if the likes of Foster and Dixon are the future,things will be bleak

Prob the two worst from a very good bunch.

Yes, that's why he's scored tries recently, even with an ongoing achilles injury. I think you're fab Saddened! but sometimes you do my head in with your dumb statements.

Wello has been playing very over the last month.

Just a couple of questions for you Saints fans, obviously I only see them on telly, first of all is Foster that bad, and is Makinson going to be a full back.

No and I don't know yet.

Foster needs to stop thinking he's the Mutt's Nuts and start working again towards being the player he thinks he is already. Lomax is the future at #1 for me and Makinson looks more and more settled at #2 with every game.

I hate to say it but im with Saddened in that i think sometimes Gaskell couldnt shift it wide because Wello was just a little behind play. With a faster player chiming into the line it would have caused Leeds problems. This was shown clearly when Gaskell went right and set up the Shenton try.
The Leeds players were wary of the pace of Shenton so didnt double team Gaskell, as a result he was able to go through the gap and offload to Shenton who was in space.

As for people slagging off Gaskells kicking. His booming kicks kept us in the game first half when our pack was getting smashed off the park. People forget that even though the balls were going to the fullback or wing the sheer distance he gets on his kicks, was meaning the Leeds players were having to stand deeper than would be the case with say Sean Long kicking.

Well, as we now know, he was playing with an achilles injury so maybe that would explain why he was playing slow. After all, he's been on hand to score tries throughout the playoffs and so there must have been some good reason for him to have been out of synch in the GF.


I agree. I heard some criticism of his kicks around me in the West Stand but I explained to people I was chatting to that while he may not be finding the grass, he was getting distance which gave us opportunity to get down the field and keep them there.

When all is said and done, had we not knocked on under the sticks when going over in the first half, we would have gone into the break in the same situation as we were in when we played Leeds at Widnes: a tie (but just two points more than at Widnes, when we were 6 all before the break). We took Leeds apart in the second half at Widnes and all the signs were there that we were going to do the same in the second half of the GF. Then injuries and Scott Moore struck and we were undone. Very sad.

Players don't suddenly become poor when the effects of age begin to set in. Typically older players are quite capable of playing as well as they did in their early twenties - the problem is they [ifind it impossible to do so consistently[/i. Wellens reached the point of no return three years ago. At that time (perhaps even earlier) we should have promoted a couple of potential fullback candidates from the academy and gradually introduced them into the team. Unfortunately the club (whether it be the fault of the coach or the chairman) has put in place no coherent replacement strategy for Wello and this failure to adapt has bitten us on the ass big time - repeatedly.

I think this is explained more easily ... he is slow and getting slower with age as you'd expect. If he does have an Achilles injury I'm sure that didnt help even though he would have probably had injections to kill any pain.

Real blistering pace at fullback would be amazing ! Q Makinson , safe under a high ball , good skill and plenty pace.

Well summed up although gaskell had the opportunity to pass out wide to other people than wello instead of going for glory. At least one to meli, once to wheeler and he had the opportunity to do a cut a pass to foster who was screaming for it.
I'm a bit concerned he favours our left a lot more than our right when we are just as strong there. In the GF it made us look a bit predictable at times.

To put the wello situation into context, these are the man himself's words:



I think we are being a bit harsh on wello IMO. That catch on the line in the first half saved a certain try and he has been excellent in the play off's.

As a character Foster is obviously a bit on the vain side, but I've seen absolutely no evidence whatsoever of this arrogance with respect to his game.

My brother has known him since he was a kid and he has always had an air of arrogance about him and was always told off about it as it winds up the opposition and friends alike. The little hop and skip he does as he is returning the ball etc.

I think its part of his personality and perhaps without it he might not be the player he is.

One person's arrogance is another person's confidence.

Yeah thats what they said about Gadaffi.

And Alex Murphy.

As a player Murphy had plenty to be confident about

And in terms of his kicking, so has Jamie Foster. That's all he has ever spoken about in terms of his playing abilities: his kicking. He's bloody good at it and there isn't a damn thing wrong with someone admitting that they have a talent. Had everything else worked out on Saturday, we would now be saying how wonderful that kick was from the halfway line. Man that was spectacular. When did we last have a kicker who could do that?

And he's not just a kicker, as seems to be levelled at him frequently. It's a natural skill to be able to find the try line with such regularity. Ainscough, formerly of Wigan, has it but has frailties which negate most if not all of the positives of his try scoring ability.

Foster, IMO, doesn't have these frailties - natural finisher, outstanding goalkicker, solid enough elsewhere. Top player.

apologies if someone else has mentioned this (can't be bothered to read 11 pages of replies, sorry).....over the last 3-4 games I've seen Gaskell play I've noticed he's a bit of a "one-trick-pony"....he attacks the line, throws the dummy and goes alone...everyone's sussed him now and he needs to mix it up a bit IMO

This! All of this! Foster will become a point scoring legend for us, injuries permitting.

Leon Pryce?

Poppycock.

Saints wasted 40 minutes, playing too conservativley. The injuries didn't undo you, your 1st half performance did.

Leeds had better field position, made more metres, more clean breaks but had 1 try to show for it. Had saints played in the first half it's likely you'd have been going in ahead. Add in your first 20 in the 2nd, you'd have already had leeds beaten by the time shenton went off.

I don't see the injuries as unlucky, more punishing a poor 1st 40 minutes. You can't expect to only play for 20 minutes and win.

Yeah, and I noticed Leeds really took us to the cleaners too. The situation at halftime was one knock on short of exactly the halftimes situation when Leeds came to Widnes. Had Dixon not knocked on, we would have gone in evens. So were Leeds playing 'too conservatively'? In the second half we were all over you and our young halves were growing in confidence, particularly Gaskell. Had our three injuries not occurred, there was every chance we would have gone on to win the game.