The rookies who could make an impact in 2023

[Martyn Sadler]

Who are the rookies who could make an impact in Super League in 2023?

Check them out.

[Jughead]

Can understand why Ritson was chosen but I’m interested to see how George Delaney and Wes Bruines get on this year for Saints. 

[Futtocks]

3 hours ago, Jughead said:

Can understand why Ritson was chosen but I’m interested to see how George Delaney and Wes Bruines get on this year for Saints. 

Looking forward to a length of the field chase involving French and/or Field v Ritson, regardless of who's got the ball.

[Martyn Sadler]

12 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Looking forward to a length of the field chase involving French and/or Field v Ritson, regardless of who's got the ball.

I really hope Ritson can make a big impact. He was such an exciting player in the Championship.

[Anonymouse]

14 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

I really hope Ritson can make a big impact. He was such an exciting player in the Championship.

https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/tee-ritson-impressing-st-helens/  

He seems to have really impressed Tommy Makinson. 

[Saint Toppy]

4 hours ago, Jughead said:

Can understand why Ritson was chosen but I’m interested to see how George Delaney and Wes Bruines get on this year for Saints. 

Bruines is a bit of an unknown but Delaney i'd say is is probably the most promising prop to come through since Jammer. I can see why he made the England Knights team at the end of the season despite being only 18 and having just a couple of 1st team substitute appearances to his name.

He'll get more game time this year and if he continues to develop will probably take LMS spot as a regular top 17 player when he retires at the end of this season.

[daz39]

Love how you've picked a player from one of the Hull teams with Fish in their name .

 

Good shout with Harry Rushton for us, i remember him having stormers against our Academy for Wigan so was delighted we'd signed him, though he's got a job on getting in ahead of McQueen, Trout, Hewitt and Jones but should be challenging Ashworth and Livett for 5th choice.

Edited January 21, 2023 by daz39

[Bedfordshire Bronco]

On 20/01/2023 at 10:41, Martyn Sadler said:

Who are the rookies who could make an impact in Super League in 2023?

Check them out.

Simpson seems to have spent the off-season lifting a lot of heavy weights and eating chicken ....twice as big 

Not sure how that figures with his potential new role at 6 

Hooley looked SL quality to me when. I saw home play last year...hope he gets chance to bench love rat Myler this year 

 

[Magic Superbeetle]

19 hours ago, Saint Toppy said:

Bruines is a bit of an unknown but Delaney i'd say is is probably the most promising prop to come through since Jammer. I can see why he made the England Knights team at the end of the season despite being only 18 and having just a couple of 1st team substitute appearances to his name.

He'll get more game time this year and if he continues to develop will probably take LMS spot as a regular top 17 player when he retires at the end of this season.

Delaneys biggest challenge is getting game time over not only LMS, but Norman and Wingfield as well. Both are out of contract at the end of the year, so both will be fighting for game time/ being seen as LMS’s replacement assuming 2023 is his last year. Norman in particular looks on the cusp of a big year, and is following almost the exact same path as Bentley and Batchelor before him. I know the club and Wellens rates Delaney incredibly highly, but I think it’s more likely he’ll be looking to replace Paasi in 2024/2025 at 19/20. The more likely player to come through for a retiring star will be Pemberton coming through at hooker as heir apparent. It’s a big year for Lussick and really liked the bits of Pemberton we did see last year.

Bruines is definitely the most interesting rookie for me. Developing centres definitely seems to be the weak point of our youth pathways, with our recent graduates (Costello, Fleming etc) all consisting of a certain type of player. Bruines certainly breaks that mold, and between his Jersey Flegg experience last year, and playing in a position where saints could be exposed next year with fitness question marks over both Hopoate and Percival he could establish himself as a regular before the seasons out. 
 

Obviously a lot has been made about Ritson vs Bennison, but I also think that there’s a forgotten man in Jumah Sambou. Had a horrendous run of injuries last year, which saw Bennison get the game time but if he hadn’t he may well have started before Bennison had his debut. He’s featured quite a bit in the preseason videos and may well force himself into the conversation as well. 

I also want to shoutout McKenzie Buckley, who’s a backrower. His competition for game time is Royle and Davies, and think he could leap frog both by the end of the year. Not as celebrated as Delaney but the same class as him - one to watch in my opinion.

The “positive” of last year’s persistent injuries is there’s a whole other class underneath the “main” junior players who may well surprise us as well. Players like Lane, Gilford and Moss got their debut perhaps unexpectedly last year, along with some others who were drafted into first team training (Peposhi, Devine, D Sambou) so there may be a few more surprises too.

 

 

[Kirmonds pouch]

Ignoring Sadler and co endless love on with Saints and some relative unknown. There are plenty more exciting players out there than just Saints, Wigan and Leeds.

I’m not going to state the two obvious Trinity ones in Murphy and Eseh.

I’m going to suggest Dane Windrow, big aggressive second row who can actually play a bit.

[Martyn Sadler]

7 minutes ago, Kirmonds pouch said:

Ignoring Sadler and co endless love on with Saints and some relative unknown. There are plenty more exciting players out there than just Saints, Wigan and Leeds.

I wish I could begin to understand what you are on about.

We have listed a player from each Super League club, not just Saints, Wigan and Leeds.

[arcticchris]

Hopefully they will all become quality players at first team level but it doesn’t say much about the future prospects for top class spine players etc that the vast majority of the list are prop forwards.

[Martyn Sadler]

27 minutes ago, arcticchris said:

Hopefully they will all become quality players at first team level but it doesn’t say much about the future prospects for top class spine players etc that the vast majority of the list are prop forwards.

Interesting point but what we usually find is that the best rookies at the end of the year include some who were not expected to make their mark, but got their chance through established players being injured.

Lewis Murphy admittedly isn't a spine player, but he got his chance last year because of the injury problems suffered by Tom Johnstone.

[Magic Superbeetle]

34 minutes ago, arcticchris said:

Hopefully they will all become quality players at first team level but it doesn’t say much about the future prospects for top class spine players etc that the vast majority of the list are prop forwards.

In the last few years we have seen the likes of Dodd, Lewis, Welsby and Smith come through and establish themselves all with international potential as a spine player, and there are a few more like Sinfield whom are tipped to make it in the coming years.

The thing we seem to be struggling with most are centres and wide running second rowers but they also seem to develop later so we should see a few more Batchelors and Bentleys over the coming years.

[JM2010]

I haven't been able to read the story. Is the prop from Hull KR mentioned? I seem to remember reading about a young prop with a lot of potential