post of the decade!

Pathetic. And before you ask I have a Law degree from Leeds University.

Anyway, Josh Jones.....

Surely playing Josh Jones worked. Or was it my imagination that the score was 20-0 at one point.

How it can be called a risk that did not pay off is beyond my limited understanding. Another great win from the texts I've got and these are from people who are not keyboard warriors or people who wanted Royce out.

I'll go with the opinion that it was another great win rather than this feeble battle of some post-Royce justification blame project.

Seemed that there was always a problem with Wheeler and Jones was always going to play.

For me it was a great decision to play him (as the risk paid off really) he did go for Hodgson's dummy, but they had a man over so it's understandable for him to have taken it so easily - although I have seen experienced players take them before!

To take him off when they did was brilliant coaching, it wasn't rectifying a mistake (as alluded to above

) but it was reacting to what was happening at the time in a period of Warrington dominance.

SaintsFan: The players didnt agree with Royce's style of play and monotonous out the back predictive style of play he enforced. I have it on good authority senior players asked for more licence to play in a less structured way and one senior player in particular shot down. LMS made reference on interview last night to enjoying rugby again & been given the scope to play and the squad have responded. We were modelled on West Tigers style of play which didnt suit us & was becoming predictable...we never looked like scoring at times.
Longy was critical & voice his opinions just before the sacking...and thank god, nice bloke but Royce was turning the likes of Gaskell & Lomax into one trick robots.
Criticise the players all you like but that clowns pig headedness cost him hid job, the change of style has brought a change in attitude but in any job you need to be enjoying it. I know i was bored senseless at times this year.

I've been saying this for long time but nobody would listen because the grand Final appearance papered over the cracks.

So that gives the players licence to refuse to perform? You are a supporter of player power? I'm not. What's going to happen when our next coach comes in - assuming we can find one who wants to join a club that sacks their coaching staff after seven games (two of which they won) - and he decides to make changes? Because that will happen. It always does.

Excellent post.

I understand what your saying as the players are paid to play and fans pay to watch them so they should try their best no matter what they think of the coach.

On the other hand, if players are unmotivated due to things their coach does then I can see how that would effect the players performances.

I know they found training boring and some didn't look forward to going work. We will all have been in that situation in our jobs or in sports.

It seems McManus took the right action and it's loke to have paid off.

It didn't affect James Roby's performances. It shouldn't have affected anybody's performances. That is what being a professional is all about.


Diddums. Frankly, I have no sympathy at all. They stole a living for the first seven games - with a few exceptions (Wheeler and Roby spring to mind).


We'll see (although I believe he used a sledgehammer to crack a nut although with this lot maybe he had to). These are the games Saints have always risen for, regardless of who is in charge. Post Wigan will be interesting. Especially if the games are - dare I say it - boring!

I can seen both sides of the coin.

Roby ain't human tho, he's a machine.

I'd be happy from one win from the Easter games. I hope it's Wigan but 2 points from the Easter period after the last two games would be very good.

Stop saying this please, it's a ridiculous thing to post about a club that rarely sacks coaches.

Anyway it doesn't seem to have put Nathan Brown off.

We didn't rise for these games last year. Apart from the two Leeds games (who by their own admission were terrible all season apart from August onwards) we lost to all our rivals including bad 'home' defeats to Warrington and Wigan. Whilst I have a small degree of sympathy for Royce, who is a nice guy, he didn't get the best out of the players and that was his job.

This Saints team is currently playing to what it knows and what it is capable of, Rush and KC sense that, without beign tactical masterminds. The lads never really looked comfortable under Simmons especially this season and the difference is massive.

The jury's still out yet. The real test will come once we get the Pies out of the way next week. We were always going to be riding the crest of a wave for the first 3 big games post-Royce, but we need to see how they do come the weekly grind that starts after that, and how we adapt to the way other teams start to play against the new us.

So far so good though

That's why I put 'seems'

I wouldn't bother mate. She'll only spend the whole date going on about her last fella, saying he definitely was the one for her (even though deep down she knows his performances left her completely unsatisfied)

That ain't put me off mate

Hey we all love a trier, you keep going and you'll wear her down eventually. Good luck!

And believe me I've tried!!!!!

Are we talking about the Monaghan try? What did Meli do wrong, exactly?

I though Josh did ok. Looks diffcult to pull down and has good feet. Defence was ok except for the dummy from Hodgeson, but we were stretched then anyway. I was suprosed not to see Makinson, but we made it work.

Yes thats the one she is talking about,i have mentioned why it was scored and why Meli cant carry the can on that one but i may as well talk to my coffee cup.

Saints fans moto is it's not Royce's fault. She would say black was blue for Royce

. I have no idea where this pinning your colours the mast of one particular coach comes from.

She states the players should have played like this for Royce, but blatently ignores that Royce told them not to play this way.

Roby did not play the same as he did in the last 2 weeks, whilst he tackled like a machine and ran hard, he was less effective than he currently is.

I've given up trying to talk her round as she is blind to the obvious. And despite both the on and off field problems that Royce brought, she will say all this was possible under Royce

if he was given more time. It's an impossible arguement to disprove and so she can say it till the cows come home, without anyone being able to prove her wrong. Just as I could argue had we kept hold of Millward we would have won all the grand finals from his sacking till now. No one can prove it wrong but it does not make it right.