On his testimonial? On the game? I have no idea.

For years I've stuck up for Wilkin. From the beginning he was saddled with the unenviable responsibility of being the "New Scully". Or at least according to some fans. Season after season he's been a consistent, intelligent performer and a consummate professional. I especially like to think of those periods of injury crisis when he's fiilled in at stand-off and imparted just enough tactical nous to guide the team to victory.

This season - completely anonymous. I mean, with Graham gone and no obvious team leader you'd think he's be busting his nuts to assume responsibility. But so far he's been little more than a passenger. From Wellens I can kind of understand it. His legs are shot. But Wilkin is - or should be - in the prime of his career.

Worse still he has a [ifour year contract[/i in the bag that, presumably, adds up to anything but a pittance. If this incarnation of Wilkin is what we should expect in the future we have been royally fleeced.

I know players sometimes lose a touch of focus during a testimonial year but with most of our youngsters mentally shot the last thing we need is for our experienced, highly-paid veterans to go AWOL. Guys like Gaskell, Lomax, Wheeler et al need someone to turn to when things turn sour and right now Wilkin simply isn't living up to his side of the bargain.

well said, he has showen in the past that he can be class (wembly final at twickers showed world class), but as you say its no where near consistent enough.

he should really be putting his hand up and saying "here are lads this is what we need now" and help the halfs out, i think the game that it really showed this that stands out was the huddersfield game, we have a few games this year we have lost on the button but the last 10 min or so of the hudd game really showed the inexpeniance in lomax and gaskell, how far the team has dropped off and the extream lack of ideas or leadership in the team, he really needed to help more at the end of this game because were lost.

Jon Wilkins priorities? for me his only priorites are Jon Wilkin, but how i would love to see him kick on and make us look like idiots for questioning him

Harsh call for me. Firstly, to call him anonymous, I can only assume you mean with ball in hand as he is our top tackler so he is "busting his balls" defensively. I would agree that in attack his performances haven't been up to last season's standards but if the rumours are true (George Riley's column on the BBC states that several Saints players have said they felt clueless in attack) I'd say of everyone in our team, Wilkin is probably the most put upon. What position is he being asked to fill? Was Sculthorpe ever top tackler when he was playing at 13? Not a chance and that is the role Wilkin is being asked to play but still carry out huge defensive stints. We need to get a coach who can get the best use of his talents because I'd question whether any of Anderson, Potter or Simmons has so far. He seems to have been used as a workhorse second row but I feel he's capable of playing a Kevin Sinfield type role. He's got the qualities to do so.

Incredible.

I think the problem Jon has, from a fans perspective, is that he is so versatile. If he's not doing the 'playmaker' role & kicking enough then the fans think he's anonymous. Yet if he does all of this & it's not perfect then the fans think he should get out of the way of the half backs & let them do their job. If we've got half backs then let them do their job.

At the end of the day we do not know exactly what role the coach has asked him to perform. If it's a combination of all facets of the game then he's not going to stand out doing one or the other.

Personally I think he is possibly the best line runner in the squad when he plays solely in the second row & I think that is something we are sorely missing at this moment in time.

As with most of the squad I am sure he is trying to do whatever he is being asked to do to the best of his ability but I think they are all suffering in a lack of confidence.

I think he's trying. If you look at the Bradford game for example he clearly understands the importance of the game and the game situation and visibly tries to raise the intensity. He gets fired up and ends up battling with Elima and a couple of others for a while. His inability to do anything about the outcome is down to his lack of physicality. He tries to force the issue and get us on top, but their superior pack just swamped ours. We're one of the softest teams in Super League at the moment. Soliola and Puletua are the only players with any real physical presence and it's the reason we're often bullied in the second half of games.

Our backs are tiny and our front row is primarily made up of back rowers. Size and physicality are important attributes Saints need to look for in their recruitment over the coming seasons.

But over the last two games Lance Hohaia has been our top tackler hasn't he? (No wonder Lance has struggled to make impact going forward with over 50 tackles per game - ludicrous that one man is working so hard in defence; where are our other players?)


Well, they should be. He is one of our longest serving players, an international and very experienced. He needs to get his backside in gear because attack is where we have most needed him, obviously, since we have inexperienced halves.


Players feeling clueless on the pitch suggests either (a) there is no leader there to direct them (and that is definitely the case) or (b) they are not following the game plan/the game plan has been disrupted or (c) they haven't the capacity to think for themselves and create something in which case are they good enough to play in the first team? I don't buy the excuse of feeling clueless. There is enough talent in our team and enough experience in our team for somebody to give direction on the pitch but nobody appears to be willing.

I think this is really harsh and he was trying to lead by example at Bradford (alongside Wello). I thought he put in a decent stint and is one of the few players in our side who appears to remember that running off the ball is required.

