Roby has grounds to be excited

James Roby

Published: 8:47am, 10th February 2012
Updated: 1:15pm, 10th February 2012

The excitement is building for England hooker James Roby as he prepares to lead St Helens out for Friday night's historic first Stobart Super League match at Langtree Park against Salford.

After spending the whole of the 2011 season sharing Widnes' Stobart Stadium, Saints will finally return home and Roby will once more fill in for injured captain Paul Wellens as they christen their £30million home.

"It's a great honour for myself," said Roby, who as a young fan stood on the terraces at the now-demolished Knowsley Road ground to cheer on his heroes. "I'm made up. I can't wait to finally see what the atmosphere is going to be like when it's full."

He added: "We got used to Widnes after a few weeks but it was never home and fans numbers were down.

"It's great to be back in St Helens now and, the way season ticket sales are going, hopefully the crowds will be fantastic all year.

"Obviously it's been a long time coming but everything is top notch and we've definitely no excuses in terms of facilities. We just need to go out there and do our job as players.

"We can't get caught up in all the hype. We've got to perform on pitch and (coach) Royce (Simmons) has drummed that into us.

"Hopefully we can take bit of confidence from last week's game and get another two points on the board."