Quote: nottinghamtiger "At Cas, Danny Richardson will be the unknown quantity.
Is he the latest half-back to leave Saints and go on to be a fantastic player? Or he is over-rated based on one season? What will his partnership with Trueman be like - fresh and explosive or inexperienced and naive?
We know what Watts will bring. We know Eden will be rocks and diamonds. Tyla Hepi might surprise a few if he takes his opportunity,
So for us, I don’t think it’s one player - it’s how well the Richardson/Trueman combination works.'"
I think Castleford have a pretty safe bet in Danny Richardson. He is a very talented player and still looked in good touch when he played for Saints last year. The only problem he had was not being involved enough, which lead to the coaching staff wanting him to take the line on more. With some time to settle in I am sure he will get more and more involved. He will get extra ball at Cas so more time to have an impact. I suspect he will be in the dream team/England picture at the end of the year.
I think the only reason why Saints were happy to let him go is Lewis Dodd. However 2020 may be a bit early for him maybe 2021 is when he will make a bigger impact.
Saints players to watch are probably;
Jack Welsby: Another high quality Academy player and a big part of the England Academy's win over the Aussies a couple of years ago. This year should be his break out year, it is just a question of in what position given he can play almost anywhere 1,3,4,6,11,12,13, I guess it is down to what long term injuries Saints have in 2020.
James Bentley: Likely to become a starter in 2020 with Saints backline getting old. He does have a very similar style to John Bateman, if not the skill level yet, with his strong low centre of gravity running style. Just missing out on the Grand Final but a good bet to be on the bench at the start of the year.
Aaron Smith: The current player most likely to replace James Roby. He will spend a lot of the year covering for Roby who will not be playing 40+ games for 80 mins in 2020. A very accurate passer and a quick runner from dummy half.
Honorable mention to Matty Costello, who is very under-rated by Saints fans. He could play a much larger role for Saints in 2020 and is currently first choice backup for the centre, ahead of Welsby.
