FORMER Saints prop David Fairleigh is the favourite with bookies Betfred to be the club's next coach.
Fairleigh, who played for Saints in 2001, is currently assistant at North Queensland in the NRL. He also coached Cook Islands in the 2013 World Cup.
He is priced at 11/8 with bookmaker Betfred, while former Wigan and Canberra forward David Furner is second favourite at 11/4.
The bookmaker’s odds suggest Saints chairman Eamonn McManus will look to an Australian for Keiron Cunningham’s successor – but it could one currently earning a living on these shores.
Geoff Toovey, the former New South Wales hooker, who is in charge at Bradford, is priced 5/1 while ex-Kangaroos boss Tim Sheens, coach at Hull KR, is longer odds at 33/1.
Jason Demetriou, now assistant to Wayne Bennett at the Brisbane Broncos but a name familiar to rugby league fans in the UK, is 5/1, while Jason Taylor, who recently left the Wests Tigers post in the NRL, is 8/1.
Former Saints coach Ian Millward, assistant coach at St George, is 16/1 to make a return to the club where he won silverware and played a brand of rugby that made him a favourite of with the St Helens public.
Another with connections to Saints, Paul Anderson, who was part of Knowsley Road’s awesome foursome in 2006, is at 20/1. Anderson is a former coach of Huddersfield and currently involved with the England coaching set-ip.
Former coach Daniel Anderson is at 50/1 to make a return to Saints, while a couple of his former charges Sean Long, who is part of the caretaking coaching set up following Cunningham’s exit, and Paul Wellens are at 100/1.
Ex-Saints skipper Bobbie Goulding, who threw his hat into the ring via social media, is 100/1.
Daryl Powell, who is currently steering Castleford to the heights of Super League, is 25-1. Powell was known to have admirers among the Saints hierarchy several years ago, before his star really began to shine.
A Betfred spokesman said: “It’s an interesting market with plenty of Saints fans putting forward their choices.”
Betfred odds on the next Saints coach
11/8 David Fairleigh
11/4 David Furner
5/1 Geoff Toovey
5/1 Jason Demetriou
8/1 Jason Taylor
16/1 Ian Millward
20/1 Paul Anderson
25/1 Daryl Powell
33/1 Tim Sheens
50/1 Daniel Anderson
100/1 Paul Cooke
100/1 Paul Wellens
100/1 Sean Long
100/1 Bobbie Goulding
100/1 Wayne Bennett
100/1 Tony Smith
100/1 Shaun Wane
100/1 Craig Bellamy
100/1 Eddie Jones
100/1 Warren Gatland
250/1 Phil Clarke
250/1 Jon Wells
250/1 Gary Schofield
500/1 Billy Boston
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