THE new-look squad has been assembled since November, the floggings up the hills and on the dunes have been done and the two warm-up games have blasted off the cobwebs — now the real business starts.

And for skipper Jon Wilkin that means Saints have to make a good early impression right at the start after last season’s patchy opening ended up putting a cloud over the rest of the campaign.

Wilkin, who announced that he had signed a new two-year deal in November, is focused and upbeat but declared the proof of the pudding of the new squad will be in the eating.

He said: “The first two months is important for us. We started poorly last year we want to start well and get some big wins.

“So we need to start well against Leeds.

“All the talk about how strong the squad is irrelevant if we don’t perform.

“It has got to be about consistent performances this year and performing well.

“And not just that, we need to play with a smile, with a style and a flair that excites people. That is what I want for this year.

“If we can get that — and keep fit, happy and confident then we are 100 per cent one of the best squads in the competition.”

After a disappointing start, which saw early hammerings by Salford and Sydney Roosters, followed by a lacklustre display on Good Friday, an early Challenge Cup knockout and a real pasting by Huddersfield at Magic, Saints finished the campaign strongly and were within a few bad calls of reaching the Grand Final.

There is a hope at the club that the aspects they found at the back end of last year can be married with the enthusiasm of the younger players and leadership of the more mature signings to take Saints forward.

Wilkin said: “In the last three months of last year we defended well and made ourselves difficult to beat.

"We didn’t do anything flash with the ball, which we can address now, but if we can couple that solid defensive mindset and work ethic with the ability to score points we will be a dangerous side.

“But consistently putting those bits together is the challenge this year.

“We had a big honest chat on training camp in the Lake District. We shut the doors and said ‘What’s going on?’ and the word coming back was 'consistency'.

“We are going to try and attack the year and be consistent.

“We have key people, who touch the ball a lot in big games, and we want them to step forward.

“We have brought in genuine experience this season; communicators and leaders.

“If you put those bits alongside Jonny Lomax and Mark Percival coming back from being internationals for the first time, that creates a strong environment at the top of the squad which we can hopefully keep together for the majority of the season.

“But before a ball has been kicked there will be teams across the country saying the same thing. The proof will be in how we play. The fans want to see that (results on the field) rather than what is said in pre-season.”

Although the Thursday timing could have been better, Saints could not have asked for a more mouth-watering fixture to kick off the season.

For a large part of the past 10 years, since the demise of Bradford Bulls, Leeds Rhinos have been Saints’ nemesis - particularly during a run of Grand Final defeats.

Although Leeds had a dreadful campaign last term, which put Saints’ troubled year into perspective, everyone expects the Yorkshire giants to be back firing again.

Wilkin has lived and played with this fierce competition and is licking his lips with the prospect of it continuing this term.

“That rivalry is unreal and it probably defines a good part of the last 10 years of Super League.

“The Saints v Leeds thing, from the big finals and to the extent that the 2008 World Cup in Australia was ‘us v them’ in the England camp, will define this period of the game.

“They had a tough year last season. If you think we had a it tough Leeds had it at a different level.

“As much as Leicester winning the Premier League was a shock, in sporting terms Leeds finishing where they did after the previous campaign is an equal shock.

“It will have rattled their confidence but I think they will start the year with a different mindset this year and learned from what happened in 2016,” Wilkin said.

As he begins his 15th year of Super League he remarks that he’s had a similar number of operations, but has stayed relatively injury free the past two years, which he credits with playing more in the halves.

Having turned 33 last November Wilkin is now the team’s elder statesman, but he is happy that the club have brought in more mature players to spread that leadership burden across the group.

“When Sia Soliola and Anthony Laffranchi left we lost a lot of experience up front and we have got a lot of that back.

“We lost a lot of talk too. These are immeasurable things.

“Once you lose three or four guys who bind bits of the team together it is difficult to replace.

“Without getting carried away we have done well and have a good squad this year.”

With a new contract signed Wilkin said he will see how the next two years go, but says he still has plenty to offer.

Wilkin said: “I love playing and in the testing that we do I am still one of the fittest and still set some standards in training.

“ I love the game differently to when I was a young kid. I just want to enjoy playing.

“Sport picks you up and lets you down. It is entertainment and I am a glorified entertainer - and there are villains and heroes.

“Sport sends you into that cycle.

“I have always had other things going on in my life but I have always wanted to play, I get up and train hard.

“I want to do well for the club this year – I want to be a leader and want us to lift some silverware.

“I am not stupid, I am aware of a certain amount of criticism that came my way, and towards Keiron and the club last season, but we are out to prove that wrong this year and play with a style and flair that is fitting of this amazing club.”