SAINTS’ scrum half Matty Smith believes he can do his bit to develop the club’s next generation of half backs.

The 29-year-old has returned to his hometown club a wiser and more accomplished player for his spells at Widnes, Celtic, Salford and Wigan.

Although he has been brought in primarily to make the first team tick, he wants to pass on his knowledge to the gifted youngsters he sees champing at the bit.

And recalling how he was assisted when he first broke into the fringes of the first team, Smith wants to help develop half back partner Theo Fages and teenagers Rob Fairclough and Danny Richardson.

Smith said: “I got a lot of advice from Longy and Leon Pryce when I was playing here as a kid.

“I will be here for the next three or four years now — and hopefully longer if my body is good.

“Those young kids like Theo, Danny and Rob will be coming through.

“It is my job to bring the next generation through and help them as much as I can.

“You are only learning at that age, but I was really impressed with what I saw watching Danny in last year’s Academy Grand Final.”

Richardson won the man of the match award in that final win over Wigan, showing nerves of steel to kick the golden point penalty to take the trophy.

Smith added: “He is a bit like myself in that he has got a good kicking game and he talks well in training.

“For a young kid to be like that now is a good sign and he will only get better.

“He has got a bright future.”

Smith is looking forward to showing what he can do on the field after departing the club, initially on loan, in 2008.

In that time he has had to pick himself up — playing Championship rugby with Widnes and then spending a year long loan spell down at Bridgend with the then fledgling Celtic Crusaders.

Midway through his third year at Salford, Smith was enticed to Wigan where he went on to win the Super League twice, the Challenge Cup and individually the Lance Todd Trophy.

In itself, that bucked the usual trend of what happens to players when they leave Saints.

But Smith believes his departure was the best thing, long-term, for his career.

He said: “Leaving at the time that I left was probably something I needed to do.

“Although it was hard to leave my hometown club, I needed to play Super League and get game time.

“I had a meeting with coach Daniel Anderson and we both agreed that this was the right thing to do.

“Going away was hard for me, but doing it for that reason probably put me in good stead for my career. It worked for me.”

And he learned some salutary lessons after being scrum half in that struggling Celtic team that finished bottom of the table in their first year in Super League, winning just three of their 27 Super League matches.

“Doing it tough at Celtic Crusaders and Salford has probably brought me on as a player and made me respect Wigan and St Helens even more as the places where you want to be,” he said.

“Bridgend was good and bad.

“Living down there, away from home, with my mate was fantastic.

“But on the pitch it was difficult and we did not win many games.

“As a player you want to win games and be successful.

“But it was a good part of my career because I do believe it has brought me on and when it signed for Wigan it changed me all round.

“I had four great years there and to get the opportunity to come back to Saints is really exciting and a great challenge.”

Smith speaks of his time at Wigan in glowing terms, but now wants to replicate that when he pulls on the red vee.

But after he had penned his new deal at Saints he made sure he signed off in the cherry and white in determined fashion.

He said: “I was in a great team at Wigan — that is what you play for, to win trophies on the big stage, play at Old Trafford five times and play at Wembley.

“When you look at the Lance Todd Trophy and see the names on that it reminds you that this is what we play for.

“But as soon as I signed for Saints I put it out of my head and wanted to end on a good note.

“Thankfully I did that and now I am back at St Helens it is what I want to do here.

“It would be a big achievement if I came back here and won a trophy.”