Kristian Woolf says that several of the St Helens youngsters who made their debuts last week will get further first-team opportunities this year.
The Saints coach opted to rest most of his first-choice players for Friday’s trip to Castleford Tigers, a third game in eight days after wins over Wigan Warriors and Huddersfield Giants over Easter.
Seven players – Jumah Sambou, Daniel Hill, Daniel Moss, Lewis Baxter, Taylor Pemberton, George Delaney and McKenzie Buckley – made their first appearances.
The septet, plus several other youngsters with limited first-team experience, did an admirable job to compete with a hugely experienced Castleford side in a 30-10 defeat.
Woolf said: “There were a number of part-timers out there tonight; young Mossy in the halves did the captain’s run yesterday then went straight back to work. He was tremendous.
“There are two kids brought out of the Academy, George Delaney and McKenzie Buckley, and I thought they were terrific as well.
“It’s a big thing for those guys to come straight out of playing against other young men and then playing against some of the best players in Super League, in tough positions in the middle, but they held up really well.
“They’ve all got bright futures ahead of them. They’re all going to learn from tonight.
“I’m in no doubt a number of those guys will get other opportunities again this year.
“They’re certainly going to improve for the opportunity they got tonight.
“It’s obviously a really proud moment and a moment they’ll remember for the rest of their lives, the night they made their debuts.
“It’s a big night in that way but they’ll also get to learn a lot. The biggest thing to learn is the little crucial errors, whether it’s not quite getting a pass right, or not quite getting a catch right.
“Physically we were in the game, skill-wise we were in the game, defensively we were in the game, we just didn’t get some of those plays right.”
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