You are in > manchester.com  > News > Anderson happy with Saints

Rugby League

Anderson happy with Saints

03/01/2008

St Helens coach Daniel Anderson is happy with his squad for next season despite making no new signings.

Anderson's men were hammered 33-6 by Leeds Rhinos in the Super League Grand Final last season and the Australian was expected to bring in new faces for his last season at Knowsley Road.

But the Saints coach is happy to blood academy graduates like Gary Wheeler, Gareth Frodsham, and Chris Dean into his first team squad.

"We have promoted a large number of local boys into a much more expansive training programme with the full-time squad," said Anderson.

"There are six to eight who are going to be players of the future and, although I'm not going to put pressure on them by naming names, I am very confident that three or four of them will play first grade this year.

"We will have a stronger and deeper squad this time than we had last year," added Anderson, who will go back home to Australia at the end of next season.

Saints also expect to have former captain and talisman Paul Sculthorpe back to full fitness for the start of next season in February. Sculthorpe has been plagued by injuries and has missed most of the last two seasons.

"Scully's not in the mainstream but he's running and doing the warm-ups with us before going off to do his own thing.

"But he doesn't seem to be too far away and he's very keen to be playing in his testimonial game (against Wakefield on February 2)."

Anderson has won the Super League Grand Final, the Challenge Cup, and the World Club Challenge with St Helens. He insists the minimum requirement for Saints next season is to reach the Grand Final.