Woolf was always going to stay.
From a club perspective the trophy haul trumps any dislike of playing style and persona.
I guess we all wait and see who the signings are.
Be interesting to see the number of season ticket renewals not just based on
Saints and Woolf but on the game as a whole.
The product is not great across the league Fans are out of the habit and have given clubs (not just Saints)
two years of patience , sympathy and donations.
2022 memberships and attendances will give an indication of where everyone is at.
I think a few clubs not just Saints are in for a bit of a shock.
Yes Woolf was always going to stay, unless the NRL came calling. Sounds promising that there are signings imminent though, hopefully not too long as we all want to know what we’ll have to work with next season with so many departures.
With season tickets next year I’m not sure how much confidence people will have in spending the money and being guaranteed to be able to watch all the games or games not being cancelled anyway. Hopefully it’ll be the opposite and people are desperate to enjoy live sport in a crowd after 18 months cooped up.
Forwards win games. The backs decide by how much.
To be honest I'd rather Simm be given his chance at centre and just see what happens. It might be a gamble to go with Simm, Dodd and Welsby all at once but I'd rather see how it went for a year than plug holes with expensive 30+ Aussies
I'd also be more than happy with Savelio and that bench. When you look at the outs there must be at a guess 800k to play with, less upgrades
Last edited by Sean Day; 29th July 2021 at 07:05.
Yes it was quite a reassuring podcast from McManus. Woolf staying on is definitely a good thing, he has done well enough to win us trophies but at the same time he isn't young enough to have NRL clubs circling. My opinion is, if we want a more expansive style of play we need more attacking players. Hopefully we will see that in the recruitment.
Regarding players he acknowledged we have a big turn over at the end of the year and suggested that we would fill positions internally, from Super League and the NRL. Internally you assume we are talking about Welsby and Dodd in the starting 13, with the likes of Wingfield in the 17 every week. I am not 100% sure if Eamon has signing up his sleeve or he wants to stop us panicking about the lack of them. I guess we will see over the next few weeks/months.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
If McManus wants to sell more season tickets for next year he'd better sign some players other than our academy products as good as they are?
It's going to be interesting to see what Warrington do with Warrington's forwards. Chris Hill hasn't had his contract renewed yet and they are rumoured to be getting Tom Johnstone as well. I can't see anyone at Warrington who is going to replace Hill internally, so presumably they will be looking for another prop or resigning Hill.
https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/krist...PRPauib0uQarRA
In case there was any doubt; Welsby will be fullback at the start of next year.
That's Hopoate in at 3 then, assuming that one is completed. Which will leave us needing a prop and a 2nd rower I reckon.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
I would prefer to see Simm as well. I'm not keen on recruit Aussie players for a season. Coote has done a good job but he isn't as good this year as he was last year in my opinion.
Welsby, Makinson, Simm, Percival, Grace, Lomax and Dodds would be a good first string in my view. I don't know who would step in as replacements though in case of injury
Whilst I am not 100% sold on Hopoate, I am shocked at the number of people willing to throw 2 relatively untried juniors in Dodd and Simm in straight away, with barely 10 games prior experience. We might just about get away with doing it with one in Dodd, if he has as much experience and capability around them as possible, two would ruin both their development imo. Thats before you get to having virtually no cover for anyone getting injured.
Let Simm serve his apprenticeship as "first cover" for the threequarters for the next two years, much like Welsby has done, get 50 games under his belt and then assess if hes ready to step up. If Hopoate is as terrible as people are predicting, Woolf has a record of rewarding juniors by keeping seniors out anyway, and competition for places is never a bad thing.
Naiqama hasnt been great this season, and I am confident Hopoate will improve on Naiqama 2021 edition. He might not be as good as Naiqama 2019 but only time will tell on that one. As I recall, we all slated the Naiqama signing as well, and he has been proven to have been a shrewd, capable signing, and if Hopoate does sign, I trust the club to think he will be as well.
And the first 7 Academy trained.
I don't quite see it that way.
I'm having trouble with the value proposition.
If Saints were getting a superstar either at FB or centre then Simm slotting in as first cover is fair enough.
I'm more struggling to see the logic of a Hopoate signing and effectively paying for the "NRL" label and former reputation.
Paying £100-150K all in for someone who doesn't look that great and more worryingly looks disinterested at his current club.
So in short you are paying premium money for someone who's name has excited very few to drive it in on tackle 2/3.
That doesn't represent value for money.
But I dont think Saints are effectively paying for former reputation/ NRL label. Hes a damn sight better than all but maybe 3 of the centres currently in the competition - even doing a bad job in the NRL is better than all but maybe Percival, King and Whare would achieve in Hopoates position. Further, Woolf has worked with him before (and may think he may even think he can get him playing better than Bulldogs currently are) - we are paying for a known quantity - which is something Simm isn't. Further he fits in a niche that we need of also being able to cover fullback in a pinch - how does the value proposition of signing Ryan Brierly and Junior Sau compare to do the same job (at probably the same cost)?
Putting that aside for a second, even if you assume those on here are right, and Hopoate is awful. Simm still needs to perform, and keep performing to keep his place. Woolf has shown in the past hes willing to keep the kids coming through if they deserve it, so its entirely possible by signing Hopoate we get a better Simm next year anyway (whose to say hes one of those who get the starting jersey and then coast - we have had more than a few over the years).
All in all, I just dont see how going with Simm represents a better option. Signing a "backup" centre/ fullback is likely to have cost just as much, and going with just Simm leaves us 1 injury away from a crisis at all times. Either he comes over here and rips it up like Naiqama did when he first came over, or he crashes, and its on Simm to take his place and keep the shirt, whilst Hopoate covers injuries (like Joel Thompson at the moment) - which is a bit of a win win.
https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/sport...22/?ref=twtrec
https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/sport...o-fages-place/
Yes two articles from Mike Critchley saying Welsby at 1, Dodd at 7 next season.
A good message to send after re-signing the coach. A firm vote for our promising youth players
Last edited by Noel Cleal; 29th July 2021 at 20:21.
I could agree with you but then we would both be wrong.
How serious should we take the Jordan Abdull rumours?? I’ve nothing against the lad. He shows some classy ball touches but where do you play him? He’s a big lump of a half back. Doesn’t look to have much pace but plays good at the line. He reminds me of Richard Whiting. Too slow to be a back and not big, strong enough to be a quality forward, yet always seems to make things happen around him. A decent rugby brain.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies