ST HELENS have found their Super League replacement for Regan Grace.
The Welsh winger will of course be joining rugby union side Racing 13 for 2023 after an illustrious spell for Merseyside club Saints, winning three Grand Finals as well as one Challenge Cup.
However, Grace’s injuries in 2022 has allowed another new name to emerge through the Saints’ ranks – Jon Bennison.
And now Bennison has rewarded for a brilliant breakthrough year with the number 5 shirt in place of Grace.
The strength of character of the youngster was evident when he picked up a fractured cheekbone against Castleford Tigers earlier in the year, only to play the full game before being sidelined for six weeks.
A return to fitness saw a return to the team as the 19-year-old cemented himself into Kristian Woolf’s squad so much so that he earned a place in the Super League Grand Final-winning side, even scoring a try as Saints secured their fourth title in a row.
Now, for 2023 Bennison looks destined to crack on under new head coach Paul Wellens with Woolf going back to his native Australia to become assistant coach at the Dolphins before taking over himself in 2025.
For the teenager, the number 5 shirt is indicative of his meteoric rise and further evidence of Saints’ tremendous conveyor of belt that continues to dominate Super League.
