"Obviously, I'm contracted here until the end of the season and I love St Helens,"

"I am going to do my best to win games and trophies for Saints. But, one way or another, it will definitely be sorted this week - 100%. And that's all I want to say about it."

I agree with you, with there being no 'transfer window' you would expect him to up sticks straight away, but maybe we still have some time with him, although i don't think his mind will be 100% saints till the end.

I hope he stays but just can't see it . If he is going good luck to him but he could've given us a few more years.

Hope he goes to the end of the season for us. If he goes he goes but i would like him to have a good solid season for us while we look for or develope his replacment.

If he says he's going I'd try and get rid of him asap and get him off the cap. Worst case and were stuck with him I'd promote Gaskell to first choice 7 and let Kyle provide backup when needed, no point helping Eastmond develop when Gaskell could be getting game time

Totally agree, let's try and get a fee for the work the club has put into him. If he does stay around then use him when he is needed whislt developing other prospects for his position. If we can get a fee it can be put towards a replacement if we can't recruit from within. If he stays I doubt he'll want to be risking an injury towards the back end of the season anyway.

And what if Gaskell is not ready for that step up? Are you prepared to risk his development for the sake of your own pride in relation to the Eastmond situation? I'm not. If Eastmond stays he plays. If his form doesn't warrant him playing then that's another thing.

Isnt that kinda cutin yer nose off to spite ya face? Hes a tallent so why dont we use him. Its not like it will come back to haunt us when hes playing union.

The way I would look at it is not just completely dropping Eastmond but only using him if Gaskell is struggling or not ready for some of the bigger games. If it is announced next season we have to start developing Gaskell otherwise next season, if we don't recruit, we'll be inn the same position with Gaskell without having Eastmond as a safety blanket.

If Gaskell is good enough he will come through Im sure. Just think that if Saints mean buisiness this year that have to play the best players especially for the big games.

I agree with that, which is why I would play Eastmond when Gaskell is out of his depth. But I would give Gaskell every possible opportunity to play whenever we can, otherwise we could potentially have a first choice halfback with very little experience next season. At least if we blood Gaskell now and use Eastmond when we need him we can still be competitive this season and next season. Ignoring the fact that Eastmond is going and not using Gaskell would be a very short term look on things and could cause us serious problems in the future, if Eastmond does leave.

I would still tend to use Eastmond for the majority of games though. Maybe how much Saints use Gaskell will be an indication of our intent next year. Im not sure if we may still buy in some experience for a year or two.