He needs to be playing at Centre really where his deficiencies to defusing kicks isn't highlighted.

Yeh but Royce got sacked for doing that.



I think we just have to accept he is a gamble player, could blow the opposition to piece, could ruin our chances.

The best option really is to have a young eager centre, willing to mop up any spilt ball from Meli and to expect there to be spit ball on every kick.

Thank god for Jones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is one of the best barge overs in the game; Makinson's finishing outshines his by 100%.

Meli is a liability in the pressure games. Even in 2006 when we won the GF, Meli conceded a try. He always does. He can be banked on to fluff up at important moments and yet he is consistently played in the pressure games and everyone else has to clear up his messes. For heaven's sake last night it was Josh Jones who was clearing up after him; a young guy in his debut season and initial first grade play off game! Ridiculous.

But he has the love of McManus and so he will be with us should we make the GF. My heart has already sunk.

Her problem is that he was gash for a longish spell about 5 years ago and cost us big in a few Grand Finals a few seasons ago. Nothing he does or has done since will ever convince her and the other frothing Meli victimisers otherwise. Their problem is that they are one-eyed fools who lack either the brainpower or the RL knowledge/appreciation to be able to judge players on their actual contribution but have to substitute snap judgements and irrevocable dogma instead.

I just have to bow to the knowledge of greater people, such as the last 5 Saints coaches and the last 2 Exiles coaches.

Much of the numpty perception problem is with the position he plays - if a hooker or SR makes 2 or 3 appalling clangers in a game then the opposition probably gains 30 or 40 extra yards out of it, the game moves on and everyone soon forgets about it with no hanging posses being formed. If a winger does the same then the opposition gets gifted an extra 12/16 points and the "murder him for the good of the gene pool" threads start. Meli always has a brainfart in him but they're [icomparatively[/i few these days and his ups massively outweigh his downs.

Yup - it never ceases to amuse me the number of people who think that they know player qualities better than dozens of professional RL coaches who work with and against them every day...

It is nice to see the thread back on topic after saddo's attempt to derail it.

Regarding Meli; he has his good points but it is heart in mouth every time a kick goes his way. Oh the exitment

Meli came in with Anderson, so it's not quite five coaches! And since Anderson coached the last Exiles team, I'd have fully expected Meli to be in it.

Simmons was the only one to shunt Meli off the wing. Everyone on here agreed last year that Meli was better at centre than on the wing. Now half of those people have reverted back to thinking he's great on the wing. Interesting that!

Meli, for me, is a better centre than a winger. He doesn't have to deal with the high kicks and proved hroughout last year hat he could score and create for his winger. He also defend s his channel much better than initially thought he would. However, given our current squad and the long term absence of Ade mean that he's more use to on the wing.
Before Royce was sacked, we were playing with two shrimps on the wing and were struggling to get away from our try line because of it.
He didn't do much wrong yesterday and to focus on the almost try in the opening minutes is harsh. Monaghan, who was able to run and jump, was always going to have an advantage over Meli jumping from a standing position.

Meli is still one of the most dangerous outside backs in the league and over the year's he's won us more games that he lost us, by a long way I reckon.

Whoever said Makinson has been shaken under the high ball all season has a short memory. He had a run of games were he was looking great under high kicks, taking them high above the opposition, but he did have a run the other way.

Totally agree!

I nearly wet myself laughing when saintsfan made comment about kick returns only being small part of a wingers game and kick returns are not important!

I didn't say they weren't important. I said every metre made was important. Given that we made it to yet another GF when we had Foster and Makinson on the wings last year, and lost fewer games last season than this, I feel fully justified in saying that they are a small part of the winger's job. If the kick return of a winger was as influential as you are claiming then only making a couple of metres (which is what both our present wingers achieve) would be having a detrimental affect on our results. However, they aren't. We did fine last year and fine this year because what counts more is the impact of our forwards and their ability/willingness to make metres, not our wingers.

Unfortunately, when you've got Wellens at #1 then you need 2 wingers who can both make yards early in the tackle count in the big games or another G/F being kicked and turned to death by Sinfield beckons. That's why for me Meli and Gardner need to be our wings when push comes to shove.

Re read what you typed and it's not hard to see why so many people , me included think he's a liability ... "cost us big in a few grand finals" . In the big games against the best teams he is just exposed. It gives me no pleasure to say this either.

My head nearly exploded when he went to throw it forward in our in-goal...

He's a good finisher but if you think all he can do is barge over you have little/no rugby knowledge. He is one of the most dangerous wingers in the league with ball in hand. I agree Makinson is probably a better finisher in some situations but I can't see why that is relevant?

Meli is a liability in pressure games? Are you sure? What exactly did he do wrong last night and last week against Wigan? If you class him as a liability cause he drops a few high balls we should list all other wingers along side him surely?

I think a big part of your problem with him is that he is not a born and bred die hard St Helens lad going off some of your other posts.

Might be the single greatest thing I've ever seen on a rugby pitch. I have no idea what the intention was, but it was hilarious all the same. It wouldn't have been if he'd passed it though.

Part of my problem with him is the parts he plays in costing us the GF year in, year out.

Makinson was born in Wigan, his family are Wigan fans and so was Makinson (probably still is). I'm supportive of Makinson. So you are being silly.

I'd like to think it was a cunning ploy but with Meli I'm just not sure ...

Given the number of times we have all seen Meli pass to some poor other person to take a clattering near our own line, I imagine his intention was to pass it but he checked himself in time because he saw he was surrounded by defenders. He was surrounded by defenders because he took his usual eternity to pick up the ball.

He's got a shirt on the wall at Wigan st Jude's club house so I'd guess he's played for them.

Hindley too I think

If you watch the dummy if he did actually pass it would have been more forward that an Andy Farrell special

I'll get straight to the point then. I don't think you will ever be overly supportive of players who count on the quota or don't come through our youth system for e.g Gaskell can make as many mistakes as he wants and his poor pass selection/no passing at all arguably cost us last years Grand Final. Dixon's defence is one of the most inconsistant I have ever seen and Makinson isn't exempt from costly mistakes but none of them get the same criticism as Meli or Hohaia do.