Noticed in the Wire Wakey game the ref telling tackled players to stop moving off the mark and moving them back a yard or two.
That's half of Saints go forward gone if a clampdown is coming

I’ll be honest I was hoping this thread was going to say Walmsley had been found with a body in his car boot, so I’m a bit disappointed

It annoys me as they were hot on this a few season ago and now they’ve moved on to high tackles. Mamo was tackled on Thursday and ran forward and played the ball

More evidence from today's game that Saints aren't anything like the same team without Walmsley in it.

2 minutes to go and Toulouse winning 22 v 20 !!

Correction - they're [ireally[/i not the same team without Walmsley in it. Biggest upset in SL history?

"No Walmsley, No Winny"

Saints as usual proving just how fortunate they’ve been to have never had more than an injury or two at the same time to their major players. If they ever have to deal with 5 or 6 of their 17 missing games all at once, we’ll see the same test every other side in the league has had to face at some point in the last 4 years.

Said it time and time and time and time again......their squad depth is nothing special. Take the same 6 or 7 players out their side we have played without week after week and they'll struggle like the rest. They lose every time they play a weakend side.

Yes we have some 'poor' players but in a salary cap you need them to improve your depth.

We have the best SQUAD in the league, end of.

Their salary cap is a bit top heavy no doubt. Great 1-17 but outside of that they have Hurrell and maybe Amor but not too much else.

If you look at us last year, we had Field, French and Leuluai all out at the same time. We lost Clubb to suspension long term and whilst he was dreadful, he still would’ve been a first 17 player. We lost Hardaker to a bad neck injury as well and George Burgess retired on the eve of the season (they probably all didn’t overlap but we had times with more than 6 out and for weeks on end).

So that’s 6 players, all of which would’ve been in our 17. Take Welsby, Makinson, Percival, Lomax, Walmsley and Lees out the squad at the same time and see how they go week to week. They’ve never had to do that and I give them plenty of credit for that because clearly their conditioning is high class but it doesn’t make the question any less interesting.

I just saw the result and assumed Saints put out a team of kids, but it looks like a strong side apart from Walmsley.

On the walking off the mark, what bugs me is not only do they get away with it, but to add insult to injury, they often get a penalty too!

Just seen the highlights and as with our game I come away thinking ‘he’s some rugby league player Tony Gigot’. I guess it’s an attitude thing but how he’s not reached the very top is beyond me. He’s the French version of Jake Connor (although slightly more sane). The penny drops late with some players and I mentioned that with Joe Westerman and like with Westerman last year, I wouldn’t be against an offer for Gigot.

Westerman has always had so much ability. He's probably the last loose forward in the OLoughlin, Farrell, Sculthorpe mould. If he'd only "looked after himself" he could have been a great player rather then a very good player?

He should’ve been right up there. I remember Melbourne were all over him when he was coming through at Cas and who knows, that may have been just what he needed. It’s really sad when natural talents like that don’t have the brain to realise just how good they are.

I really noticed a switch flick in him early last season and he now looks like what he should’ve been for over ten years. He was terrific on Thursday and it’s funny when you hear somebody like Wilkin say Knowles is the best player in the league. I don’t really dispute that but Knowles could only dream of a performance like Westerman’s on Thursday and that says it all. He can be ‘that good’ but it’s too late now to change most people’s opinions.

I’ll be honest, I’d have him well in contention for the World Cup.

It's the possible other disruptions that come too like moving a SR to centre all season or wings to fullback etc. Granted it doesn't look like Woolf uses the same bingo machine Lam used to so that may not be an issue for them.

I've never bought into their depth and again today proves it and like I say when they come fishing on here, it's easy to drip feed a kid into a winning side with first teamers all round him.

Knowles is not the best player in the league. Not even close. He's not even the best player at Saints.

I like him and he’s certainly up there IMO as one of the best few players in the league. Wilkins comments about him and Lockers were ridiculous but what I will say about Knowles is that like Lockers, he isn’t a player to judge by stats. He just brings an intensity and an aura that raises other players standards.

Difference this last few seasons for Saints was two now one very good prop. Even then he also benefited off Walmsley.
The rest are much the same as the other top four or so teams. It's a lot easier to shine off a player who knocks out the equivalent of two decent props yardage week on week on his own. Take that away they would just be in the mix with the rest nothing more, some of the lads building reputations I'm still not convinced.

I’d still back Saints to beat us even without Walmsley.

Agreed

I think we’re kidding ourselves if we think Saints success revolves around one man. They’ve built a culture and instilled a desire in their players nobody can match at the moment.

If they lost Walmsley for the season, yes it would bring them back to the pack a little bit I’d still back them to win the big one at Old Trafford. If they do ever have an injury ‘crisis’ and lose 5 or 6, well that could be a different story.

He's a good player for sure but nowhere near where he's being talked up to. Not even close to Walmsley for example. Can you point me to a single game where he's been 'unplayable' in the way Sculthorpe, Farrell or O'Loughlin were at times during their careers or in the way Field, French or even Connor (for all his faults) can be now?

He's a good player in a good team which helps his game massively as he can just go about his work with no pressure or need to create anything.

He's one of the best back rowers in the comp but beyond that, massively overhyped. How can a steady Eddie, however well he fulfills that role, be considered 'the best player in the league' (sic). It's utter madness.

He’s not that type, I get that but I just think in an era were Saints are winning everything based on the fact their intensity is through the roof and he absolutely leads that puts him right up there.

Maybe I’d class him as the ‘most important’ player in the league, rather than the best one but he’s a fantastic player for my money and is young enough to take it up a level or two yet.

He's not even that though NK. Walmsley is more important to Saints. Field is currently more important to us. He's a good player who is being bigged up beyond his standing.

This talk comes on the back of Saints being dominant. When Bateman had a similar forward to Walmsley (Papalii) in front of him he ripped the NRL apart. Can you see Knowles doing the same over there? He simply doesn't have the game to. That's taking nothing away from him as he does his own game extremely well.

In fact I'm struggling to find many instances in the history of superleague where a back rower was regarded as the best (or most important if you like) player in the comp. If there was, I'm sure they brought more to the table than a solid game and intensity.

Let's put it this way. We both know that put him in our side and not a single Saints fan would be calling him the best player in the league, or even close. The frightening thing is neither would any of our fans! I understand praise where it's due and calling Walmsley the best prop in the league or possibly even the world would have some merit. Calling Knowles a good player or among the best back rowers in the comp is also justified. Anything more than that, at this stage at least, just isn't.

"It wasn't something we've seen coming. We trained pretty well this week."

Woolf post match interview, yep, they're still the team to beat but that's cracked me up, sure I've heard it before somewhere