Is that a tag we can associate with Wilkin? (not that there is a long list of challengers) I was impressed with him last night (again) , is he our Kevin Sinfield? He took us round the park , showed a strong kicking game and generally led the team well.

Our number 7 problem solved??

Wilkin may not be in long's league when it comes to individual skills, but he certainly seems to be getting the team organised, and that is proba ly the single most important thing that a half back can do.

I think Wilkin isnt any great shakes, however he is a big improvement compared to Lomax, Gaskell or Hohoia at 7, simply because he has what all scrum halfs need, and that is the ME factor.

eg Give the ball to ME, let ME pass it , Let ME kick it, you do what ME says. Hence he is providing the team with a bit of directional control.

The other really big factor is that by having Lomax at Fullback we now have someone who can set our backs free. With Wello at fullback moves just died a death while players waited for him to join the line.
Lomax is causing opposition defences to brick themselves. I also noticed last night the crowd visibly lifting in anticipation of something about to happen once Lomax touched the ball.

You would have to say yes.

Eastmond was a runner.
Pryce was a runner
Lomax a runner
Lance???
Gaskell Can do it sometimes, other times he pulls a move and no-one seamed to be ready for it.

I'm not saying Wilkin is world class, but he has now faced up against 4 teams and only really had to struggle against Leeds. For the other 3 teams he's been the best half on the field.

Wilkin is the best organiser we had since long but is not even close to the best half back lomax wheeler Gaskell are all better halfs back then him but nowhere near as good as organising the team than Wilkin

Wilkin is doing a pretty good job under the circumstances, he,s doing OK on the short ball stuff like the one he created for LMS to score. His kicking game is a bit more consistent now giving the ball more depth and making the full back work into position and not getting a ball to run at from the full.
Like people have mentioned he has slotted into the organiser role quite well and seems to add a bit of composure in the back line, Lance looks a better player with Wilkin alongside him but that might change if we have a month of games with a Wilkin/Gaskell combination. Gaskell needs to see the opportunity thats approaching him if Roby is out until mid season.

I think once we have seen Wilkin at halfback for 20 games, we can then compare him to other halves. Whilst not a half by trade, he is certainly holding his own.

Also he has been consistant, putting in performances week after week.

Kevin Brown was not a half, but then suddenly gets big wraps after Brown moved him (did he get international call up?)

Scully was a loose forward, but played standoff.

Sinfield the same.

I'm not lining him up to be the best half in SL, but can't say that he has been shown up at 7 and has matched those he has played against with the exception of Leeds.

So what do you think makes a halfback? A good 7 is the organiser of your team . Since Longy we've basically not had anyone to do that. The others you named are basically 6's who like to work off an organiser

I disagree with this in Sculthorpe's case. Scully was the organiser at 6 and Longy was the running 7.

Sorry I was referring to Saints4eva2013 saying other players in the squad are better halfbacks than Wilkin. He/she then named a list of stand offs but no organising type 7's (which is because we dont have one in the first team currently)

It's an interesting point about Scully and Longy though , they were both that good they could do either role so we really didnt have a balance issue with them, at the moment in the squad we seem to have alot of players who would prefer (or are only able) to play the more traditional role of a 6.

Wilkin has his limitations but if he can keep us ticking and get us around the park then he is exactly what we need at 7.

I thought Eastmond was a lot more than just a runner.
I thought he was very assured in the first receiver spot, he had the "me" factor that someone alluded to, had a decent kicking game and also had the arrogance to make the pack do his hard work for him. Just because someone is quick, doesn't mean he's "just" a runner.

He certainly had the potential to be more than just a runner but it was hard to see in his last year when he was so poor.

What's incredible to me is that SL seems to struggle to produce halfbacks who even seem to want to control a game - let alone do so. That's why Sinfield is 6 for Leeds (and probably England) - he actually revels in being the centre of the game and directing play. He'd be nowhere near that spot for England if one or more of our dangerous runners was an 'organiser'.

I just don't get how anyone can call themselves a halfback if they don't want to push the team around the park.

Mind you, I also don't understand how SL produces so many centres who seem completely unable to set up their winger (or in some cases that they even have a player outside them). Call me dumb, but its probably the first skill I'd want them to have.

It's a fair point, on the centre's side I think thats because coaches just shove big quick lads who should be playing second row in at centre because they are terrified of being overrun if they put someone a bit lightweight there

Been saying the same for years. Don't know where it happens because when I was growing up and playing most of us wanted to have hold of the ball and push out game winning passes. Perhaps those skills weren't as valuable in the amateur game, particularly when it was played during the winter when passing is more conservative. I don't think anybody has really asked that question so maybe skills across the board will increase now there's more summer amateur RL. That said, passing. If you coach kids teach them to spin pass in both directions, irrespective of their position.

Dos that mean that young halfbacks have the cocky attitude coached out of them, or is it that they think the only objective is to score tries? Bobby Goulding at 17 wanted to run the game. At Leeds as an 18-year old he clearly wanted to be first receiver even with Hanley and Schofield in the side. I just don't see British halfbacks with that attitude, except sometimes Brough.

That's how the game has gone these days. Its all physical and no skill.

These things go in cycles, some small skillful player will turn up and rip it up running circles round the big fellas, them everyone will want that style of centre again

Thats true but it's down to the coaches , not being built like a tank doesn't mean you cant tackle, I just wish coaches would see that. Maybe thats one of the reasons we arnt seeing as many specialist halfbacks as well , all the quick lads with good footwork are being pushed into playing 1 or 6 rather than being given runs in the centre's so that in turn keeps out the more traditional creative halfbacks.

The reduction in skill and reliance on brawn is one of the reasons I dont enjoy the game as much these days, I used to watch the Dulls in the mid 90's and after and thank god I supported a proper Rugby team where we played with skill rather than just power but sadly now most teams are taking that route

I can't see it being the latter. It's not like we were producing conveyor belts of half back talent before then. If you look at the talented half backs who came through in the early 90s, aside from Nigel Wright and Tommy Martyn who else has there been? Francis Maloney? Graham Holroyd? We used to rely on Deryck Fox for a while and I doubt he'd get a game these days. Now I've given it some thought I'm interested to see if we do start to see skills coming more to the fore with more summer RL although that could still take another ten years to see any sort of pattern. I do believe coaching is at the heart of it though. Nobody is born knowing how to play RL, it's all learned through playing and coaching. I guess if you're not seeing those skills on telly people won't do them in school e.g. when we saw Australians doing flick passes behind their backs in the Ashes we were all trying them back at school.