Surprised there is no thread on this already.
Most consistent full back in Super League for well over a decade. 17 years in total as a pro and a key player for most of them.
Without doubt deserves the legend tag.

I wonder if this frees up some cap space for another full back to join them?

Hopefully.

Id say thats the reason hes done it now rather than try and get a few games later in the year when hes recovered from injury. IF thats the case, then its very sporting (for want of a better word) of him and shows his class

Who knows, he may do a Radlinski and come back and play for free

Just heard it on TalkSport ... real shame and a great player.

My favourite non-Leeds player for many years.
Sad he's had to retire so close to reaching 2 huge milestones but 18 years and 6 million trophies isn't bad.

Hope we see him back in the game somehow.

Total legend.

Who could forget his many bird flapping impressions to the officials?

In all seriousness, a top professional and one of the games' greats. (And isn't ruining his reputation by joining an RU retirement for one last big pay cheque. )

good luck to him, been a phenomenal player and professional.

consistently good in his prime...a great player of the super league era.

He's up there as one of the all time Saints legends for me.

Experienced the very good times, part of the greatest Saints side I've seen (2006), winning everything the game has to offer, played through the bad times including the 5 in a row, through the transitional period, then leading Saints to another GF last season.

Man of Steel winner, Harry Sunderland winner and 2 time Lance Todd Trophy winner. Not Many can say that.

If KC has his own statut built, then surely it's just a matter of time before Wellens has his own.

Oustanding.

I think he's arguably the best player I've seen in my lifetime at Saints. Oddly, it's less an issue of the skills and talents he possessed - but rather the many he did not.

I can think of no-one at Saints (with the possible exception of James Roby) who has achieved so much with so little. Whilst Paul did have good footwork from the beginning - he was never quick. He was never quick-off-the-mark. He is not a big man etc. etc.

For a good eighteen months after breaking into the side he really did flounder. Was he a scrum-half? Was he a stand-off? Not really. When he got his first opportunity at full-back I wouldn't have bet a penny on him still being at the club today with 200 tries.

A think a lot of fans (regardless of their loyalties) empathized with Wellens when he fell to his knees after the final whistle at Old Trafford. And I wasn't the only person who found his actions moving.

For a brief moment the shutters rolled back and you could see right into the heart of his soul. His face was that of a man scarred not by physical injury but the mental anguish of so many heartbreaking defeats. When he looks to the sky almost in supplication you sense that a terrible burden had been lifted from his shoulders. The thick lines and crevasses cut deep into his face by age seem to evaporate and in that split second you see the familiar boyish features of the Paul Wellens who won his first Grand Final so many years ago.

People love to talk about skills and talent and artistry - and yes, those things are important. But before all of that fans want players who CARE AS MUCH ABOUT THE CLUB AS THEY DO. It's a purity which (thankfully) no amount of money can buy and it isn't for sale anyhow.

Cathartic moments such as these involving a shared spiritual and emotional state are rare in the game. But their effect on fans is enormous. This is why stories about players like Paul Wellens, Jamie Peacock, James Graham, Sean Edwards etc. etc. will live on for generations whilst the exploits of perhaps more gifted individuals are lost forever in the chaotic maelstrom of time.

total legend

Hard to dislike Wellens - he has that everyman appeal in that he's neither big nor quick, but he's tough as nails and plays like he really cares, and has been successful off the back of it; he deserves nothing but respect for a great career.

This

Wow, hadn't heard this. You could never doubt the mans passion for his team. 100% every single game. Shame that he had such bad eyesight because every single try scored against him seemed to have some foul play leading up to it according to him His ability to break the first tackle was ridiculously high, as soon as he caught that ball you knew he was making 5 metres more than he should have been allowed because he just had that knack of skirting out of a tackle. Gave everything and more, won everything and more, legend of the game indeed.