JON Wilkin looked comfortable on the top table when Keiron Cunningham made the captaincy announcement at Langtree Park on Wednesday morning.

It is not that being a media savvy figure has qualified Wilkin for one of the most coveted jobs in rugby league – his performance and skills with the playing group have done that – but his ability to get a point across will be a bonus.

But that is very much a peripheral issue – Wilkin, as one of the injured crop from last year, probably has a bit of unfinished business.

After missing out on the Grand Final, Wilkin is probably keener than most to move on and write the next chapter.

Wilkin said: “When we talked about me being captain the most exciting thing for me is the blank pages of the years ahead for this club, yet to be populated with images and trophies, wins and losses.”

Wilkin is very much an adopted Saint – having joined from Hull KR at the end of 2002, he has very much grown and matured with this team – enjoying the rough with the smooth.

He totally buys into the culture of the club – a culture he believes is what helped the men in the red vee pull off the against-all-odds Grand Final success in 2014.

“There is something different about this club – the name of St Helens and what it stands for is special. It is hard to quantify what that is.

“But to be designated as the leader of the performance side of the club is a huge honour for me.

“Some of the greatest players in the history of the game have captained this club prior to me.

“I look at that in two ways - it could be a daunting prospect, but on the other hand I have had the opportunity as a leader to cherry pick the things that have worked well and see what has not worked, myself and Paul have been doing this for the past two or three years together.

“I have been in this role with Paul together in trying to lead this club from the front and it has been a challenging time and I have learned a lot about myself.

“As a leader I will try to take some of those things on board.

“Last year was an example of how the culture of the club can help when things are not going well. We were able to revert to our standard – and we have standards that exceed many in rugby league and that is why we have been consistently successful.

“It is a valuable asset because we have a link to our history and successes in the past and crucially a way to develop going forward.

“There has yet to be a word written about the 2015 and 16 seasons as fact, yet to be a picture that is accurate.

“The task for us is to take the culture that exists here and smear it all over 2015/16 and the pictures and the words that will formulate over the history those seasons.”

Wilkin is fit again after undergoing an operation on a dislocated shoulder towards the end of last season - and he played in the first 52 minutes of last Sunday’s game against Widnes.

After spending time in the halves due to injury to others and then more time off the park due to his shoulder, Wilkin is champing at the bit to be able to lead from the front.

He wants to put his own style and mark on his tenure of office as Saints skipper and has learned much from his predecessors.

“As a captain that is the exciting thing. I woke up this morning and I had a think about what it really means to be captain – it is the opportunity to take something that is really precious and hand it on to someone in the future in a better position,” he said.

“There are different styles of leadership and I am a pretty strong believer in the way that we practise and the intensity of how we do that and the attitude of people who come into the dressing room fit in with what we want to do.

“I try to lead in the dressing room.”

Looking back at last year’s Grand Final which he watched from the sideline, Wilkin was quite candid about his emotions.

“It is strange – before the game I thought it would be devastating to watch – but as the game unfolded it could not be any more different.

“It was the most exciting and rewarding experience of my life and lit the flame inside me that the legacy of a team is not defined by your own personal silverware but by your influence on people in the organisation as well.

“I saw a lot of young guys who played in that game that myself, Paul Wellens and James Roby had had a direct influence on.

“And that was what really excited me – not just about being a leader but a coach going forward. It is an amazing feeling.

“To be there and play a part all year but miss through injury was upsetting but watching the guys lift the trophy was just a mind blowing feeling.”