Eastmond is like Rob Burrow but with a physique like Ellery Hanley, so he will be a very effective player if he stays fit.

That said when it comes to being a class halfback he's not fit to lace Lee Briers boots.

He was a darn sight better when last on an RL field than Briers was at the same age - Kyle, if he comes back to RL (hopefully in a red vee) with a bit more maturity and a little attitude adjustment and stays fit for any length of time will develop so far past Briers' capabilities that it would be an embarassment to try and compare them.

Kyle had a much more rounded skill set in terms of passing and kicking than tomkins. Its also a better skill set than Briers and certainly Long had at the same age. Whether his expolsive pace and power would prove to be more or less effective than Tomkins rangey side steps is a matter of opinion, i guess.

However, Tomkins has heart and a will to win (in spades), which seperates the wheat from the chaff. I'm afriad that Eastmond never showed that steel imo.
If he wants to spend his time getting freezing cold on the wing for bath, gettting the ball 4 times a game, then fair play. He'll probably be making a decent wedge, but if he'd have stuck to league he'd be getting tapped up by NRL club and be looking at making just as much money in the right game.

I like you NS, I really do (I know you couldn't sleep till i told you that) but I do have to laugh at this statement. Defending a more recent saints half back who has embarrassed your team over an older saints half back who has embarrassed your team, purely because there's more chance of Eastmond 'returning home'. I can just see you in ten years time proclaiming eastmond's talents as 'embarrassing' compared to the next promising player to leave the banks of st helens for more money or fame.

Eastmond was good, briers is good. Any team would and is lucky to have either. You do have ro admit briers has been a little bit special at times, don't you?

Briers has really stepped his game up under Smith and has indeed at times been exceptional over the last few years and is quite probably the best half in the British game at the moment. I'd dearly love to see him in a Saints shirt again as he's several leagues better than anything we have at the moment. But the fact remains that Eastmond has far greater physical talents than Briers could ever dream of having and if he ever fulfils his potential (no matter which shirt he's wearing at the time) Eastmond would be capable of greater heights than Briers - that's not to denigrate Briers, or to say that Eastmond ever will actually fulfil his potential, but is just a fact given their comparative levels of inate talent. So ner.

I suppose it's a 'my dad's perfect' sense with a lot of Briers fans. He has been at the club throughout the bad and now the good and has been genuine class for the last couple of years. Saying that, and regardless of whether Eastmond is better, will be better and by how much, I'd love Eastmond to play for Warrington if he became available.

top player...hudds were supposed to be sniffing round him a while back but seems to have cooled now..

but with us being turned down for gaskell we might go back now

Getting onto the field, clean breaks, long distance speed, ball handling, breaking tackles, scoring tries, creating space for his team mates, teamwork and panache. I expect those gaps to be greater too now that Eastmond has spent two years out of the game (remember Iestyn Harris, who was actually better than Kyle when he went to union). In fairness to Eastmond he has a better kicking game and he's probably a bit quicker off the mark.