SAINTS’ 18-year-old scrum half Lewis Dodd grabbed his landmark first senior try in only his second outing off the bench last week.

Starting off at nine before switching the halves, the highly-regarded Widnesian caught the eye in the final 25 minutes of the win over Wakefield.

And fans can expect to see more of the confident teenager, with coach Kristian Woolf confirming Dodd will get a shot at seven during the hectic end of year run-in.

Woolf said: “He’s popular within the group. As you can see all the blokes love having him around the place and respect him as a player and what he brings to the team. You can see that in the way they were so happy for him when he scored the try.

“He is a good footy player and is going to get better the more exposure we give him and I see it as a positive for him that he gets opportunities in different positions, even though we see him as a half back going forward.”

Woolf has gradually promoted the Academy graduate since returning after lockdown, introducing him to the matchday panel as 18th man and then the bench.

READ: Kristian Woolf Q&A>

There has been the sort of clamour, not witnessed since the early days of Kyle Eastmond or Regan Grace, to see what a prodigious talent can do at first grade.

And supporters will soon get to see that, with Woolf having confidence in the half back’s ability to pull it off.

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“Over the next few weeks we expect him to get an opportunity to come in and run the team as a half back. The couple of runs he has had will stand him in good stead,” he said.

“We have a lot of games to play in a short period, so he is most likely to get an opportunity there.”

Woolf has been delighted with Dodd’s application in training to complement the skill set of a player with the world at his feet.

When asked what Dodd needs to add to his game, the coach replied: “He has got most of what he needs to be honest.

“The fact that he is so confident for a young bloke means you can throw him in there.

“He knows he belongs at that level and you can see that from a 25 minute stint the other night

“It is just about giving him the exposure to the physicality and the constant speed of it.

“We expect some errors at different times – but that is what becoming a first grader is about, you learn from those errors as well.”