SAINTS are much better these days at spotting, nurturing and securing locally born talent than they were before the 1980s.

There are lads who still get away and maybe released before they have fulfilled their potential.

In an otherwise disappointing evening for St Helens it was good to see Thatto Heath’s Andy Yates get a run off the bench for Leeds on Friday night.

This weekend Haydock’s finest - Widnes skipper Kevin Brown - will bring his not inconsiderable talents to try and torment his home borough like he has done for years with Wigan and Huddersfield.

Unfortunately, a virus prevents former Haresfinch and Thatto Heath wing Paddy Flynn from coming up against his hometown team.

He is a player who obviously relishes on showing Saints his best side – and being the first ever try scorer at Langtree Park is something that will never be taken from him.

It works both ways and centre prodigy Mark Percival is clearly a player who Vikings must curse at one that got away.

The town of Widnes, like St Helens and Wigan, have always been able to produce young players in a way that some other places seem to find difficult.

As much as Saints have had great servants from Australians, Samoans, South Africans, Kiwis, Yorkshiremen, Wiganers and Widnesians, there is nothing like having hometown lads in the squad.

The two-cup winning Mal Meninga team of 1984-5, was crammed with locally produced players – and coached by one to boot.

But even back then a scan across the league saw fine local players who had gone elsewhere – St Helens fellas Ian Potter and Brian Case were among the game’s toughest forwards but they never played in the red vee.

How often in the late 1970s, early 1980s did we curse the fact that former Edmund Campion and Cowley lad Mick Burke was running riot at Widnes particularly as Saints had gone further afield to replace Geoff Pimblett.

Those days have long gone – and some of the real anchors of the Saints side in the Super League era have been homegrown lads.

Just imagine how Saints would have been fixed had, say, Keiron Cunningham, Paul Wellens and James Roby strayed over the past couple of decades.

Although I like seeing a cosmopolitan team it is always extra pleasing when it is hometown lads, who have gone from terrace to training ground, who are providing the big beating heart of the team.