2025 season.

2026 is just around the corner, with our LDSL side due to return to training in March at Thatto Heath Crusaders. The session runs from 5pm to 6pm for anyone who wants to join the team, with the sessions FREE to get involved with. Further details will follow closer to the start of the sessions. In the meantime, you can send enquiries to [email protected].