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St Helens interim coach Eamon O’Carroll has spoken positively about several of the club’s young guns, whilst also explaining why so many of those young talents will benefit massively this off-season. Saints have called upon plenty of their homegrown players this season on account of their injury crisis and of those to debut in 2026*, few have impressed more than Tom Humphreys with the young hooker playing a total of 11 games. *Jake Davies debuted in round 27 of 2025. Humphreys landed his debut back in April but he’s been ever-present since round 15 and he’s taken an even more prominent role since the injury to Daryl Clark at Magic Weekend. He’d play a starring role in Saturday’s win over Wakefield with the diminutive hooker forcing a knock-on from Jazz Tevaga, who had seemingly targeted the youngster, with Saints scoring their first try off the back of that big moment. When asked at Thursday’s presser just how impressed he’s been by Humphreys, Eamon O’Carroll explained how the grounded youngster would admit he’s got plenty to work on, though he did offer some high praise. “I think Tom will be the first to say that he’s still got a lot to work on, which he should have at his age with the lack of experience that he’s got. “But, again, he bases his game on hard work and doing the right thing and that’s why he gets the plaudits when he deserves it. I think for such a small lad, he’s got one of the best tackle techniques that I’ve seen.” NRL lowball Super League, Hull FC’s gargantuan signing, and new title favourites – Click here to watch this week’s episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show Why Tom Humphreys and co. will take a huge step in the off-season That tackle technique has been evident in recent weeks and was certainly evident when he took on the rampaging Tevaga but O’Carroll expects more to come in the coming years as Humphreys matures physically and develops alongside England international Daryl Clark. “For Tom to be able to have another couple of pre-seasons under his belt and mature physically, he’s going to be a fantastic player for St Helens,” he said. “I don’t think he’s had much chance to play with Daryl, unfortunately, but I think, again, the pre-season there, spending some time together, getting some exposure and some contact there with Daryl will be really beneficial for him.” Clark, who was ruled out for the season with that ankle injury, is in and amongst it at training but in O’Carroll’s eyes, his impact will really be seen in the off-season. He said: “Daryl is working really hard to make sure that he’s in a great spot to come next year and have a full pre-season, which is something that he’s really looking forward to. “He’s not been able to do that because of the calibre of player he is. He’s always been on international duty, and I think this might be one of the first off-seasons he’s had. “I think that’s going to be an exciting time for some of our younger players, getting the likes of Matty Lees and Daryl Clark around them in a pre-season, because normally they’re not there.” St Helens’ next youngster off the block previewed Another player who could grow during that off-season is youngster Oscar Knox, called up to the 21-man squad this week just days after being confirmed to the Academy Origin squad. On the young forward, O’Carroll explained he’s season that he earmarked when he first joined. He said: “I remember seeing him play in an academy game last year and he came off the bench and just the intensity of which he did everything that I really liked. To me, he looked like a Saints player. “He’s someone I’ve kind of kept my eye on for a while. He’s had a little issue with his wrist, but it was his first game back last week, I think it was. He played against Hull KR. I looked at his game and looked at his clips and was just really impressed with what he did.” Unless there’s a change in circumstance, Knox won’t debut this weekend, with O’Carroll admitting: “We want to give him some exposure in terms of what being in the 21-man squad looks like. At the moment, he won’t feature for us, but we want to give him that little bit of exposure because he’s earned it through his hard work.” Accepting that he views Knox as someone with a bright future, O’Carroll clarified that such a positive future will only happen if he keeps his head down, something he didn’t seem to doubt of Knox. “There’s no doubt he’s got talent, but I think it’s important that he continues to act professional the way he does and works hard, keeps his head down, very respectful. “That’s the key with some of the young lads. They’ve obviously got the talent because they’re here at St Helens, but the character and how they act off the field, that’s a big one. Oscar’s fantastic in that respect.”