He’s versatile, solid and the league is full of garbage scrum half’s so I agree there’ll be plenty of teams after him but none of the top ones because his limitations in attack are there for all to see. He’d be the opposite of what Warrington go for in a key position. Not a big name, not from the NRL, wouldn’t be expensive, solid but unspectacular and a fairly boring player. Not to mention his kicking game is pretty poor and they don’t have a Coote who can make up for that.
I wonder whether we’d go Lomax at 1 and Dodd and Fages in the halves, should Coote go?
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
Except they do, Ratchford plays pretty much exactly the same role as Coote, just not as effectively. I agree he’s not your usual Wire signing but with potentially their 6, 7 & 9 leaving plus some other cap space and a new coach who knows. Might also depend on what style of play Powell wants to play plus how much input he’ll actually have on signings.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
Certainly out of the three out of contract players, Fages is the expendable one. Regan Grace is one of the top two or three most exciting wingers in the country and Bentley has become indispensable.
If there is one chink in the armour of this Saints side it is that neither of our half backs are actually orthodox half backs. Neither have any last set plays and neither takes charge of the game. They are not leaders, organisers or generals. Lomax is a fine player, who I think is better at full back, and he'd also be a better half back with a general alongside him. If Coote does go, then I would prefer to see Lomax back at No.1 and us look to buy a half, and not a full back, where I feel we have both Welsby and Makinson who can fill in admirably.
Theo is another of those players who is a good lad, a proper tryer who can defend and generally work his bollocks off, but he lacks that Ingredient X that you need from a scrum half. A 7 needs more to his game than tackling and an aimless punt on the last.
If we could find ourselves a decent 7, somebody like Adam Sezer perhaps, somebody who could provide the missing link between the forwards and the backs, then we'd be pretty much untouchable. Our pack and our back line are miles ahead of anybody in this league, but we have Jonny Lomax playing in his second best role to fill a gap and we have a dependable but somewhat average player alongside him. That lack of natural half back nous could well be why Woolf favours the game plan that he does. He's simply playing to our strengths.
We all know we are going to finish in the top four, so the coach needs to start to use some of the games against lesser opposition now to try something different. This means giving Lewis Dodd game time and trying Welsby at stand off a little more, because we are not going to know if they are going to be good enough without first team game time. The time is coming when Welsby needs to find a home. In his early days, he looked like a half back, but he was written off after a couple of bad games. I think that was harsh, but we'll never know unless he's given a decent chance to prove it.
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Because Dodd isn’t ready and 2 years of a marquee from the NRL should give him enough time and opportunity to take the shirt when said NRL player retires, and improves us immediately as a step up from Fages? I don’t agree with the logic but can see where it’s going.
Coote, Fages and Roby all up in the air this year, some big decisions
I can see us keeping him,depending on who we may keeping from Coote ( who might be off due to not wantingto interrupt kids high schooling ),Naiqama and Bently ( who must be top of the list of resignings ). Lomax to fullback with Welsby as cover. Simm to right centre Bently and Fages to defend on that side. Dodd to 7 with Thompson to look after him on the left.
I’m not saying we should?
I am saying the logic is;
a) Fages is, at a push still got 10 years in him. If he stays at Saints, he’s going to require the 7 shirt which means we lose Dodd and anyone else behind him, who may have more potential.
b) Fages is a good, not great player. I’d have no issue with him staying but not on huge money and after back to back grand finals, Fages may well be asking too much.
c) even if he isnt, Dodd may be the long term answer, so committing to Fages leaves us with a first team salary sat in the stands, if and when Dodd takes the first team place from Fages
d) Dodd has barely played a handful of games so having him step straight in would be a bad idea.
e) as such, Saints need a stop gap solution, whose better than Fages, but works better with bringing our long term solution through.
f) given we still have both marquee spots available, there’s no reason we can’t get an actually good NRL halfback.
Of course, the wrong recruit is a pension pot chaser, but the right choice better equips Dodd as the long term solution and improves is now.
Not what I’d do, but I can understand the logic
You say Dodd is a long term solution. But from what I gather nrl clubs were already alert to him and looking to sign him. If he lives up to expectations then there is no guarantee we can keep him long term.
For me it comes down to priorities. Grace, Knowles, Coote, Bentley and Fage are all ooc at the end of the season. We've had a few players re-sign and you can guarantee none of them have taken a pay cut. It's a salary cap sport and I would be a lot more annoyed if Grace, Knowles, Coote or Bentley left.
It would all come down to how ready the club think Dodd is. If he’s not quite ready, I can’t see us going short in the halves to persevere with him and we’d be down to the bare bones in the halves and an injury to Lomax or Dodd would leave us putting a square peg in a round hole.
St Helens Rugby League Football Club
I'm pretty much the opposite. Even though I don't think he's the most creative 7 & his kicking isn't the best, he's a steady player in attack. What he does have in abundance is heart. He is a fierce competitor & leaves nothing on the pitch every time he plays. Defensively, safe as houses. Which, whether you like it or not is just as important.
He's a player you'd want on your side 100 times out of 100. You've not got 2 grand final wins in a Saints shirt if you're a rubbish halfback. Fages is 26, not 33, & if Dodd wants to be scrum half, he'll have to take Theo's place off him.
I disagree with DD. You don't just dispense with the qualities he brings. It's exactly why Luleuai has had such a long career. He competes ferociously.