St Helens duo Jack Welsby and Lewis Dodd remain on the radar of NRL clubs according to Australian publications.
This comes as Wigan Warriors fended off NRL clubs to re-sign Harry Smith to a long term deal keeping their brilliant young halfback at the club until the end of 2027.
But can St Helens do the same to keep their equivalent players? The club have made moves to keep the duo at the club.
Well, St Helens have made steps to do so. Jack Welsby is contracted until the end of 2025 which means they are still in pole position to keep the fullback.
But where the problem could be is the future of Lewis Dodd? They do have a trick up their sleeve here but also an opening for an NRL club to sign him.
Dodd is out of contract at the end of the 2024 leaving an opening for NRL clubs to sign him but the Saints and Dodd have an option to sign him to an extension until the end of 2026.
Thus, the ball is very much in the court of Dodd. When he signed this deal, he made it clear that he loves the club: “I love this club, this town, this team and the staff involved so it was quite an easy decision.
“I want to thank my family, Academy boss Derek Traynor and of course Head Coach Kristian Woolf who have shown a lot of faith in me.
“To be given the number 7 shirt was a very proud moment for me and my family. Some special people have worn that shirt and it is one that comes with a lot of prestige, so it isn’t something I took lightly.
“I am now on the road to recovery and looking forward to the future. My job now is to get myself fit for next season and that is what I will be doing. Hopefully I will be back out with the boys soon.”
The talented half back joined the Saints’ Academy from Halton Hornets in 2017 and quickly made his mark in the Scholarship system scoring 5 tries in 9 games before a year later he improved again scoring 8 times in just 7 games.
During the 2019 season, Dodd broke through as a real potential star, leading the Academy to the Grand Final, whilst scoring 21 times in 25 matches and scoring 116 goals during the process.
His impressive form saw him called up to the England Academy squad and received a first team squad number for the 2020 campaign.
Dodd has since gone from strength to strength and was essential to St Helens lifting the World Club Challenge.
