Ancient monument to wingers across the land, Francis Meli, will leave St Helens at the end of the season and join the Salford Red Devils on a one year deal for the 2014 season.
Meli, best known for his time at the New Zealand Warriors a decade ago, is 34 years old and his signing announces a change of direction for Salford who, in the past, have had to rely on signing old has-beens from other Super League clubs.
Francis Meli (and so it Italy) will add experience to Salford next season but really, he isn’t the type of player I think the clubs should be targeting. I would like to see Salford going all out to sign the best young players it can find at other Super League clubs, not just old imports that other clubs don’t want any more.
I think Salford will use the signings of Morley and Meli to tempt young players with the idea that Salford are moving in the right direction. These 2 signings add much needed leadership to a leaderless squad.