is there no good half backs in our academy side then?...all we ever seem to get is forwards??...what about a stand off or scrum half etc!..people go on about saints have got a good squad of young reserves (does this only apply to the forwards then?).....or is it brown who doesn't think there's any one good enough in there?..........just thought i'd ask instead of twiddling me thumbs!

No we are crap at producing Scrum halfs

We've only had Ellis, Matty Smith, Wheeler, Lomax, Gaskell and Eastmond. (Swift was a half too if I recall)

Nothing happening there.

The club is not a bottomless pit, from what we have produced it looks like only Lomax will end up being a club held asset.

But seriously how many half had we produced in the years before 2010?? I would be tempted to say Murphy was the last one before that but he may have been a lether I can't recall correctly.

I'm waiting for the "why we not playing Charnock" post.

Charnock looked fine in the snow years ago against Salford. He can't be any worse than Wellens surely.

Charnock looked fine in the snow years ago against Salford. He can't be any worse than Wellens surely.

Hewitt is the next half back lined up, judging by the comments of Brown a few weeks ago, and will probably be reserve halfback next year, after he has a first team preseason under his belt.

I'm just sad that Wheeler is not able to take this chance.

ive heard a few good reports about this lad too....surley he could have been given a chance this season..(not in the playoffs)...because in some games which we have performed he couldn't have been any worse.

The best way to bring a young half through is to put him with an "experienced head" hopefully that will be Walsh and Burns.
Saints Fan's favourite coach tried to bring two inexperienced halves together, it worked for a bit then Gaskell was made the sacrificial lamb the rest is history.
If we are going with Hewitt then we have to stick with it and not put him onto the wing or a standby hooker.
The first club to get some decent halves will mop up this poor quality superleague.

Throwing a young halfback who isn't ready into a team is probably the worst thing you could do for their development.

Just because 'they couldn't do any worse' doesn't mean that they're ready to play. Look at how successfully Brown has brought through a number of players, whilst I sometimes question his tactics this is one area he is exceptional in.

My dad taught Alex Murphy at Holy Cross. He always used to tell this story about Saints signing him up at midnight on his 16th birthday to make sure nobody else (Wigan) signed him.

I was pretty sure he was a St Helens lad.

He'd have to be to be the best halfback ever.

His local use to be the Leigh Arms in Earlestown, when he retired he had a bungalow in Bold.

Agreed and that's been my point all season regarding Charnock.

he was...he lived at thatto heath when he was young....a few years ago he was living in a bunglow up round the old capper neils works near bold!....he might still live there!

Still does