The 2011 St Helens R.F.C. season was the club's 137th in their history; their 116th in rugby league. They were in contention for the Super League title (with this also being their 16th consecutive year in Super League) as well as the 110th edition of the Challenge Cup and, as announced in May 2011, the new Rugby League 9s tournament, to take place across June. The 2011 season was also the clubs' first since unofficially rebranding as Saints RL, following on from their move away from their home of 120 years, Knowsley Road, to relocate to Widnes, Cheshire and the Halton Stadium, which they shared with Widnes Vikings. This was Australian Royce Simmons first year as head coach of the club, taking over from fellow Australian Mick Potter, who had two years in charge. The position of club captain at St Helens was shared by Paul Wellens and James Graham, following the retirement of club legend Keiron Cunningham at the end of the 2010 season. They began their season by taking on bitter rivals Wigan Warriors at the Magic Weekend, in a rerun of their defeat at the 2010 Super League Grand Final, a game that ended in a 16–16 draw.
