Friday night's match at the GPW Recuitment Stadium - the second of two pre-season friendlies - will have only reinforced what Potter already knew, that one or two of his younger players will be knocking on the first team door harder than ever in engage Super League XV.

The departure of more experienced campaigners Sean Long, Lee Gilmour and Jason Cayless may have left a difficult void to fill, but those wanting to step into their boots are already relishing the challenge.

And competition for places will hopefully be as hot as ever.
Mike Bennett's testimonial match against the Co-operative Championship Grand Final runners-up only went to emphasis the depth in talent at the club's disposal.

It is far too early to suggest Saints will be among the trophies at the end of the season, they look equipped to make a serious challenge on all fronts.

Potter was especially pleased with the performance of Jonny Lomax, who also played a prominent role in the midweek Karalius Cup victory over Widnes Vikings, and winger Gary Wheeler, who scored in both games.

Wheeler, in particular, will be hoping for an injury-free 2010 after starting the previous season with an early try-scoring burst, only to be frustratingly sidelined at crucial points in the campaign.

Potter said: "Gary will be putting extra pressure on our first-team regulars, and Jonny will be breaking into the backs somewhere."

Maurie Fa'asavalu also caught the eye with a typical blockbusting performance after emerging from the bench.

And New Zealand international centre Sia Soliola crowned his home debut, following an equally impressive display at Widnes, by scoring a first-half try which demonstrated that not only does he possess fine ball skills but the strength of a prop.

He swatted several players to one side in an awesome run to the line, and will no doubt be a firm favourite with the fans once the new season begins in earnest.

Kyle Eastmond and Leon Pryce, too, showed some nice touches at half-back and will need to be an influential pairing if Saints are to remain one of the top sides in the competition.

At the same time, Potter insisted: "We know what senior players are capable of, but friendly games like this are about the younger players and what they can do.

"The decision to cancel the game against Wigan Warriors on December 27 has probably been a good thing, allowing us to see youngsters in an advanced stage of our pre-season preparations, and some looked comfortable at this level."

He added: "I thought it was a good work-out, with our kick- chase game putting Halifax on the back foot.

"We may have deteriorated somewhat in the second half, but that was possibly due to the large number of positional changes we made."

His thoughts were borne out by the fact that after opening a
comfortable 28-6 half-time lead, Saints didn't score again until late in the game and coincidence or not the points came when match beneficiary Bennett stepped from the bench to make a cameo seven-minute appearance.

It also signalled a further milestone in his Saints' career, which started in 1995 and ended after a serious shoulder injury sustained in 2008 – his late penalty goal was the first he had scored at first team level in 84 starts and almost as many appearances from the bench!

Despite fog threatening to disrupt the fixture, which had already been cancelled once due to snow, 2,116 hardy souls – including a fair contingent from Yorkshire – braved the far from ideal weather to give one of the nice guys of Rugby League a rousing start to his benefit year.

And Bennett later thanked everyone who had given him support, including players and fans.

Teams:

SAINTS: Wellens, Gardner, Soliola, Gidley, Wheeler, Pryce, Eastmond, Fozzard, Roby, Emmitt, Puletua, Ashurst, Wilkin. Subs: Fa'asavalu, Moore, Yates, Magennis, Dean, Bradbury, Johnson, Lomax, Foster, Graham, Dixon, Bennett.

HALIFAX: Royston, Patterson, Goddard, Haley Worrincy, Branighan, Gene, Wrench, Gleeson, Cherryholme, Larder, Nash, Beswick. Subs: Flemming, Russell, Roberts, Watene, White, Bowman, Bannister.
Saints: Tries:Roby (6), Fa'asavalu (16), Soliola (29), Wheeler (35), Wellens (40), Pryce (76,79). Goals: Eastmond (4/5), Bennett (1/2).
Halifax: Tries: Haley (12), Nash (61), Branighan (80). Goals: Paterson (3/3)
Referee: Matthew Thomason.