St Helens have confirmed Sean O’Sullivan as their third signing for 2027 but incoming head coach Kevin Walters has reportedly landed his another NRL recruit, with a second spine player targeted as their squad overhaul continues.

Following the announcement of Christian Tuipulotu from the St George Illawarra Dragons and Friday morning’s confirmed signing of Sean O’Sullivan, Walters will again look to the NRL for fresh recruits, and he has opted for a Canberra Raiders man as his next addition.

Per The Daily Telegraph, hooker Tom Starling is said to have signed a three-year deal at the club, despite having another season on his deal at the Raiders.

The 156-game NRL player is still only 28 and made his top-flight debut in 2018 with the Newcastle Knights. He moved to the Green Machine the following season and has been a regular in their squad for the past six seasons.

Should he sign, the 28-year-old would be St Helens’ fourth official signing after the aforementioned NRL due and Catalans centre Solomona Faataape, who will also be joining the club next year.

Starling has also dropped a major hint that he will become a Saint, sharing an Instagram story with ‘Annie’s Song’, a track associated with St Helens, playing in the background.

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Why St Helens’ reported new signing will cause a quota headache

Starling would be working closely with former Man of Steel Daryl Clark, who turns 34 at the beginning of next season. With the ex-Warrington and Castleford man coming to the end of his career, Starling is a dynamic number nine in his own right, but working with Clark could elevate his game even further.

However, if Saints are to sign Starling then they will need to lose one of their currently contracted overseas players if they’re to stay within the maximum quota number of ten.

After announcing O’Sullivan as their latest recruit, he also becomes their tenth non-federation trained quota player, meaning Starling would be an eleventh and thus take the club beyond the max quota.

Currently contracted and on quota for St Helens are; Curtis Sironen, David Klemmer, Jacob Host, Nene Macdonald and Shane Wright (all 2027), Daniel Suluka-Fifita and Solomona Faataape (both 2028), as well as Christian Tuipulotu and Tristan Sailor (both 2029), with O’Sullivan believed to also be contracted for 2027.

Given that O’Sullivan, Faataape and Tuipulotu are new recruits, Suluka-Fifta was a mid-season recruit, and Sailor has recently signed a new deal, it’s likely that the quota player who is cut to facilitate Starling’s signing is one of the other five players.