If Saints have any sense they will get a sprint coach in over pre-season, or even now, and get him working with Foster. He would be a top winger if he had a few yards more pace. I know Saints had a spell of having a sprint coach at the club, not sure if they still do but looking at the squad, i can't see it.

I'd like to see Foster have a gallop. I don't I've ever seen him put clean through from far out. He looks nippy enough to me close to the line.

He showed a bit of pace for his try against Wakefield when Wilkin broke free. Granted there was nobody in front of him but he still had to run about 50m.

He did fine for his longer try against Wakey but he doesn't have the natural speed of Makinson so far as I can see. However, he has other qualities. And great boots.

And lovely hair

The speedster days of Offiah and Preston are long gone. Cover defences are now so effective (in terms of player fitness, speed, stamina and organisation) that you need freakish speed to round the last tackler in the line. Had Offiah played today he'd finish with little more than half his end-of-season try total.

Speed is a useful asset. But it's no longer the prime requisite. When Warrington chose to run with Kevin Penny in the first team they were thinking a decade behind the game. Now if you've got a winger who scores 12-15 tries a season whilst conceding little and another who scores twenty five but costs seven tries per year because of weak tackling and a load of territory because his hands awful you take the former every time. And if he also chips in with an 80% completion rate with the boot you bite his hand off.

I really don't get what people are harping on about. Foster is going great, hardly makes big blunders, is a safe pair of hands. Scores lots of tries on a wing with a mix of centre's young and old. He's not had the service of a Lyon or Gidley. Foster did not start the season and has 6 tries only3 behind the leading scorer without an experienced centre, that's pretty good going.

He also kicks goals for fun.


Lets face it when some people are saying he is not the best, they are saying he is not the fastest. That's fair enough but you rarely see players have foot races anymore so it's hard to tell.

There are alot of big name wingers out there, but I would not be interested in swapping Gardner for them, never mind Foster.

In fact, I'd be really p*ssed off if we did let him go.

If Gardner is of contract at the end of 2011 then foster is the ideal replacement. In fact I'd have foster ahead of Gardner now when everyones fit.

I think it was tough call leaving him out at start of the year as he was one of our best players in the back end of last season.

He's really impressed me to be honest.

Gardner is playing extremely well this season. I've no complaints about either of our wingers.


Well, maybe he wasn't impressing at the start of the season? Perhaps last season got to him a bit. I notice that whenever Royce is asked about Foster in the press he says 'he is getting better', complimenting his finishing but that is all. So perhaps Royce is making sure Foster's feet stay firmly on the ground, in those great boots of his. Or maybe he suffered for not having Gidley inside of him? After all, Foster himself has said that Gidley used to stay behind after training to help him improve his game.