ST HELENS forward Sam Royle is ready to step up and help fill the void left by retiring pack stars James Roby and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook after signing a contract extension.
The highly-regarded 23-year-old is on board for 2024, when Saints will attempt to regain the Super League title after this year’s play-off disappointment, and aiming to add to his 22 club appearances since 2021.
Of those, 15 were this year, and development product Royle, who also played once for Swinton on dual registration after a three-match loan stint at Hull KR last season, said: “I want to step up.
“Louie and Robes have been pillars of this club for a very long time. It’s not going to be easy for us to go without them and we are going to need people to step up.
“Hopefully, some people around my age, like me and (fellow back rower) Ben Davies, can play some more and do our bit.
“Everybody here has the same goal and it’s to go and win trophies and get the best accolades we can in this sport.
“It didn’t quite work out for us this year at the end, but that’s just going to make everyone more hungry and next year we’ll go again.
“I think for us it is just about improving. If everyone improves a little, we can improve a lot as a whole.”
Former Thatto Heath junior Royle worked his way through the Saints system, earning the Under-16 Player of the Year prize in 2016 and the same award at Academy level in 2020.
He joined the senior squad the following year, making his debut in the 26-14 defeat at Salford in September 2021, the last game of the regular season as Saints geared up for what was to be a successful play-off campaign.
When a young Saints side lost 30-10 at Castleford in their second Easter fixture of 2022, Royle earned the claim of captaining the club at every possible level – Scholarship, Academy, Reserves and first team.