Graham captained England during the Four Nations tournament

St Helens have revealed full-back Paul Wellens and prop James Graham will jointly captain the club during the 2011 season.

They take over from Keiron Cunningham, who retired following Saints' Grand Final defeat by Wigan in October.

Head coach Royce Simmons said he opted to appoint both because of the changing role of the captain in the modern game.

"They both typify what St Helens is all about and are passionate about the club," he said.

Wigan head coach Michael Maguire introduced a five-man leadership team at the DW Stadium last season but has reverted to one captain for the new Super League campaign, with loose forward Sean O'Loughlin being handed the honour.

But Simmons said he believed the responsibility of being captain was now too much for one man.

We have direction from the back and in the pack and that has to be good for the club Royce Simmons

"I have sat down over the last few weeks and thought about the role of captain in the modern game and it has changed a lot," he said.

"There are a lot of promotional and media commitments as well as what happens on the field.

"My choice of captain on game day will come after discussions with both of them and we will split their off field commitments too.

"There might be a time when we are playing a big aggressive pack and will want to send our skipper out to meet them. Or, we could be playing a team that shifts the ball wide and we need direction from the back.

"Either way, we have direction from the back and in the pack and that has to be good for the club."

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