NO Lewis Dodd would be no problem for St Helens in the Good Friday derby, says coach Paul Wellens.
The homegrown halfback missed Saints’ Challenge Cup win at Leeds last week with an adductor muscle injury.
He could return for the visit of fierce rivals Wigan. But if not, Wellens will have no issue playing Moses Mbye there after the hooker deputised well at Headingley.
“It’s only a slight strain, but because he’s a kicker of the ball, it’s a challenge,” he said.
“You need your seven kicking the ball well. We’ll make a sensible call during the week.
“Lewis has been playing so well for us, but if he’s not there, Moses has shown tonight he can do a really good job for us.”
Mbye’s switch to scrum-half was not entirely out of the blue, with Wellens revealing the Aussie – recruited midway through last year from St George Illawarra – had trained there significantly in pre-season.
“Last year we had our one, six and seven (Jack Welsby, Jonny Lomax and Dodd) play every game, but throughout the course of pre-season we didn’t have Lewis Dodd train with us for quite a number of weeks.
“Throughout that pre-season period, Moses was often training in the halves and doing a really good job. So should Moses be called upon to play in the halves, we knew what he was capable of.
“The way he handled that (against Leeds) was first class. He’s an experienced player and he showed his maturity, his calmness and his composure. The way he handled the last plays was first class as well.
“That’s a credit to him, because it’s not easy to step into a position that you haven’t played for a long time, but he certainly made it look easy.”
Saints also have doubts over winger Tommy Makinson (back) and loose-forward Morgan Knowles (arm) for the big clash with Wigan, but centre Mark Percival will be available after serving a two-match suspension.