SAINTS new recruit Joel Thompson will bring experience, toughness and leadership to the ranks after signing a two-year deal at the club.

Coach Kristian Woolf said he wanted someone to fit the same mould as the departing Zeb Taia - describing Thompson as, "Someone who can play 80 minutes every week and really hold his hands up defensively and offer us a little bit of ball play."

This is the package with which the club announced the signing this morning.