St Helens could be set to confirm the signings of two new players as early as this week, it has been speculated on the podcast of their incoming head coach.
Kevin Walters was in the UK last week to begin preparations for life as Saints coach, when he takes over on a three-year deal at the start of next season.
But Walters’ remit also included putting together squad plans, with a number of departures and new arrivals expected as he looks to refresh a squad that has failed to make the play-offs for the first time in Super League history.
And it seems some incomings are imminent.
New signings teased at St Helens
On Walters’ Inside Ball podcast, co-host Ben Dobbin suggested he knew the identity of two new signings that had been confirmed by Walters during his trip to England.
And he even speculated that those signings could be revealed as early as this week.
Dobbin said: “You’ve already hit the ground running with a couple of signings.. we can’t say anything, but gee.. the two players I know you’ve got, they will come out later this week..”
Walters replied: “I’m not sure what you’re talking about! We’re trying to make the right decisions and we will. You don’t know any players we’ve got, do you Ben?”
That would appear to suggest there are new bodies ready to be confirmed by the club.
Walters ‘impressed’ after first St Helens trip
The new Saints coach confirmed he was impressed by what he saw during a ‘fantastic’ five days in England – before insisting he believes they will build a squad that will challenge in 2027.
He said: “It was fantastic. We spent five days on the ground just having a look and meeting the staff. We’ve had a look at the captain’s run and training and it was a really good exercise. I got loads out of it.
“I didn’t meet many of the players, I stayed in the background but I met the key players. The rest of them I left alone. I didn’t feel like I was intruding too much on the caretaker coach, who is a great fella.
“He’s doing a great job there but they’re going to miss finals, unfortunately. It’s the first time in their history they’ve never made finals so there’s a lot of work to be done.
“The chairman, CEO.. I met some board people and the fans were good. Even though rugby league in the UK.. football is the number one and rugby union sits a bit higher. But in St Helens, it’s a rugby league town.. it’s about 15-20 minutes from Liverpool.
“St Helens are a bit like the Broncos here. They’re a big club, they’re well supported and players want to go and play there. There’s been lots of calls around the playing roster and coaches so I’m really confident we can assemble a strong squad. The head of performance is actually the head of performance for the England side. He’s been there 15 years so I was really impressed.”