send gaskell and makinson to haven this week im sure they,ll fit in somewhere

NB quoted in the Off season regarding giving Gaskell an extended run at 6 (Hohaia was given a full season).
22/1/13 Makinson signs new 3 year deal.

Two games in and both having had choppy games against Hull are dropped.

If true seems that these two are being made scapegoats.

A lot of more experienced players have stunk the place out this season and they automatically get a shirt.

A bit harsh on the pair IMO.

Well, we know from experience that all it takes is one choppy game and a young player is torpedoed from the side, likely not to be seen again.

But no matter how many tries he concedes, no matter how shiny white his shirt is at the end of every game, Meli is always chosen on the wing. TP may stand around every game and let others do the hard work he should be doing but he will be chosen every game.

If Brown drops Gaskell and Makinson for the Bradford game then that's a mark against him in my book.

Spot on

Yep and will give the strength to the rumours that KC and Rush still run the show.

Not just the old guard , Wunderkind Lomax fails to deliver and is found a new position.
Doesn't stack up really.

There are some gaps in the current squad and structural weaknesses but little seems to have changed
over the past season or so.
There appears to be something quite unhealthy behind the scenes at Saints.

Like you said not 100% sure this is all down to brown

But it should be and if it isnt then that's another mark against Brown because Brown should be insisting on his own choices since he is head coach.

Or maybe Brown has realised sooner than later that Gaskell and Makinson don,t have enough ability at the moment to give the team the right options.
We obviously have a big problem bringing through a young player through there final stages of development into Superleague, Anderson made a good go at it but Potter, Simmons, Rush/Cunningham have never really brought a couple of players through to Superleague standard.
Its strange that Makinson has a new 3 year contract, this must be based on projected future ability rather his current playing standard. With Gaskell, I suspect Lee is in a bit of no mans land as I get the feeling Brown would prefer a fit Wheeler over a work in progress Gaskell one.

If true it would appear all Browns pre season plans have gone out the window.
Gaskell at seven and Wheeler at standoff would seem more sensible.

Why? There has been very little wrong with his playing standard. This smells more of keeping senior players happy because other than a bit of go forward on kick returns, Makinson offers us far more on the wing than Gardner does.

As for Gaskell, he's an easy scapegoat and if he does get dropped then I suspect Rush is behind it and that there is something a bit odd going on at Saints.

These two Are definitely not playing

For me this is the problem. It's as though people only want Saints to have 17 people in the side.

We have a squad and if people are playing poorly at the moment it does not mean they will be playing poorly next week or the week after.

If Wheeler does well, he may get another game, but also we cannot just say that's the end of x and y players.

If they are not good enough then they are not good enough, but lets not make a mountain out of a change. It could easily change again next week. In a way change is good to keep up competition for places.

If there is anything in Brown not picking the team, then it's daft for him, his career and the club. In the end if he's not picking the team, he's letting someone else control his future prospects.

I am just going off what happened to foster and gaskell last season

It's a load of rubbish. Do you think that Brown would just sit there and let somebody else pick the team? He'd just walk out and say pay me up, and be well within his rights. To me it looks as though he's gone for a "bigger" and more experienced approach. It's what coaches tend to do when things are a little shakey.

People want to have the best players in the side chosen for the right reasons. Last season we had to endure Hohaia at 6 even though he was awful there while Gaskell who requires coaching and such like languished in the u20s. Meanwhile Lomax retained his position no matter how poorly he played (he was a star player through his youth rugby according to Rush) and even though he's weak defensively, Rush's own choice at centre in Jones continues to play no matter what. And of course Meli is never dropped no matter how many tries he concedes or how little work he does.

So those of us not happy with this choice are probably concerned that decisions are not being made on the basis of how good individual players are or are playing but on something else.

Rush has been Meli's landord since he's been here. Explains a lot.

I ain't got a problem with brown dropping gaskell and makinson my problem is that no matter how bad some players play they keep there places no matter what . Gaskell and makinson have been two of our better performer this season I no that not hard but surly other should of be dropped before them

I don,t think he's good enough at the moment and I,m not sure if he is any better than Gardner although they are 2 different styles. Would like to see how Gardner performs if he gets another chance, before his injuries he was pretty good providing momentum and his tough tackling provided some inspiration from the backs. Like I,ve said many times before Makinson gets mauled in the tackle giving the defence time to set and we lose momentum, Makinson is no where near full potential yet, maybe taking him out of the firing line he will take it as a positive and work harder on his game. We have one of the poorest offences in Superleague maybe its just Brown trying to make an adjustment on option sooner rather than later.
Can,t believe you think Rush has any influence on Browns thought processes.

Whatever happens, loud and proud today.

Big vocal effort needed, COYS!!!

Always thought that. Trouble is can he go the distance, taking into account his injury record?

A flurry of snow has fallen, not much but if you are coming come wrapped up warm. Although most of you will have set off by now.

Makes me laugh how people whirl themselves into a frenzy on here over stupid things. Why would we bother bringing in a head coach on good money to take a back seat and let Rush pick the team? He didn't even pick the team last year it was mainly KC! Makinson IMO looks short on confidence and could do with some time at a lower grade so we don't end up with another Foster. Gaskell unfortunately isn't good enough for Saints and has been rightfully dropped.

Interesting team selection, and surprising that Makinson and Gaskell have been dropped. Hopefully it won't backfire.

Really unsure about them halfbacks. Wilkin is a great tackler but atrocious kicking the ball. Lot of pressure on Wheeler today too.

Might be a long day today..

Wilkin kicked the ball soundly. It's different kicking from halfback, he had more time and space. Split the FB and winger most of the time. Also chase a very good kick in goal. Not seen that for a few years. He did not make the tackle. But gave the impetus for other players to tackle the FB on the try line. 8/10 for Wilkin I'd say.