Richards ready for Catalans clash

St Helens prop Greg Richards has set his sights on keeping his starting spot as his side prepares for Catalans.

Saints host the Dragons at Langtree Park on Friday.

Richards said competition for places at the club is strong, but admits he prefers starting rather than coming off the bench.

“Sometimes I like coming off the bench, [but] it’s nice to get some starts,” he said.

“Obviously it means that Keiron’s got some confidence in me and it feels good and I’m playing better.

“I think i do play better when I start so I’m looking forward to starting more.”

“The competition for places is good really you can’t afford to slip up theres a lot of pressure and there’s a lot of good talent at the club.

“There’s loads of Academy players coming up from the club so you can’t afford to drop off, you’ve got to keep on top really.

“You’ve got big lads breathing down your neck at training who are just ready to drop in when you have a bad game.”
 
St Helens are on a great run at the moment with six victories in a row.

Richards said the Red V have not changed a thing from earlier in the season.

“We’ve been doing the same thing all season and it’s starting to come together and bit more now,” he said.

“Everyone’s started buying into the way we want to play and everyone feels good and it’s going well, everything is going our way at the minute.

“When we we’re having that bit of bad form people’s heads drop, theres a different feel around training but now we’ve got a few wins everyones feeling good and it’s amazing what it can do.

“We just want to carry on.”

Friday’s game is a crunch battle with both Catalans and St Helens vying for a top four place.
 
“It’s such a tight table, we’re in good form and we’ve got all the confidence to bring them here and put in a good performance,” Richards said.

“We’re not really thinking about the table, we’re thinking about the performance and getting the result.”