Opps missed that.
Not the end of the world, unless he is on a masive wedge.
Nothing personal. Allways viewed him as a thinking mans' Mark Edmundson.
Not big enough for a prop. not the right kind of mobility for a second row , and no left to right pass.
Think saints should seek to recruit geniunue props and proper gilmour like second rows rather than neither neithers but hayho.
He has done well this season , got his hair cut and lost the high five nonsense.
Be interesting to see who else stays and goes.
Also echo ralphs thoughts re Morgan.
He is a good centre need to stop bagging him and give him some ball in good ball.
Back to Gildart, apparently on the BBC’s RL podcast they said that we are interested. Seems that it’s either his agent trying to get him a better contract or there is genuine interest. If the latter, then that surely means the end for Morgan (that or Percival’s off to the NRL which I would think there’s no chance of happening yet). Even if he hasn’t been in as good form so far this season it’d be a great signing and a definite upgrade on Morgan, not sure I see it happening though. Wigan could find themselves needing to do a lot of recruitment for next season though.
IF..
Barba was to leave at the end of the season and take his riches with him - would you try and sign Sam Tomkins?
I feel sick saying it but he is a good player with an X factor that others dont have.
Why? Alright for them to sign Andy Platt, Gary Connolly and Micky Higham from us.
If Sam Tomkins stays fit and plays like he is doing now, then yes why not sign him as a replacement for Ben.
Joynty, Longy and Tommy Mak are all Wigan born and bred, the former represented us brilliantly the latter is the form winger in Super League and also a brilliant finisher.
Tomkins is a little rat. He wouldn’t fit in with the culture at Saints he milks penalties, has sly foul play and spits his dummy out more than any other player in the league right now, no thanks.
Lomax has been a better fullback than him for the past 2/3/4 seasons also.
The fans would hate him here and he’s crocked. So why would we sign him?
Bottom line on Tomkins at Saints is this - 1) Will he sell any more season tickets? = Probably see some people ripping theirs up at the news
2) Will he sell more replica shirts with his name on? = Definitely not. Nobody will want his name on their shirt in St Helens.
3) Will he deliver some silver? = He's good but he's not good enough to make that sort of difference to a team.
So the sums just don't add up. Marquee players have to pay their way in bums on seats and silverware at the end of the year.
Don't rate him at all. He's got a bit of pace and can be a bit of an elusive runner, but his defence isn't something I fear and he's not a 'natural' centre.
At best he's a 7/10 player, and certainly not someone we should be pursuing at what would need to be a top-end wage.
This would all seem to be completely academic as anyone who has the inside track is saying he’s already signed for Catalans
I think Gildart is a touch overrated but he can finish, I wouldn't mind him at Saints if Morgan is going plus it would pee the Pie Eaters off. Under no circumstances would I want Tomkins at Saints, he's grubby little git who's best days are behind him. Regardless of whether he's good enough there are just certain players who would never have worn the redvee like Edwards or Farrell, it just wouldn't have been right, difference is though they would have been more than good enough.
A few weeks ago Edwards said he would never rule out coming back to RL as a coach.Would anyone want him at Saints as Coach.I wouldn’t .
We could do worse than Gildart as I’m not overly convinced with Ryan Morgan. Can’t see it happening though! As for Tomkins, I hear it’s a done deal that he has agreed a 4 year deal with Catalans from next season. I wouldn’t be opposed to Saints signing any good player available regardless of what team they currently play for. We could certainly do with a Centre for next season and maybe a Prop too.
I agree I would be very surprised if Saints were interested in him but from what little I've seen of him this year he does seem to be maturing into a playmaker.
If he can stay injury free I think some club may get 4 or 5 goid seasons out of him