One off contract player St Helens need to tie down

Though the 2023 Super League season has yet to begin, preparations for beyond that will have already begun especially as most sides have already done all their business for the 2023 barring the likes of Catalans Dragons, Leigh Leopards and potentially Salford Red Devils.

As in the NRL, considerations will be made to how squads for the 2024 season will look especially after they set the precedent down under of making signings well in advance because of the 1st November rule.

All sides have players off contract at the end of 2023 and they will definitely want to secure some of these players down moving forward, and we will likely start to see this happen sooner rather than later especially as current clubs are allowed to underline what they intend for their current players coming off contract and essentially have first dibs.

So, considering this, which off contract player should St Helens look to tie down for 2024 and beyond?

St Helens have already tied down many of the players who were entering the last year of their deals such as Joe Batchelor – though there is interest in him from NRL clubs – and Lewis Dodd.

Meanwhile, the likes of Will Hopoate and Curtis Sironen have options for a further year in their deals anyway.

So, the priority has to be Jake Wingfield. The young forward has the potential to be one of the best 13s in the league like teammate Morgan Knowles. You could argue that having Knowles means Wingfield shouldn’t be a priority but having both would cement the quality of St Helens’ squad.

Keeping him would also weaken any rivals keen to sign him.