St Helens have been dealt an injury boost with Joe Batchelor and James Bell both in action this afternoon.
The pair, who will both be joining Hull FC at the end of the season have been missing though injuries and sat out of Thursday night’s clash with Leigh Leopards at the Totally Wicked Stadium.
However, Batchelor and Bell were named in St Helens’ reserves line-up to take on their Leopards counterparts this afternoon. Bell was actually named in the 21-man squad to take on the Leopards’ first-tam but wasn’t deemed ready to make his Super League return after three months on the sidelines with a foot injury.
The loose-forward has made just four appearances this season with his last outing coming on April 11 against Wakefield. He’ll be better for the minutes in the second string then as he bids to make his return against Castleford Tigers next time out in a fortnight.
Batchelor, on the other hand, has been struggling with a calf tear that has kept him out for a month. He started the game against the Leopards, while Bell came off the bench.
Agnatius Paasi plays for St Helens reserves
In truth it was a reserves line up stacked with senior talent, with Agnatius Paasi being included just two days after playing against the Leopards. Paasi came off the bench in that game but failed to make the desired impact, mustering just 26m in four carries and 14 tackles.
As such his inclusion in the reserves line up is a curious one. Jon Bennison also played in the second string side after failing to make it off the bench on Thursday night.
Konrad Hurrell featured too following the completion of his loan stint at Bradford Bulls, where he has spent the last month. Hurrell has made just one first team appearance for the Saints this season but he managed to get himself on the scoreboard with a try in the first half against the Leopards.
Leigh also named some first-team faces in the reserves, with Brad Dwyer, AJ Towse and Will Brough the most notable names in the line-up.
St Helens won the game 50-16.
