Young quartet on the start of their St Helens journeys

Today's looks at the early years of Super League and a quartet of young Saints who were all just breaking into the first team.

Among them is current first team coach Paul Wellens - on the start of his Saints journey.

Former coach Eric Hughes, who had a record of bringing young players through at Saints in the years before Super League, was back at the club as football manager although Ellery Hanley was head coach.

It is the start of the 1999 campaign and pictured with Hughes and Wellens are Mark Edmondson, Tim Jonkers and Scott Barrow.

Wellens, who had made his debut the previous August, would go on to finish that year with his first Grand Final ring after coming off the the bench in the tense 8-6 triumph over Bradford Bulls.

Statistics of 231 tries, 40 goals and one drop goal in 495 appearances is only give part of the picture of this Saint's contribution to his hometown club.

He has subsequently added to that record since hanging up his boots, as an assistant and now head coach.

Lancaster-born Edmondson was a mobile forward whose highlight in 117 matches was the hat-trick he scored in the 75-0 thumping of Wigan.

Jonkers, like Edmondson, made his debut in March 1999 in the win over Salford as coach Ellery Hanley was keen on promoting the youth.

With an insatiable workrate, Jonkers did plenty of the graft in the back row - although his career highlight undoubtedly came as a 19-year-old, a year after this picture was taken, when he polished off a long-range move to finally sink Wigan in the 2000 Grand Final at Old Trafford.

Scott Barrow was non-playing substitute that day - on standby in case Keiron Cunningham pulled up or needed some respite at nine. That was the last time he donned the Saints jersey and moved on to play for Worcester rugby union after that game.

He left Knowsley Road with a club record of two tries from 23 appearances since making his debut in 1997 and has continued to ply his trade as a coach in the 15-man code.