THE former Blackbrook amateur broke into the first team in 2005 and hasn't looked back.
Aged 16 he was named Saints under-18 Player of the Year in a squad that reached the Grand Final.
His other highlight of that season was going with the St Helens under-16 side on the tour of Australia were they won their three games on tour including a win against the highly-rated Penrith Panthers side that weeks earlier had beaten the New Zealand under-16s.
The back-rower made his Super League debut in July 2005 against Hull and his safe, strong running style and no nonsense tackling have made him a regular starter ever since.
2008 proved to be another successful year for Cloughie - scoring a hat trick at the Halliwell Jones Stadium against Warrington and picking up another Challenge Cup Winners Medal to boot.
In 2009 season he was the only 'ever-present' in the team and he was one of the hubs of the pack in 2010.
Like a number of players, his 2011 season was cut short by injury - a neck problem sustained in the win at Leeds. He spent the best part of 15 weeks on the sidelines, and then turned his ankle on his return.
But he returned to his good form in 2012 and was rewarded with a three-year contract.
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