EXPERIENCED second row man Zeb Taia is enjoying playing his part in Saints’ lethal left edge – rating it up there with the strongest in Super League.

And with their best years in front of them, he expects even greater things from Welsh international Regan Grace and England centre Mark Percival in the years to come.

Taia, who will be around for at least another year and half, is hoping that side can do their bit to deliver the silverware the club and its fans yearn.

As an elder statesman at 33, with a vast amount of NRL and Super League experience, Taia is happy to give his guidance where needed and the players complement each other.

Taia said: “Percy is a real talent and Reegs outside him can be an awesome player in a couple of more years.

“At the moment we are firing as a left edge and I feel it is one of the best in the comp.

“That is where most of the tries are going to come with Percy and Benny taking on the line there.

“Having a good full back like Benny who can ball play and set up tries is definitely a help.

“I am excited – it never gets boring seeing those dudes do their thing.

“In the last few weeks the right edge has come on. That is what good footy teams are like, firing on both sides.”

Taia, who joined from Gold Coast Titans at the time Joe Greenwood went in the opposite direction, has looked sharp and has benefited from his pre-season under Justin Holbrook.

He said: “A lot of us didn’t play World Cup and that helped heaps in getting all the combinations right before the World Cup guys came back.

“Getting my fitness right and enjoying the pre-season in the cold was definitely a help,

“It may seem a little bit different. Everyone has a role and they are all doing it really well.”

In the last two weeks Saints have rattled in the points, something that Taia says the team takes from coach Holbrook.

“Justin does not want us to shut up shop.

“Even when we get a big lead we still go though our sets and there are a lot of options in our team and we are picking the right ones and scoring the tries.

“It is not easy, but once everyone does their bit and works hard in defence it can get like that. (a big score).

“It all starts from the middle and ventures out from there. In attack it all starts from nine to one. All from 1-17 have all got a job.

“I am happy with the way things are going. The team is a lot more confident this year and we are playing a lot different to last year.

“We are getting some good results off the back of that

“It does help when you have the likes of Ben Barba and James Roby playing like they are, and Wilko too deserves a credit.

“Wilko has been a good leader for us this year and a lot of the good stuff is coming off the back of that.

“It is good a vibe here at the moment.

“I am loving my time at Saints – it is a proud club. If you look what it has won in the past, you want to be part of that.

“This year could be a special year where go on to win some trophies.

“We have a tough draw in the cup. Cas is a tough one and I’d be lying if I said I am not thinking about it. I remember how we carried ourselves when we went over the Challenge Cup game last year. It was pretty embarrassing.

“I want to get this week over first against an improved Catalans team. It won’t be easy – no game is.”

Taia comes up against his former club tonight, having spent three years at Catalans Dragons.

And there are a few of them who he played alongside – Jason Baitieri, Tony Gigot and Remy Casty - and knows what to expect.

“They have a big pack but does not faze us. We have a really good forward pack ourselves and the boys have really stepped up this year.

“We like to take the game to them with our pack”