As is the case when every season comes to a close, Super League clubs begin to reshuffle their squads and move players on.
Champions St Helens have today (October 12) announced their departure list in a string of emotional Twitter posts. Among them are some well-known exits, such as Regan Grace, Kyle Amor and coach Kristian Woolf.
Below is the full list of players leaving the Saints following the conclusion of the 2023 season.
Rio Osaywanbo Corkhill – A Saints Academy graduate, Corkhill was a regular for the Saints Reserves after a strong year with similar stats for the Under 19s in 2021. He made his Super League debut against Wakefield last season, and set up a try in the process.
Kyle Amor – Although this isn’t especially breaking news, Amor departing still represents a sad day for Saints. The prop-turned-pundit spent eight years with the Saints, making over 200 appearances. Notable moments include starting off the bench in the 2019 Grand Final against Salford, which began the period of dominance in Super League. He also scored a try against Castleford late on in the 2021 Challenge Cup Final. Amor spent part of last season on loan at Warrington, before making the decision to join Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship for 2023.
Josh Simm – An Academy product of the Saints, Simm is a centre who’s left a lasting impression on the Academy side, scoring 29 tries in 25 games in 2018, before making his Super League debut against London Broncos in 2019. He brought his try scoring prowess to the top level, scoring a hat-trick against Leeds Rhinos in 2020. Also worth mentioning is his spell, albeit a short one, at Hull FC on loan in 2022, in which he scored the winning try at Magic Weekend to defeat Hull KR and make his spell a memorable one in just that appearance.
Aaron Smith – Smith is another, who, like Simm, has spent a great deal of time working his way up through the Saints youth ranks. Joining the club Aged 11, it was a long journey in the Red V for Smith. Part of the undefeated 2016 Academy side, he made his Super League debut back in 2018 away to Catalans Dragons, and was in the 17, like Amor, in the victorious 2019 Super League Grand Final – he made a total of 41 appearances for the club.
Tom Nisbet – Nisbet progressed through the Academy system and made his St Helens debut on the wing against Salford in 2020. The 23-year-old spent the 2022 season on loan at Leigh, averaging a try every two games, as the Centurions gained promotion back to Super League following their relegation from Super League the previous season.
Regan Grace – Grace has been a staple of the Saints left edge for coming close to half a decade. The year 2018 was when he really made a name for himself in Super League, bagging 18 tries, and following that up with 20 in Super League the next season. In total, Grace made 120 apperances and scored 71 tries in Super League for Saints, before announcing his plans to move to French Rugby Union at the end of the 2022 season. His goodbye season was cut short by injury, and although he wasn’t on the pitch to lift the title with Saints a few weeks ago, his legacy is still as part of one of the greatest teams in Super League history.
Kristian Woolf – It’s not just playing staff departing at the climax of the year, as Head Coach Kristian Woolf pays farewell to Saints after three seasons in charge, in which he led the side to three Super League titles and a Challenge Cup in 2021. He joined from his assistant head coach role at Newcastle Knights, and carried on the work of predecessor Justin Holbrook. Holbrook won the first title, and Woolf came and won the next three to break the record for consecutive Super League title victories. He departs to assist Wayne Bennett at new NRL team, the Dolphins, with a view to taking over as head coach in the long term.
