LEE Briers has been left impressed by St Helens’ youngsters – but stressed the club must be patient with their development.
Saints handed debuts to Jack Campbell and Cole Marsh against Catalans Dragons on Friday – the former scoring twice in the 34-18 win – with Harry Robertson and Tom Humphreys also catching the eye.
Robertson, starting in the halves for the first time since April, also scored a brace against the French side as Saints bounced back from their drubbing by Toulouse Olympique the week prior.
But whilst Briers hailed the 20-year-old, who has predominantly played at centre this season, he urged caution as to not put excessive pressure on the youngster.
“Harry, wherever you put him, he plays really well,” admitted Briers of the academy product, who has now played over 50 times for the club since making his debut in 2024.
“Again, there’s a plan, and there’s a development of Harry, he’s still only 20, and we don’t want to put too much pressure on.
“In previous years, with throwing young halves in and then letting them sink, it’s not good.
“Harry is doing good at the moment, he played really well at six, and we’re looking forward to seeing him develop further in his career.”
Asked whether Robertson will reprise his halfback role in Friday’s derby against Wigan Warriors, Briers explained: “The strength of Harry is that he can play centre, he can play wing, he can play fullback, at six or seven.
“It’d be silly for me to say that he’s nailed on, because as you’ve known, we can’t get through game by game without getting injuries
“I’m not going to jinx it, I’m going to touch wood, and hopefully he’s going to put his best foot forward this week.”
Hooker Humphreys set up second-half scores for both Robertson and Jack Welsby in an impressive stint from the bench.
With the vastly experienced Daryl Clark ruled out for the remainder of the season, he has come off the bench in each of Saints’ last five matches, and Briers believes the 19-year-old is holding his own.
“He gives you everything on the field, and he gives you that in training,” said the assistant coach.
“I spoke in one of the press conferences when Tom was making his debut (against Hull FC in April), that he deserved that through his hard work in pre-season.
“He came on the Portugal trip with us in pre-season, and he’s just worked hard really.
“He came well recommended by (academy coach) Derek Traynor and the academy people, and he’s now holding his own.”
However, Briers warned the club must stay patient in order to help Humphreys reach his potential.
“He works tremendously hard Tom, and he got his just rewards the other day.
“You probably underestimate how good he is because of his size, but the game’s changing now and little players are becoming more and more important.
“He’s still learning his craft and he’s working hard on vision – we show him clips and stuff – but it’s really good to see.
“With any young kid, there’s always a plan. You can’t just throw them in and they sink or swim; there’s always a plan.
“We’ve just got to stay patient with him.”