NEW recruits and the maturing of some of the next crop of youngsters has thickened Saints squad ahead of the Super League XXI.

And if the experience of last year taught coach Keiron Cunningham anything, when injuries blighted them in most areas, he knows it will be needed.

The versatility in the new recruits – Theo Fages can play in the halves or nine and Dominique Peyroux can flit between centre and back row – means that plenty of bases can be covered.

Injuries to full backs Jonny Lomax and Shannon McDonnell, mean that former Widnes Vikings outside back Jack Owens will start the year in the one jersey, while Lama Tasi is a direct replacement for Mose Masoe.

Apart from providing cover, it should intensify the competition for places across the board – and Cunningham is delighted to the way they have responded in the off-season training which has involved teaming up with the Royal Marines of 42 Commando in Plymouth.

Cunningham, who is embarking on his second year at the Langtree Park helm, said: “You can only go off history and that tells us we are going to get injuries so I have tried to thicken our squad as much as I can within the realms of the salary cap.

“I am happy with the signings we have brought in complemented by the next batch of young players, who we had a glimpse at last Easter against Hull, Ricky Bailey, Morgan Knowles and Jack Ashworth.”

The recruitment of French international Fages from Salford has been greeted with no little anticipation, with Cunningham revealing that he had first caught his eye at the start of last term.

Cunningham explained the attributes of Fages, who is considered to be a long-term project, will bring to the table.

“Theo can play in the halves and nine, he is fit and a good little character to have about the place,” he said.

“He trains really hard and fits straight in. He is tough, too, to have a half back who can play in the middle you take your hat off.

“He is a long term project and can see him playing seven for a long time when Luke Walsh decides to move on. He can learn lots from Walsh.

“Theo was on my radar from round one last year when Salford played Warrington.”

He more than hinted that Fages could also relieve James Roby from his relentless 80-minute, 60 plus-tackles a week routine.

“I can’t keep running Robes into the ground. He is one of our biggest assets and I don't want to break him.

“He was hanging on by the skin of his teeth last year but he got through. I saw what the freshening up did playing for England.

“Robes won’t like it, but Theo fits the bill as do some of the young kids,” he said.

Meanwhile 26-year-old Peyroux is considered more of a centre than a back row and, particularly while Saints wings Tommy Makinson and Adam Swift have been recovering from injuries in the off-season, has predominantly been running their in training.

Big prop Tasi will not only give Saints pack a formidable look, he can play more minutes than his predecessor Masoe and will add to a mobile forward unit.

“Lama Tasi is a different animal altogether (than Mose) – he is a big man who can play big minutes.

“We have watched him closely and he too is a good fit.

“We want a mobile team and although big Al (Alex Walmsley) is big, he is mobile, likewise with both back rowers.

“We want a mobile team and want to get around the field and don't want any liabilities in defence.

“Lama fits that bill - he is an athlete and mature beyond his years and that has helped Andre (Savelio) to kick on even more. He has taken Andre under his wing, and has been phenomenal in pre-season,” he said.

Big things are expected of Savelio, particularly given the way he ended his season in 2015 after resolving his short-term future at Langtree Park.

Cunningham said: “Andre is consistent and this has been his best pre-season so far so I am expecting big things from him.

“When he first broke into the first team one of his deficiencies was his defence but we have worked really hard on that and we are on the better side of that.”

If you throw in Luke Thompson and Greg Richards into the mix containing Savelio, Tasi, Walmsley, Kyle Amor and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Cunningham will hopefully have a headache picking his big men this year.

“There is going to be quite a tussle for the forward pack this year and we have kids who deserve the right to play and some seniors who are experienced professionals who we should have in the team,” he said.