wire fan myself but IMO i think they have the best youngsters in the SL because to play a lot of them against leeds and get beat by 4 points is a achievement!

Very humble to say so...

I think having not lost our 2 pivots and Dixon during the match we may have won, tiredness took its toll.

Not to forget the vast majority played and defeated Wigan at the DW Stadium

Yourselves with Riley Cooper Mitchell McCarthy Blythe and most impressive of all Harrison aren't to far behind.

lots of good young players around at the minute.

Personally i think Wigan have the best crop.

I think Wigan have the most talented youngsters but saints are producing the most youngsters that can cope at superleague level

Not disagreeing with you, but like who?

I try to avoid watching the Goons but the only players they have that I've noticed are the excellent Joel Tomkins and his annoying little rat of a brother.

All i get to see of wigan is them on sky.

But one of my friends is father to one of the under 20's players and he raves about quite a few of them.

obviously there is the tomkins brothers, Goulding, mossop, farrell, mcllorum.. but I hear alot of good things about about davies, mellor and a few others.

having said that wire and saints also have alot of good players in the under 20's.. wire have just promoted 6 (or 7) players to the first team squad.. i bet its quite some time since we had the players to do that.

Mossop
Farrell
Goulding
Prescott
McIlorum
Tomkins S
Tomkins J
Davies
Tuson
O'Carroll

Warrington have a very talented half back coming through, he is 15 and Saints are desperately trying to prize him away. He is Wire through and through though.

The best young player,Kyle Eastmond, is out for the rest of the season, and cunningham for a month. Bodes well for us when we play them!

Think we've been down this road before...

True

We all know that all will be fit when the Wire game is played - saints target the big games

Daniel Anderson and Mick Potter always said/say that they treat games against us as just another one, but it must a huge feeling of pride for their players that we can't beat them and they must target our games as you point out. Last season we played them with a host of their first picks missing but we still came up short
and makes me think that it's a confidence problem for us as much as pride for them.
Real difference is I suppose is that Saints know how to win these close games and we don't (yet).

Couldn't the same be said for Saints - Eastmond and Clough being comparable to Tomkins and Tomkins (and Myler and Harrison for Warrington). After that you are looking at a bunch of players such as Dixon, Ashurst, Foster, Dean, Emmitt, etc who but for injury would not have had a sniff at first grade. I wouldn't consider any of those would get a starting slot at a free from injury Wigan, or Warrington for that matter.

So was Charnock so you never know.

Who?

Don't worry we will learn who when he signs.

Two points there. First of all, if you're looking at Eastmond and Clough then you also need to include Roby and James Graham. Clough, Roby and Graham are similar ages with Eastmond and Wheeler that bit younger. Second, the point you made about Dixon, Ashurst, etc is valid to a degree in that they would not have played as many games as they have had it not been for injuries but it isn't true that they would not have had a 'sniff at first grade'. Potter was recruited specifically to integrate those exact young players into the first team. You may have noticed our lack of external recruitment of late but also our shedding of senior first team players? That was a deliberate policy by the club as last season we promoted seven of our (grand final winning) academy side, of which Dixon, Ashurst, Foster, Emmitt, Lomax, Armstrong, Ellis were all members. There is also Magennis, who is in the 19 for this weekend and who has played one match this season after 18 months out injured, but he is only 20. And it could be a debut for young Lee Gaskell this weekend, since we have no scrum half at all (the reserve, Jamie Ellis, is also injured). Gaskell has been promoted to the first team this season.

It was always the intention to integrate the best of these young players but injuries have ensured they have had far more game time than they would have. And almost all of them have shown real potential at SL level, which is pleasing.

I think a few SL clubs are working hard to bring through young players: Wigan, Warrington, Castleford, us and Leeds being the ones to stand out. (However, I think Leeds are not as up for it as the other clubs at present)

Look at Wigans starting pack against Catalan.

Coley aged 31

but then five players who have come through the academy.
McIlorum aged 22
Prescott aged 24
Joel Tomkins aged 23
Liam Farrell aged 19
Chris Tuson aged 20

That's great testimony to Wigans academy system

That's excellent, particularly as Mossop, Hansen and O'Loughlin also did.

The home grown rules will kick in for everybody when the dispensations retire and it will be good to see squads of 25 with 20 home federation players.

Warrington's half back in this seasons under 15's was Declan Patton, is it him ?

yes thats him

Beyond Tomkins I don't think any of the others would make our 17 and only Farrell out of the others would add to our squad (given realistic squad make-ups)

And add Mossop aged 21 and Hansen aged 24, or do you not think they would make your squad?

they probably would not make the squad as we have alot of forwards already with cover in each position