St Helens received two significant boosts before the engage Super League Grand Final on Saturday, with Keiron Cunningham, their inspirational hooker, signalling his intention to play a sixteenth season with the club next year and Jason Cayless, his front-row team-mate, resuming training, after a knee injury, for the showdown against Leeds Rhinos at Old Trafford.

Cunningham, 32 next month, the club's longest-serving player, will sign a 12-month contract extension this week. If Cayless is restored to the pack after missing the past three matches and the Carnegie Challenge Cup final victory over Hull, Nick Fozzard is expected to miss out.

Leeds will learn today whether they will have Lee Smith available on the wing, after the 22-year-old was charged with a grade C offence that carries a suspension of up to four matches. Smith's boot caught Phil Bailey in the face while both players were on the ground during Leeds's play-off defeat of Wigan Warriors last Friday, for which Smith was placed on report. A video review panel ruled yesterday that Smith, who went on to score two tries in the 18-14 win, had a case to answer.

Ryan Hall would be a direct replacement to play in his first final, but Brian McClennan, the Leeds coach, is confident of not having to make changes. “We've got faith in the judiciary system,” McClennan said. “You've always got contingency plans, but we're not going to go too far down that road. I'm pretty confident we'll name the same 19 as last week.”

Apollo Perelini, the St Helens conditioning coach and former player, is leaving after the final to head up an elite sporting academy in Dubai and Sam Thompson, 21, the prop who has made six substitute appearances this year, is to join Widnes Vikings. He is the fifth player to confirm his end-of-season exit after the retirements of Paul Sculthorpe and Mike Bennett and impending departures of Willie Talau and Fozzard.

Scotland have withdrawn Mark Calderwood from their World Cup squad after the Wigan wing's call-up into England's training squad. “We only want players committed to Scotland,” Richard Thewlis, the team manager, said.