AS any Knowsley Road stalwart will tell you, relatively few Australian players have donned the Saints' shirt over the years, with the likes of Mal Meninga and Phil Veivers being of most recent vintage, writes Denis Whittle.

Both upheld the finest oval-ball traditions of that great rugby playing nation, and now another star from Down Under promises to emulate them as he glistens in the Knowsley Road firmament despite being here less than 12 months

There is no doubt that 6ft 3in17 stone giant Derek McVey has proved a real find for Saints. For, in that short period, he has become a firm favourite with the fans in making 19 full appearances and four substitutions, scoring six tries and one goal, and picking up several man-of-the-match awards en-route.

As if we need to be reminded Derek's haul included the Silk Cut accolade on his Challenge Cup debut against Wigan a fortnight ago, following a performance in which his readiness to take the ball up and then release the telling pass were outstanding features.

Touching on a magnificent victory that will stay etched in Knowsley Road folklore McVey (pronounced McVee) said: "All the lads were well primed for the game and were prepared to run themselves into the ground, while the preparation was spot-on thanks to our coach Shaun McRae.

"Naturally we were all desperately sad when Bobbie Goulding received the red card, but we talked it through in the dressing room and made our minds up that we had to win it for the skipper, the fans and ourselves.

"However, talk of another Wembley appearance is premature - ask Sunday's opponents Hull! - although it would be nice to make a return trip after missing out last year due to being registered after the Cup deadline.

"However, there were half-a-dozen other disappointed Saints' stars at Wembley, including the injured Joey Hayes and my old mate Adam Fogerty, but we soon got over that when the lads lifted the Cup."

A native of Newcastle, New South Wales, and formally a painter and decorator, 27-year-old Derek played little rugby while at school and cut his 13-a-side teeth with the locally-based Cardiff team before joining Balmain.

McVey still had 12 months of his contract to run when his Sydney-based club allowed him to shop around in the newly-launched Super League, and in this respect he was pointed in the right direction in this country by ex-Kangaroo Michael O'Connor and Maurice Lindsay.

The happy sequel for all at Saints was an initial12-month contract, and within a fortnight of jetting 12,000 miles from Australia 'big Mac' had made his senior debut at Workington then earned his first man-of-the-match rating - again against Wigan.

Nowadays, with another yearly deal agreed, Derek is cosily ensconced at Windle with his Australian-born wife, Kylie, while baby daughters two-and-half-year-old Georgia and three-month-old Ellie complete the family circle.

And the McVey household can expect another addition, albeit temporary, later in the year for Derek's dad Roger is scheduled to arrive for a holiday and, as a former second-rower himself, is well qualified to run an experienced eye over his son and heir's performances.

McVey senior played Rugby League in the Newcastle area until he was 40, but there is little likelihood of Derek following in his father's footsteps in that respect, because the current Saints' sensation hopes to be firmly settled into coaching long before then.

But for now it's all systems go for Derek McVey as Saints prepare to take another step on the Wembley trail and limber up for the defence of the Super League title while, for obvious reasons, he can't wait to head back 'Down Under' this summer for the inaugural World Club Challenge games.

Good on yer, Derek!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.