[urlhttp://www.saintsrlfc.com/news/2869[/url
Now can someone tell Meli when we start back.

Meli and Shenton in the Centre spots?

Wellens
Foster
Shenton
Wheeler
Meli

Would be my preference I think.

Who is this Wheeler you speak of? You heard we're signing him?

Yeah I agree that's my preference but its a big question mark over Wheelers fitness and hamstrings at the moment

WOOHOO!!! No pace in the backs again next season.

Well done saints

Meli on a two year deal? didnt expect that, guess there really is no wingers around. Does this add fuel to the rumours about ade?

Did anything come of the rumour of a loan to Cas?

Even though they all bring something to the table, the 3 resignings may leave us a little underwhelmed as it decreases the chances of any exciting new features to the squad.

Flannery's still a little bit of a question Mark for me. Good player and all, but worth taking an increasingly precious quota spot? I know he can cover the centre, but surely there would have been a better quality centre available if we'd have been looking early enough.

I can't bear to watch Meli in another big game for us.

Absolutely bizarre. Just what are the club doing? Is it just that the stadium is distracting them and that the playing side of things is going to be on hold for the time being? Super League is a terrible standard so they don't really need to invest to remain competitive, but does this show that the board is not interested in winning trophies. We have no dangerous players in the 1-5 positions, which isn't good enough for a club who is interested in winning things.

A 2 year deal for Meli? Unbelievable frankly. Flannery's new deal is also very generous as that is one position we're not short of. Stunning lack of ambition from the club again this season with the signings they have made.

Don't worry, I can't see us reaching to many big games for a while.

Could you see it this time last year?

My predictions for the season and for Potter's reign were 100% accurate. Were yours?

I called the GF as soon as the semis were played. You lot all embarassed yourselves by claiming it a win.

Three 30 year olds. Well done.



As I said a few weeks ago, keeping Wellens was always going to happen as it allows Saints up to £50K extra on the salary cap.

Dont mind the re-signing of Meli. The lad deserves a new contract.

I hope Wellens contract is on reduced terms. He was always going to sign a new contract as we have 50% of his wages taken off the cap because his been here over 10 years.

Not too happy with the Flannery contract. He takes up a quota spot that id rather see go on a fast Aussie back. However maybe thats what were looking at for 2012 ? Big Aussie signing for our new stadium ?

We'll be up there again next season but i feel it's Wigans to lose imo.

I also hope Royce does what Madge as done at Wigan e.g. Drop Flannery to the U20's if his not performing just like Wigan did with Bailey.

No they was not. You predicted we would get nowhere near Old Trafford. You also spouted many bizarre things over the season (Wakefields backs being better than Saints etc.....)

A backrower taking up a (valuable) quota spot in the current squad signs a new deal and is described by Tony Colquitt as a "consumate professional"........that speaks volumes for me.

Is that the type of player we need in that position?

No they weren't - you said we'd fall behind Hull/Hull KR/Hudds/Wakey/Wire/Leeds etc etc.

As it happens we only finished behind Wigan and were the league's top try scorers despite getting dry humped by injuries all season, including being a half-back free zone for the play-offs.

Not necessarily. I groan at the thought of having Meli causing disasters in defence for two bloody years (one year would have been bad enough) but we can't dispose of all of our experienced players in one shot. Flannery getting one is sufficient given that next season another batch of players come to the end of their contracts, arguably our best batch of players. Wello getting two years is fine by me as he has been superb this season and his effectiveness is not undermined by his lack of pace, assuming he maintains his form.

To give the club the benefit of the doubt, what they might be thinking of is blending in more young players over the next season or two because our new coach is well known apparently for working with young players and so this might just be the club trying to manage what are significant manpower changes over the next couple of seasons. That's just a guess though.

Im slightly surprised by the length of contract that Meli has got, i thought he would maybe get a 1 year deal.

I do like Flannery as a player, but he has had a very quiet season towards the end of it.

Wello has been very good this season and deserves his contract extension.

As someone has mentioned though, feels a bit deflating though, as it means we may not be bringing in any more signings, which would have been a little bit exciting to say the least.

Wellens has his moments and although they are getting fewer and far between, he is too big a character to lose and probably brings as much to the backroom as much as he does on the field.

Flannery I compare to Phil Bailey and I am stunned he has got a new contract, Meli again has his moments but seems to struggle and be targeted in the big games.

As a Wigan fan I am not quaking in my boots at this news, but the key to Saints season will by the coach appointment rather than the player recruitment.

Wello's overall form this year has been very good i think, but he's 30 now, so I'm suprised both he and Meli got more than the standard 1 year given the clubs recent track record.
Meli, despite his floor is still a genuinely dangerous player (for both teams on the pitch

) which is something we don't have an awful lot of.
Flannery, as I say, good player in his own right.
I don't dispute any of them resigning as individuals and I'd share your concern if they were all to leave at once, but the collective resigning of all 3 and the length of Wellens and Meli's contract does suprise me slighly.
I know we don't know how much they've been offered, but I reckon all three (especially Wello) would have attracted attention from other clubs (especially Bradford andSalford, who seem to be working hard on recruitment), which leads me to beleive that they won't be exactly on peanuts.
I guess, as I speccy, hope skews your veiw. Many of us hope that Lomax will develop this year into a dangerous successor to Wello, hope that Wheeler can get an injury free run into the centres, hope that Frodsham can finally come out the shadows and develop into a SL player and would hope that we could have attracted a classy centre from the NRL instead of resigning a pretty good utlity player in Flannery. The problem the board have is making things work in the real world, I suppose.

Just seen on Sky that Saints have give Flannery a 1 year deal and Meli and Wellens on 2 year deals.
I thought Saints policy on over 30's was one year deals only.

So far as I know, Saints have never specified that. It's just been assumed. I don't know how old Flannery and Meli are but Wellens only turned 30 this season and, frankly, he's been in outstanding form. A player in outstanding form is just that. There is plenty of time to ease another player into the role in the next two seasons.

I would have been happy to see Meli go completely and why we have given him two years I don't know; he never gets dropped, he gets offered two years; the board clearly don't rate his deficiencies.

Flannery is on a one year deal; we've needed him this season to cover for injury at centre so it will be useful to have him on board as we make further transition.

Bizarre isn't it. They wouldn't give 2 year deals to Sean Long or Lee Gilmour but Francis Meli gets one.