I thought there is a pretty good 17 in that squadOriginally Posted by St Willy
I thought there is a pretty good 17 in that squad
Certainly is pal. Crazy to think how many we're missing though.
RFL Championship / Super League (17) - 1931–32, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Challenge Cup (13) - 1955–56, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021
World Club Challenge (3) - 2001, 2007, 2023
League Leader's Shield (9) - 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
Yes, it is.
8 missing, 5 of those would certainly be the in the 17 if everyone fit.
Batchelor, Hurrell, Walmsley, Paasi, Matautia
Bennison, LMS and Wingfield borderline.
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Wellens’ comments about Walmsley are a little worrying to me. Purely hearsay but I was told by a colleague that it was likely we wouldn’t see him back at Saints next season, for family reasons rather than rugby reasons
If that’s the case we could have already seen his last game in a Saints shirt
does he live this side of the Pennines? We signed him from Batley so wondering if he still lives in Yorkshire?
I've also heard that & someone who I go to away games with has heard that too (not at same time obviously)
Sure he lives around here now
Nonsense pal. From the man himself, he'll be back at saints following his return from injury.
RFL Championship / Super League (17) - 1931–32, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Challenge Cup (13) - 1955–56, 1960–61, 1965–66, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2021
World Club Challenge (3) - 2001, 2007, 2023
League Leader's Shield (9) - 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
Wellens comments have far more to do with the fact Walmsley was playing on to make the 2025 World Cup having missed the last one. Given it’s now been pushed back another year (and probably a year too far for Walmsley to make it) and in the southern hemisphere he needs to find a new motivation. There’s nothing more sinister to it than that.
Edit; I’m not sure what it is about Walmsley that seems to attract nonsense. I had a Leigh friend who was absolutely convinced Saints were getting rid at the end of last season as he was “too injury prone”
I’ve been away for two weeks and only just come back so I’ve only been reading snippets over the past couple of weeks.
I was really confused with quotes that Gary Carter used as initially it sounded as though Walmsley was considering his future after being injured again and that he was wondering if it was the Sport for him.
However when I clicked on the actual article it seemed to be that Wellens was saying it about his son in that he was wondering if his son should be playing the game now.
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Incredible strength in depth. Let’s hope we can back up last week.
I think Wellens made both statements, the one about AW and the one about his son.
That's all I saw in that article and the only thing I saw linking to him saying it was about Walmsley was one of those spammy clickbait ones, total or love RL ones, but to me all I saw was him saying he didn't feel comfortable with his lad playing a sport where he wasn't protected properly. He just said Alex and iggy were proper ****ed off.
In his interview on Saints TV Wellens said that Walmsley was “second guessing” about carrying on. It was a genuine quote from Wellens.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
That's good to hear but I'm honestly not convinced
He's definitely not injury prone. He's the target of some fairly questionable tackling techniques that would injure anybody
I've missed this, a bit concerning.
Walmsley is starting to pick up more injuries. He picked up a season ender last year, had a hamstring injury this year and another season ender caused by a reckless opponent. You have to wonder how much wear and tear he can and wants to take at this stage of his career in the position he plays. Prop is definitely a priority position for us soon. We don't know how both Walmsley and Paasi are going to recover from their latest injuries.
(Sorry wrong response to this post earlier).
Time will tell, but maybe if he’s decides to not return we have time to find a replacement. As good as the prospects are coming through we need (even if Al stayed) an experienced prop if not two.
Last edited by 49er; 5th August 2023 at 08:33.
Humans are more concerned with having than being.
Hopefully it was “just” an emotional response from Walmsley/Wellens in the aftermath of what happened in that semi-final and he returns to the field for 2024 pre season still hungry for more success with us. I can’t see him going out on these terms but obviously have no insight into his personal thoughts. I’d be very very surprised if we’ve seen the last of him though. In the 2nd update I posted on this thread, Wellens says he’s having a couple of weeks away and then will be cracking on with his rehab ready for next season so I’ll take that at face value.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
Seems quite switched on outside of RL too does Walmsley so I’d imagine he’d find a good job if necessary. IIRC he was a quantity surveyor prior to signing for us.
I think the emergence of Delaney and the potential of Stephens will mean that we won’t panic too much but I agree we need some reinforcements in the short-term
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Indeed.
Hopefully we can go as far as possible but I'm afraid I can't see us doing much against Wigan or Catalans with our 2 main props missing.
Catalans forwards in particular are huge
Listen to Walmsley on the bbc rugby league podcast before the cc semi. He talks about coming back from his neck break and how he made a promise to himself if he didnt play the game with the intensity it meant to be played at he would retire.
He might just be in the same boat now , sadly.
Wigan’s pack are nothing to worry about. Especially if the info I’ve got about another serious hamstring injury to Havard is true.
Catalans look nailed on for top spot and a home semi final against the “worst” team left so I think they’re highly likely to be in the final. But 2nd place is very much up for grabs and I think realistically we can get that spot and fancy our chances at home against whoever is left. If we can keep the pack that I posted earlier in this thread fit and available for the crunch games then I’d still back us. But we can’t afford to lose any more now.
NEVER WRITE OFF THE SAINTS
The crucial thing for us is that Wigan, Leigh and Catalans all still play each other. If we can get to a position where we’re “only” missing Walmsley and Paasi, we’re still in a strong position to land second and then it’s “on the day” for 5 in a row
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