Who would you choose at the moment? I cant see Potter changing his mind put personally I'd like to see Lomax at fullback. IIRC Wello is in the last year of his contract and at the moment I cant see any reason to renew it so why not throw Lomax in now and see if he can hack it. Worst Case scenario I'd even look at Pryce at fullback, he might actully look interested there ..

I am no Wello fan but he is the best option for now. We have bigger issues with other positions.

i despair at comments on this board fairly frequently but never so much as when people say wellens isn't worthy of a contract. defensively he is the best full back in the league and better than any other player in our squad would be in that position. his lack of pace/dynamism is not the reason that we are not scoring bagfulls of tries.

lomax should be getting game time on the wing. gardner offers nothing, even when fit.

I cant believe this poll 100% Paul Wellens

i think we could do with either pace at fullback or 2 fast wingers, on that basis i would at least like to see how lomax goes at full back for a run of games to make a decision though

My first choice fullback is still Wellens because we need him defensively, for his experience and ability to read the game. However, I would like to see Lomax given a chance there now and again to see how he goes, bearing in mind the future.

Wellens at the moment, but I'd like to see him under pressure from Lomax by the end of the year.

Wellens. End of.

Until someone else proves themselves then Wello all the way. Based on last week and the end of last season I'm not convinced I'd have Pryce anywhere

I think blindly going with Wello because he used to be top fullback is a mistake. He offers little in attack and his defence has not been as good or consistant as it used to be for some time now. Lomax is the future (hopefully) Wello is not the player he once was so why not see if Lomax really can cope at the top ?

As for Pryce - He is when he can be bothered a great runner of the ball and he could in theory still be a big influence from fullback.

u honestly think he's worth a new contract? Sadly the salary cap means contracts arnt awarded on what a player used to be capable of .. I do agree on he Gardner point though - it just sums up how poor our back line has become

Well, I don't think anyone is going blindly with Wello. I think people simply consider him still our best option. I don't buy it that he offers little in attack. He is no Slater in terms of speed but he never stops trying to get as far as he can as fast as he can. His value is in his experience when we have a number of inexperienced players in our backline just now. Also, he is totally committed. While he does make mistakes sometimes, they are still very rare - much rarer than, say, Longy's mistakes were in the two years prior to his departure. He is also a great last line of defence and we do need that, especially at present when our attack is non-existent. He will know that his future at Saints now is limited because he is turning 30 but I don't think any of our options at present come close to him except in speed and that alone isn't a good enough reason to replace him.

I'm afraid I cant agree on the attack side. His Kick returns are ok but he lacks the pace to make a break and take advantage of a broken field and his lack of pace again hampers him more than it used too when we are looking for him to chime into the line and provide the halves with real options. His defence is ok but he has looked more shakey in the last couple of years and mistakes have started to creap into his game. A modern fullback needs to be the complete package and Wello simply isnt it any more. From what I've seen the only thing young Lomax is missing is experience but he will only get that through games just like Wello when he first came into the team as a fullback (covering for Patch I think).

Unfortunately, like Yoda said 'There is only do or do not. There is no try'. Alas, Wellens does not more than he does with increasing regularity.



This is the reason I wouldn't bin him straight away, we can't afford to have too many kids in the team in one go and in such key positions. It's the reason I don't advocate pairing Eastmond with Wheeler now. Had our backline been Albert, Lyon, Talau and Meli then I'd be more inclined to throw Lomax in there now.

And safe hands. I've seen Lomax drop too much ball to be convinced he would make a secure fullback, although I appreciate that may have been the result of newbie nerves. However, if he sorts that issue out then clearly he has potential. Having said that, I don't know how good he is at reading the game, do you? I haven't seen him play enough to judge whether he is a good interpreter of what is happening on the field. That is vital as a fullback and something Wello has in spades.


Patch was injured at the time I believe when Wello made his real break into the team although he had been featuring here and there for a little while before then. I wasn't an active fan back then, just an occasional one, so I'm not 100% on the history of Wello's adoption as fullback.

Eastmond and Wheeler are a tempting prospect, though, don't you think? I'd love to see them have a go at Superleague level. Even if it was in just one match. I think they could complement each other very well. (I didn't ever see them play at reserves level so I don't know what they look like in partnership)

What a great idea.

Before he got his big break at FB Wello was a specialist halfback I believe (a little like Lomax was/is) which probably helped his game awareness and his ability to read situations. IIRC I think Wello made his debut under Hanley at hooker. You never lose the mental side of things, Wello will always be able to read a game but I think his body is failing him now, it's certainly not helping that our first line of defence seem to be getting worse under Potter so he's getting more work.

Try to not be irritating for a few minutes and give us your opinion on Lomax ! I'm sure as an avid watcher of junior Rugby you have a clue about how he'd go as a fulltime fullback.

Just promoting discussion.



Lomax is a very good young player with a fantastic attitude, plus he's a Billinge lad.


I'm not sure fullback is his best position but he'll do o.k. there.
My only concern for him is his injury record, and will it take a toll in later years? However he has battled through it all, and his attitude is superb. If effort and willingness to work at his game guarantee success then he will go all the way.

Paul Wellens has always lacked pace, although he used to get past that because he was positioned better and worked his socks off getting there. His performances over the past 10 years have been at times inspirational and he has been, alongside Cunningham and Senior, one of the most consistent players in Super League.

BUT as much as I love him, and I do, he is a true club legend, his time as a fullback is now up. He is too slow and isn't producing the kind of inspirational plays he used to. That could perhaps be because the rest of the side is weaker which exposes him more, but he hasn't been the same for 2 years now IMO. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's a liability as he's not, but his contribution to the side is minimal at the moment. He offers absolutely nothing in attack, is making the type of errors he never used to make and isn't 'getting there' to make those last ditch tackles or clear balls from the in goal anymore.

Unless his form turns around considerably he isn't worthy of a new deal. I'd be giving Lomax more than a chance, I'd make him first choice while we are in this 'transition' mood and see if he's up to it. Wello could cover at centre or loose forward or even as a fourth hooker (I bet no one has tried 4, mind you no one is stupid enough to try 3 other than us so perhaps thats not a good idea).

totally agree - you put it much better than I did

Lomax for me. He offers far more from an attacking point of view, and in my opinion fullback is the most attacking-minded position of all. It would inject some pace in our pedestrian backline, and he is only going to get better, whereas Wellens will get progressively worse as he ages. Wellens has served us well but it's time for fresh blood I feel. We would also get more points on the board, as our support play is very poor, and support play is mainly dependent on having a quick fullback.

For anyone who watched the Wigan game tonight, do you think Roberts 2nd try would have been scored by Wellens? Or the try that Gleeson scored about Phelps beat a man or two, do you think Wellens would have set that up? Wellens has been a great servant to the club, but I think it's time for us to move on.

I'm not sure Lomax would have done any better to be fair.

Defensively, Paul Wellens is without a doubt the safest full back in the country. At least the major worry with Wello is if he'll make it past the first offensive player when bringing the ball forward...with the other 13 full backs in the country, the major worry is if he'll receive the ball comfortably before even thinking off attacking with it.

Defense is the main asset of a full back - and we've got the best defensive full back in the country. He's hardly world class in attack, but thats what wingers and centres were designed for. Its not Wellos fault that Saints aren't gifted in that department.

14 votes for Lomax? Seriously? Is that 14 opposition fans trying to bombard our poll?