Father Christmas SAINTS can t have had many better belated Christmas presents than their delivery on January 1, 1998. Signed from Warrington for £375,000 aged 20, Paul Sculthorpe would go on to win every trophy with Saints, skipper club and country and win back-to-back Steve Prescott Man of Steel Awards. It was a crucial signing for Saints, who were at a bit of crossroads after the early two years of success in the summer era. And it equipped them with another real leader in the squad to attack the new millennium. As a player, Sculthorpe had the lot - tough as teak running the ball and tackling, he was also a brilliant reader of the game with the skills to go with it.
IN the world of rugby league it was a year like no other – with the sport not immune from the dark cloud of Covid hanging over 2020. So maybe it was only fitting, then, that the season would end like no other with Jack Welsby’s after the bell touchdown securing back-to-back Super League titles for Saints. But what a tumultuous year for the sport. A four-month hiatus, players being furloughed, games being behind closed doors on neutral venues, a raft of rule changes and a table settled on percentages all contributed to a season that threw challenges at the players and coaching staff every week.