DESPITE already being well-blessed in the 1,6, 7 and 9 spine area of their team, Saints coach Matty Smith spotted an opportunity to add something different to the side’s attack this year by signing Beri Salihi from Wigan.
Although it is early days for the 18-year-old in the red vee, the gifted full back has so far repaid that faith – and there is promise of much more to come.
It has not simply been her skills and athletic prowess that have impressed her peers and the coaching staff, but her sponge-like willingness to soak up information and learn from the players around her.
Skipper Jodie Cunningham explained: “Beri has been outstanding.
“She’s got such a great attitude, a really young player, but a real willingness to learn and drive to be better.
“She’s constantly asking Matty, myself and the other coaches about different things and how she can improve on different aspects of play.
“It’s fantastic to have a young player with that much self-awareness and desire to be better.
“And I think that to me just proves that she is going to go on to be an absolute superstar of our game.
“I know she wants that for herself as well, and she’s already set the league alight so far this season and I think she will be a key part in our success, hopefully at the weekend but going into the season.”
Salihi is a Saints fan and a product of the club’s Academy, but she originally left for Wigan to get more gametime – and played 13 times for the Cherry and Whites last term.
And that experience has just been another step in helping the young player, who is a member of the England Knights team, develop.
“When you see the raw talent that Beri has got, it needs game time, it needs that opportunity to play around others and hopefully we’re helping her to learn positionally,” Cunningham said.
“I think she’s got all of the raw athleticism and desire to win and is someone who just looks so natural when she plays.
“All she needs is just that sort of positional understanding in attack and defence.
“Beri has put such a focus on that because she’s in a team where she doesn’t have loads of responsibility on her.
“We’ve got players around her in terms of the halves, the forwards, the outside backs who you can take pressure away from her to allow her to just play a game which is just so brilliant at and she’s so instinctive.
“It was a no brainer, really, giving Beri that opportunity and she’s absolutely repaid that in bucket loads.”
Coach Smith, who despite having the likes of long serving Rebecca Rotheram and the versatile Zoe Harris at full back, could not resist the chance to see what Salihi could add to the team.
Smith said: “I think Beri is such an exciting talent.
“And I remember watching her last year and I thought she would suit our team and suit the way we play.
“I thought having someone as dynamic as her, as fast as her out the back, and playing alongside Faye Gaskin, Jodie Cunningham, Zoe Harris and Amy Taylor, would add a lot to our team.
“So that’s why I went after Beri. I think she’s been great so far and she is one of them that after every single session, every single time she plays, she’ll come up and ask, ‘what can I do better?’ ‘What can I do to improve?’ “And I love that in her. I think she just wants to be better and where that girl can get to is up to her.
“I really do believe that. I think she could be the best thing in this country in next couple of years, but she’s obviously got to work hard to achieve that, but I’m glad I’ve got her playing for me and not somewhere else.”
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