ST HELENS’ former New Zealand Test winger Francis Meli has arrived back in England in “awesome” shape but will have to prove himself in the reserves before being considered for a return to Super League.
The 29-year-old, who trained for the first time yesterday under Saints coach Mick Potter, returned two months late after being stranded in Auckland by red tape over his visa renewal and has so far missed five rounds of Super League.
That will be six after tomorrow’s Grand Final rematch with champions Leeds because he was omitted from Potter’s initial 19-man squad.
“It’s good news finally and he’s not looking in too bad a shape,” said Potter.
“Stepping off a plane on Tuesday and expecting him to be right for Friday is a bit much. Certainly a hit-out in the reserves will do him the world of good.
“We did a little bit of strength testing with him and he’s right up there with the top five per cent of our players. He’s looking pretty awesome, gym-wise.”
Meli’s last appearance for St Helens was in their 24-16 defeat at Old Trafford in October while his try against the Rhinos in the qualifying semi-final a fortnight earlier was his 51st in just 90 appearances.
The return of the ex-Kiwi international, who played for Samoa in the 2008 World Cup, has been welcomed by stand-off Leon Pryce.
“We’ve really missed him, his size and physical presence,” said Pryce.
“It’s good to see him back. We need him and I’m sure he will be back playing well in the next few weeks. He looks a lot bigger.”
In his absence, Potter has used teenagers Tom Armstrong and Gary Wheeler on the left flank and he will choose between the pair for the visit of the Rhinos.
Definitely back is centre Lee Gilmour, who missed last week’s 38-12 win over Salford with a facial injury, which will enable Chris Flannery to revert to his traditional place in the back row.
Flannery will take the place of teenager Andrew Dixon, who has started the last two matches in the second row, but has been ruled out for 12 weeks after damaging a wrist against Salford.
Dixon, who made his debut in Saints’ shock home defeat by Hull KR last month, underwent surgery yesterday to correct the ligament and cartilage damage.
“He was going well,” said Potter.
“He’s one of the bright prospects but he’s only 19 and he will have a lot of footy left when he comes back in mid-June.”
St Helens have powerhouse England forward Maurie Fa’asavalu back from suspension but former Kiwi forward Tony Puletua has failed to recover from a groin problem which kept him on the sidelines against Salford.
Leeds expect to have both centre Keith Senior and hooker Matt Diskin back for the big game after missing last week’s 34-10 win over Wigan through injury.