It's no good just leading by example though. Somebody needs to give direction, to talk. He wasn't talking - except at the ref. He's been with us 10 years. He's in his late 20s. He is fully capable of taking on the extra responsibility of leader up front. He needs to do it.

What have the last two games got to do with it? We're discussing Jon Wilkin's supposed anonymity this season aren't we? My point is that he has been far from anonymous this season in defence. Why you bring up Hohaia's defense over the last two games is beyond me, unless you're someone who just likes an argument for the sake of it.

Lance has been top tackler for the last 2 games becuase he is making alot of marker tackles in the number 9 role. Just a shame that his attacking play has been 10 times worse than Wilkin's.




If Royce has asked him to go out there and be a tackle machine and to leave the attack to Gaskell, Wheeler, Hohaia, Roby and Lomax then what do you want him to do? Play to his own tune? Change the gameplan to suit himself?




I refer you to my previous point. I'm not saying Wilkin has been a shining light this season but who has other than Roby and Sia? You can point your finger at a number of players but for Wilkin to be taking more stick than PLENTY of other players baffles me.

I wouldn't question wilkin effort, nor his commitment.
He may not be working smart, I suppose. Defence work could be spread and he could save his energy for running lines etc, but he used to be able to do both.

I would suggest his attacking form will/could increase with the rest of the squad. Once/if we start doing the things that we've been missing, he'll be coming up with better stuff as his contribution.

Wilkin's always struck me as they guy who'll do whatever the coach asks of him, rather than play a natural game.

I think most people on here no my views on Jon wilkin. Two good seasons in ten years.

I think now's the wrong time to make judgment - let's assess once the new coaching staff have started to implement a new gameplan*

For all we know, the Simmons tactics may have been to use Wilkin as nothing more than cannon fodder



* this assumes there will be a new gameplan, because if there isn't we're shafted anyhoo

Given the way things have gone this season so far and the apparent discord behind the scenes I think it's incredibly unfair to lump too much criticism onto any player right now. Let's see how he and everyone else goes over the rest of the season with the alleged back-monkey now removed and then start the knife-sharpening.

No one disputes whether Wilkin is putting the work in. It's his leadership and direction, or lack thereof which is in question at precisely the time when we need both the most.

What specifically is he not doing? I'm genuinely interested in to what this would constitute in your eyes? Bollocking the rest of the players behind the sticks is one I would agree with although I'd say it's more Wellens' job as captain. Other than that, if you're suggesting he should be dominating games from first reciever or pushing our half backs out of the way to direct the team around the park, then I can also see a point but I don't think the rest of the team, especially Gaskell and Lomax, would particularly appreciate it. Would it not be counter productive? I would suggest that Royce has asked him to fulfil a role that isn't getting the best out of his potential this year and I'd hope that Rushy and KC will give him a little bit more responsibility in guiding the team around the park.

What about consistantly offering himself as a running option to the young half backs? They've been the two to suffer the most with our lack of structure.

Fair enough, maybe he's not made as many runs as he normally would. We'll see if that improves under a new coaching technique.

I'm not having a go, but he is supposed to be one of our smarter players. For intance , if he spent the whole game offering himself as a simple runner on Lomax's inside, it would help immensly. Saying that, if he's had different instructions.....

Couldn't agree more! Especially with your last sentence.

I find this a strange criticism, given he probably offers himself more than any other player in the squad, whilst running himself into the ground in defence.

Think I must watch a different player to some on here at times.

Wilkin has been misused by a succession of coaches at Saints, and as a result, we have never seen the best of him. He was singed as the "new Scully", but has never yet been given the 13 shirt. I think that sums up how he has been treated. Hopefully, the change of coach can bring our the best in Wilkin, give him the 13 jersey, as a traditional ball playing, kicking, loose forward in the Sinfield, Scully, Harry Pinner mould, and lets see what he can do. Otherwise, he will end his career as a player who never fulfilled his potential due to mismangement. I belive we are lucky to have retained him, he could easily have gone elsewhere for a regular 13 jersey.

Wilkin doesn't deserve individual criticism IMO, I'm just spitballing as to ways our current plight could/will be solved.
Whilst I agree he is a willing runner, it would have shown good ingenuity if he'd taken the decision to move in field from his usual wider line to play the role I mentioned. That may have helped pull in the defence more in the last couple of games.

Exactly.

Unfortunately some people simply aren't leaders and that is maybe the case with wilkin. It's easier to train a player to tackle or pass or kick than to lead. Roby is a genuine world class player who I don't really see as a leader. Newlove was never a leader. We are asking wilkin to do everything, let's give him a break from being a leader too?