Just been looking at the Stains site.... They are flatter than our backs were last season.... I have offered words of condolence.... hehehe

If anything Saints had the advantage as they know the pitch.

Long way to go yet mate. Wigan always start pretty poor but always get to semis. Im not to worried just yet but admit last night was very very poor.

Im more worried about the injuries we picked up last night and bit shocked at some of potters way of thinking.

Im sure we will be in playoffs and if we have a full bill of health going in tp playoffs we will be a huge threat to leeds and the mighty wigan.

I just don't see Pryce & Eastmond as a half back partnership.
Puletua at 13 was a strange one as really it's best if your 6,7 & 13 are out there for the 80 mins. Puletua is interchaged, that's part of his impact game.

By now I'd have thought Potter would have put Eastmond at 6, Moore at 7 and Pryce wing or centre.
Moore is a playmaker and started his career at 7.
Eastmond is a strike player and that's what he's very good at.
Wilkin should surely be 13. He can do the 80, has a good passing game reasonable kicking game both with short and long field kicks and his tackling is excellent.
Then they would have two playmakers and a strike player working their middle of the field.

At the moment they are struggling and now face Bradford and Catalans both away.

been there before mate!

I'm giving no predictions about this season other than its going to be the most competative yet and I can't wait...

That's just the point mate. Many of us have said that you're an aging team who've hung on to their star players a bit too long. Those are exactly the teams who suffer at the end of the season, both with injuries and a lack of form. Even if you make the playoffs (which you will), if you're doing it from a lower position it will prove too much for you. If you're clinging on to the hope of making a late surge to win trophies I feel fairly safe in saying you're in for a disappointment!

I can't believe how fat Kieron Cunningham is.

He is ridiculously over weight, it's almost disturbing.

It always made me laugh last season when they took the mick out of piggy. They have fat Keiron Cunningham, so they can't call anyone!

It's a strange one is the situation at Stains this season.

They seem 2 have morphed into what we were last year. They have a coach who seems stuck in his ways and won't make the changes needed, the have good attacking HB's but not ones who can direct them round the park and they also seem 2 be poorly conditioned. Remind you of anyone.

With KFC leaving at the end of the year it could be a good chance 4 stains 2 get rid of Potter and start a fresh.

total rubbish. Leeds ripped cas open plenty of times only to turn the ball over time and time again. Leeds were gulity of over playing, poor ball retention and a poor completion rate leading to a non existing kicking game. cas kept themselves in the game and chases short kicking game was out of this world and punished Leeds who had jjb in the centre after losing ablett after 5 mins and delaney after 50 mins through injury. cas were good, Leeds were poor and still could have won the game. we bomb 3 or 4 trys with the line begging.

I know it was foggy but did I see K.C. land elbow first on one player?

I think the Saint's fans on both forums are overreacting a little. I don't expect Saints to be as dominant as they once were, especially with other sides seemingly recruiting well but they will be up there come the end of the regular season.

The arrogance of the Saints fans know no bounds however. The reason they lost is because Mick Potter is incompetent and recruitment has been poor - nothing to do with Hull outplaying them or being a good side themselves - apparently they are 'average' with that fact being based on the grand total of [u0[/u games that Hull FC had played beforehand!

Radio Manchester - First caller: Paul in St Helens....

"Game should never have been played last night...."

haha

Also on the phone in " Chairman out "

Very, very amusing stuff.

There's even a scouser calling for the salary cap to be raised.... these people are just unbelievable!

Don't be daft.

We're all moaning because Saints produced the same bollox as they did in the back end of last season, in spite of a full off-season for all but Graham, Roby and Eastmond. We have a good bunch of players (bar a couple of duds) who this time last year while wobbly were still playing to the standard of Daniel Anderson. We are not bothered by the lack of silverware last season. We are not bothered that we lost. We have all acknowledged the superiority of Hull and at the match I only heard Saints fans congratulating the Hull fans - generally the two get along very well.

We love a certain style of rugby at Saints: throwing the ball around, open, entertaining stuff. We have watched that being killed off since halfway through last season when Potter's style began to bite. That is what we are protesting at. We want Saints traditional style of rugby back again, win or lose, trophies or no trophies.

Come of it.



Losses and no trophies will result in season tickets being thrown on the pitch regardless of how Saints play.

Now Saints fans know how us Wire fans feel, bloody Sean Long

Loooooong way to go.

I remain confident.

We didn't throw anything on the pitch last season - and we won no trophies and lost more games than we had in any season under Anderson.

We leave throwing stuff to the Wire fans. They're good at that.

and over on Red Vee



I have yet to see a post congratulating Hull FC yet either. I am aware that many of the Saints supporters just want to see the entertaining brand of rugby they are accustomed but one game isn't indicative of a seasons fortunes as 'The Chair Maker' points out quite aptly on the Saints forum and some fans have been disrespectful to Hull FC who could be a threat this season, we don't know.

Hull battered us, nobody would even dare contest that and they thoroughly deserved their win.

It is only one game, but the gameplan replicated last season's except the defence fell to pieces with it. I still think Saints will be a top 4 team, top 2 is also realistic at this stage if the defence improves, but our attack has been sh*t since July and has shown no real signs of improving since. I've never been as bored watching Saints. In the current system of the Play Offs, I'd rather finish 8th and play a good brand of rugby than finish 2nd and be bored the majority of the year, like last season. At least I'd get my money's worth.

I can't speak for anyone else but I don't remember seeing any posts being disrespectful to Hull. They may well be an average side or they could be an extremely good one. We were so crap it's hard to tell. If I saw them play against Hudds or Leeds or anyone else really then I'd be able to get a better idea of how good Hull actually appear to be. Longy certainly did his very best to cause as much pain for Saints as possible, which is what Longy is good at doing. But so far as I'm aware any Saints fan commenting on Hull's performance doesn't dispute their win. In fact, they were unlucky to have a man sent off. To my mind it looked like Kyle was running for the line rather than the defender having a second go.

And like I said, this isn't about one game. It's about the games since June and how the off season hasn't made a bloody bit of difference to the style and standard of the rugby Saints are playing. I don't care what Chair Maker is saying; most fans are upset about the style and standard of play and not that we lost our first match of the season. That's no big deal in itself.

Calling a side 'average' is for me disrespectful as the fans 'expect' to beat Hull FC who made those claims IMO which is unfair considering they hadn't played together this season and people were going of last season's position.

You, and Blobbynator, seem to be some of the more rational posters however and I take your point about the decline in Saints' performances - many seem to agree - I do feel you will be a threat this year but whether your entertainers tag will remain/return is hard to say. Personally I hope so then when we smash you you can have no excuses