His famous father is a giant of the game, but Tristan Sailor has moved to the other side of the world to step out of his sizeable shadow.
The new St Helens signing is the son of Wendell Sailor, the prolific Australian winger who was top try-scorer and player of the tournament when his country won the World Cup in 2000.
After also claiming four NRL titles, he then enjoyed a successful switch to rugby union, starting for the Wallabies in their 2003 World Cup final defeat by England, before numerous appearances on reality TV Down Under.
Playing for his dad’s former clubs of St George Illawarra Dragons and Brisbane Broncos, Sailor Jr was never able to shake off comparisons with his iconic old man. But by joining a Super League club, the 26-year-old has done something his father never did – and he is now determined to make his own mark, 10,000 miles away from home.
‘I am trying to forge my own path and do my own thing,’ Sailor tells Mail Sport. ‘Having the last name, if anything it is a double-edged sword. You get a bit more attention but that can be positive or negative.
‘Whichever way you look at it, it builds resilience because you always have to prove everyone wrong. I use it as motivation.
Aussie rugby league star Tristan Sailor is gearing up for the start of the Super League season with St Helens following his move to Europe this summer
The 26-year-old (right) wants to step out of the shadow of his famous dad, Wendell Sailor (left)
Playing for his dad’s former clubs of St George and Brisbane, Sailor Jnr (right) was never able to shake off comparisons with his iconic old man (left)
‘The biggest help my dad gave me was when I was growing up and we’d go down to the park and he’d kick me bombs and pass it around. Those fundamentals are what you build your game off.
‘But I got to a certain age and he stepped back and let me do me and tried to be more of a dad than a coach. We chatted a little bit about me moving over here and he thought it was a good idea, but he lets me do my own thing.’
This is not actually the first time Sailor has lived in England. While his dad never featured in Super League, he oddly spent the 1998-99 winter playing rugby union here for Leeds Tykes.
‘I was about three months old,’ says Sailor. ‘When Mum came over to visit recently, she was telling me about wheeling me through the shopping centres in Leeds. So there is a little connection there, which is pretty special.’
There are connections with his new club, too. Since signing, he has been reminded of how his dad lost to a St Helens side featuring current head coach Paul Wellens in the World Club Challenge with Brisbane in 2001. Sailor Jr also briefly played with Saints legend James Graham at St George.
‘Long before this was on the cards, Jammer always spoke about the club and how passionate the fans were and the town,’ he says. ‘Even then it was something I always wanted to do, come over to the Super League for that community and fan aspect. Jammer definitely planted that seed.’
An English literature graduate and culture vulture, Sailor admits he always saw himself living in England as an adult and he has been quick to make the most of his new base.
‘To have the opportunity to explore the UK and Europe while also being able to pursue my dream of footy, it is pretty special,’ says Sailor, who has set up home in Manchester. ‘Before coming over here, me and a couple of the Broncos boys went to Amsterdam and then did Oktoberfest, having steins of beer and singalongs with everyone dressed up in lederhosen. That was a good injection into European culture!
Sailor (second from right) said attending Oktoberfest and donning a pair of lederhosen was a ‘good injection into European culture’
While he has connections to the UK, having lived in Leeds as a child, he has been exploring Europe on his own as he bids to carve his own path
Wendell, a cross-code international, played for both the Wallabies and the Kangaroos during his glittering career
‘I also went to Paris on my own. It was a city I really wanted to explore, the book shops and galleries. I have done a bit of the UK now as well – London, Edinburgh, the Lake District.
‘To be so close to so much history and culture is a big thing for me. It gives me that satisfaction off the field, which then helps me enjoy my footy even more.’
While Sailor has only signed a two-year contract with St Helens, he is already thinking beyond that and even has plans to become a British citizen.
‘I can definitely see myself staying here for quite a while,’ he admits. ‘That is the intention I came over with. It’s not a stepping stone. I can definitely see myself getting citizenship, which will be cool.’
International Rugby League rules allow a player to represent a country that has been their primary home for five years. So could we see the son of an Aussie legend one day pulling on an England jersey?
‘I’m not too sure how it works with that,’ says Sailor, coyly. ‘It would be really cool rugby-wise if that was a possibility, but I’m not sure if it is.’
For Sailor, emigrating also brings the advantage of escaping the media glare Down Under, something he experienced in October 2020, when he was accused of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman at a Sydney apartment. He was eventually cleared of the charges in March 2022, but he was without an NRL club for the duration of the ordeal.
‘It was definitely difficult,’ admits Sailor. ‘But at the time, I was leaving the Dragons and my love for footy had been dimmed. That period out from the game helped me have that gratitude and made me miss footy. There were positives that came out of it that have set me up for this next period, which is a really exciting time for me.’
Sailor is certainly one of the most exciting signings of the new Super League season and has been tipped as second-favourite to win this year’s Man of Steel award
He is gunning for glory with the Saints, admitting he wants to take the club back to their heights of old
Sailor is certainly one of the most exciting signings of the new Super League season, which gets underway on Thursday when defending champions Wigan host Leigh. The stand-off is set to make his debut in the competition against Salford on Saturday and has already been installed by bookies as the second favourite to be crowned this year’s Man of Steel.
‘Speed and ball-playing are things I really pride my game on,’ he says. ‘I am a risk-taker on the field. That is something I am not afraid to do because I feel like in the big moments you’ve got to pull the trigger if you feel it.
‘I am fast, unpredictable, and it will seem like I am off-the-cuff a lot, but there are always reasons behind things I do on the field. I might seem silly at times when it doesn’t come off, but it’s not going to stop me from doing it.’
St Helens won a record four successive Grand Finals from 2019 to 2022. But they only finished sixth in the table last season and lost their play-off eliminator to Warrington, while their bitter rivals Wigan went on to complete an historic quadruple.
‘Silverware is obviously the end goal for everyone,’ adds Sailor. ‘What Wigan achieved last year, to win all four major trophies, was pretty special.
‘It’s a great challenge to come up against a team like that. But I really want to help the boys get back to that period of winning four Grand Finals in a row.’
