Here we go again... I'll go get my popcorn and sit back and enjoy watching this one unfold

She won't bite...............SURELY!!!!!!!

Ssssshhhhhh!!!! You'll jinx it!!!

I think she's ignoring me now.

Meli is our best winger by a country mile IMO, and is quite possibly the best finisher in Super League. He makes plenty of meters with ball in hand, and finishes anything that comes his way.

We all know that he is prone to the odd mistake, and gets slated when he does, but he is a quality wing man. We will miss him when he leaves - I will tell you that much.

So you bring that up in regard to Meli yet when people said the same about Foster you chose to defend him to the hilt.

My point was more of an explanation to Meli fans as to why there is a perception about Meli. He has looked more comfotable with centre's who are expecting a flap at the ball as they tend to take measures to help.

When Percival played, he ran interferance quite well and was ready for the ball to come out.

Meli's attack is still one of the best in SL. Not many wingers can make somethin out of a nothing ball. If he can hurt with his defense to ie exiles match, crunched Tomkins.

But on his own line is where it gets squeaky bum time. But in our history I'd say only Albert was equally good both in attack and defense. Hoppe was an amazing defender, put not as potent in attaack.

It's 4, isn't it? Not bad, until you consider it is 4 out of 5 of the games we have played.

He is an enigma. A great finisher but also someone you absolutely cannot rely on when you need a steady hand in defence/under the bomb.

that's still quite a lot of mistakes.

If he was a pie eater he'd be able to count more.

We'll probably see Francis turning out on the wing for England RU soon. His defence can't be any worse than Ashton's, he makes Turner look good.

He has obviously made mistakes but the only real bad one he should be slated for like he does is the one he failed to put dead v Leeds and Diskin scored. The rest anyone could make.

But he thing is they didn't , Meli did and Leeds just targeted him as do other big teams knowing that he's good for a c0ckup when the pressures on

So your saying no one else but Meli has made a mistake in a final for us?

Meli always makes mistakes in finals, or indeed in any important game, or indeed in games generally. He made a mistake in the game against Wakey but obviously that is forgotten because he scored. I'm sick of his bungling. He's got away with it for years and Saints fans take it, thinking that there is no better option but how anyone knows whether there is or not is a mystery to me since he's been the bane of our lives for eight years now.

Name a winger that doesn't make mistakes, then Name me 3 wingers in Super League that would be willing to come to Saints that can match Meli's abilities. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but seriously your lack of rugby knowledge is really annoying. He is prone to a couple of mistakes but he more than makes up for them and has done for the last 8 years!

Then put me on your ignore list and don't respond to what I say. *Simples*


A couple?!? He makes loads. Loads more than a winger of his experience should make. And while you may think his occasional good matches and the tries he scores (as opposed to those he concedes) may make up for that, I don't, and a lot of people think like me. And yes, that includes people who have a lot more 'rugby knowledge' than me, including those who have played and coached the game.

Just to add some perspective to this discussion, Meli has made fewer mistakes this season than plenty of SL wingers, including Josh Charnley, Ryan Hall and Jamie Foster. He's also on a perfectly respectable 8 missed tackles.

Last season he only made 14 handling errors all year, compared to 31 by Hall, 30 by Cockayne, 29 by Ah Van, 27 by Chris Riley, Damien Blanch and Kieran Dixon, 26 by Josh Griffin, 25 by Josh Charnley, 23 by Joel Monaghan, 22 by BJB, 20 by Tom Briscoe, 16 by Luke George and 15 by Jermaine McGilvary. His mistake count was equal with Pat Richards, who missed a lot of games and whom many people would say is the safest winger in SL.

I realise the stats don't tell the entire story, but this is surely an indication that the notion that Meli consistently gives away points with mistakes is one based on prejudice rather than disinterested observation.

You're right, stats don't tell the entire story. People give away penalties and miss tackles and drop ball and all sorts but it is where and when they do it which counts, and Meli has a special talent in that department. Of course he is also often lazy and so doesn't bother, say, making a tackle at all when he should, leaving it to his team mates instead. Or he may pick up the ball and pass it to someone smaller than him to take it forward. Those things aren't registered in the stats at all and yet they make up the player that is Meli, and are all reasons why I want him to go and open up the chance of someone younger and better to take his place.

Like who ?

He's been good for us overall but some major brain farts have cost us massively. It is time for him to go, and we have makinson, who with some good coaching hopefully can progress into a great winger. The othe wing is a worry, Ade isn't exactly a spring chicken, who will go there?

Hey, we could find out if there was just a space to put someone! We will never know, will we, unless we give people a try. Adam Swift looked great on the wing when he played the other season (was it 2012?). We will never know what we have got unless we see it in action.

Gardner has said in the press that he wants another contract.

Knowing Saints, I can see us going with the same two wingers until they are pushing zimmer frames around the pitch.

So using that logic,drop the whole first 17,fill it up with kids because,you never know what we have got unless we see it in action.

I trust the coaches at the club keep an eye on the junior players and decide when they are ready for their first team debut.I very much doubt Meli has kept any youngster out of the first team,unless you mean Foster!

Swift looked good against a terrible widnes side last year and they still ran us close, still I'd like to see him get a few games this year to see how he's doing

Wasn't that the game in which Robes was sinbinned? If so then that would be the reason why they ran us close: we couldn't operate without Robes.

Dread to think what we are going to be like for the next 10 weeks!