https://www.saintsrlfc.com/2021/04/0...l-end-of-2024/
Fantastic news and yet more superb business from the club.
https://www.saintsrlfc.com/2021/04/0...l-end-of-2024/
Fantastic news and yet more superb business from the club.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
You really can't knock the way we're going about our business.
Brilliant news, since his return to half back i dont think there has been a better player in Super League, i think in the eyes of many, including the bloke who won it, he should have been the Man of Steel in 2019.
Excellent news!
"The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom." Danny Blanchflower.
Might have been written by a footballer about football - but never a truer word............
Good news.
Need similar announcements about Knowles and Lees now
Another fantastic bit of news from Saints.
Great news about a player who’s vision stands out across the whole of SL.
Brilliant player and great news for club & player, I wish we had him.
Great news.
Grace, Knowles, Bentley should be our priority now.
A decision on Fages will also have to be made. I really rate him, mainly for his defensive qualities which are superb and are probably under valued by many for what he gives us. It would be a risk for me to just let him go and bring Dodd in with him playing so little game time as yet.
I have a feeling Coote will go home after this year however if he stays that could also affect whether Fages gets a new contract.
Never really in any doubt, this one, so it’s not one I’ve really been fretting about. Still, it’s fantastic that it has been signed and we keep him till 2024, the way he’s returned after quite a few pretty serious injuries in his lifetime of playing rugby, even when one was life threatening (I can remember him walking round Knowsley Road and getting a round of applause not long after his op), is incredibly commendable and says a lot about Jonny as a person and to then look like one of the best players in our competition in not one, but two positions says everything about his ability.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
More on Fages here:
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co...uture-20344506
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Was just starting a new thread on this, but good to hear we have Grace and Bentley in the works. Along with Knowles I would say they are the three most important re-signings now.
Really wouldn’t be disappointed with Welbsy replacing a retiring Coote, and whilst I really rate Naiqama (who always seems to attract baffling criticism) he’s replaceable, especially if we have Cootes money to play with.
Seems like we’re going to see more movement this year than we have in a while
It’s all just speculation. Until the futures of other players are decided we don’t know what salary cap there is to play with. We also don’t know what the plan is regarding the emergence of Dodd. Some people, myself included, have advocated for the moving of Fages to hooker to give Dodd game time and maybe look to have Fages plus Smith/Eaves take over when Roby retires but for all we know Fages wants to play half back and will find a club who will play him there if we won’t. All ifs and buts and maybes at the moment.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
It was his half break which set us up for the final play in last years grand final. He’s a strong carrier, hits gaps, is able to make space for Makinson and despite his oft criticised “jumpy” defence is very effective for the defensive pattern we have got set up.
Be interesting to see how Woolf approaches signings this year, he has a lot more flexibility this year compared to last year (which was very much like for like replacements). We could realistically sign a marquee 1,4,7,10 based on what Woolf wants this year, and shape the rest of our signings around it. No evidence but I have a gut feeling we may get both Fifita brothers at Saints next year...
The BBC article says Lomax has scored 11 tries in 242 appearances.
Also says he was born in scumsville. Whilst true if he was born in Billinge Hospital, I thought he grew up in the St Helens boundary; he certainly went to Rainford High. Technically, unless they're born at home, nobody has been born in St Helens since Cowley Hill closed in the 70s. The article makes out he's a 6-fingered wi*an •••• who defected.
It’s an interesting recruitment and retention year coming up. For me a lot rides on whether Coote stays or goes. I don’t see Fages (or Lomax, for that matter) as an out-and-out halfback, but the way the team plays at the moment Coote takes on a lot of the responsibility a half back normally would. For that reason if Coote stays I’d be happy for Fages to stay too.
If Coote goes and is presumably replaced by Welsby, though, then we’d need more organisation and creativity from the halves. In that case I’d let Fages go and replace him either with Dodd or with a year or two deal for an experienced, quality half.
With Naiqama’s age and the fact that we have a highly rated youngster coming through I can’t see him getting a new deal.
All of that means we’re likely to have a good deal of cap space to play with. I’d look to use that to tie up our best young players and also to recruit a good young hooker (ideally one who can also provide cover in the halves). I like both Smith and Eaves but I’m not convinced either of them is the long term successor to Roby.