But this is 2012 not 2006 - there is no point saying how much better it was then because we are in the here and now.

Is there no point talking about any of our history then? It's a comparison to see how good we had it back then, and maybe to look at what we need to become challengers again.



Good points although I'd argue that Wigan, Leeds and Wire are all better off now than then.

I would imagine not 1 single player from 2012 would get in the first 13 of the 2006 team, Roby, Lomax and Soliola/Puletua probably be bench players.

Saints 2006 would do to Saints 2012 just what Wigan did at the weekend. Mercilessly take us apart with incisive attacking moves and a punishing defence. Wigan, this season, remind me of us back in 2006.

I would imagine Saints 2006 would have beaten Wigan 2012 by a similar score to last week, Saints 2006 would have beaten Saints 2012 by a similar 75 - 0 scoreline all those years ago.

...unless, seemingly you're Warrington.... or Wigan when they need a personalised bespoke loophole creating to keep a player...

Anyway, the point is pointless as standards have declined substantially in the game even since 2006. Never mind current Saints being able to match Saints 2006 - I very much doubt any other team in the league would have given them a game either. You'd have to put together a "best 17" from all players around today to stand much chance of finding a current GB team that could have beaten Saints '06.

Makes depressing reading does'nt it? But it's just transisition look how low Bradford and Wigan have been after dominating. It's no good supporting them when they win everything if your not gonna bother when they have tough patches.

Perry might've made it in the props. He would've been around 24/25 and not sure on when he played for Aus but he has so he might have been still at international/SOO level.....maybe.....possibly...

You're right to an extent. Standards certainly have declined. I just looked back at that team and to see us recruit no-one of at least similar standard to the players we had is disappointing. Graham, Anderson and Lyon were complete one offs and unreplaceable in the 2012 climate. But to see the likes of Shenton, Flannery and Hohaia in place of Talau, Gilmour, Pryce, especially when two of those players are still running around (and are British) shows bad player selection.

Agreed that losing Gilmour seems ever stranger with every passing year. But as I've said many a-time, Shenton was by far the best centre out there at the time - he still is if he can reclaim form/fitness. I'd love to know who people think we could have signed instead who would have been any better... And as for Hohaia, clearly Pryce wanted too many years and £s for us to be able (or want to be able with his injuries) to pay and, with Eastmond being off, we were desperate for a half and Hohaia was just simply the best candidate available without a transfer fee. Again - who else was there available that, without the benefit of hindsight, we would have signed at the time instead? Those signings haven't worked out and our team has been lessened as a result, but it's more down to luck and timing and the fates and the inexorable decline in GB player quality than it is to the oft criticised Saints recruitment policy.

Ryan Atkins?

He went a year before Shenton and so isn't directly comparable, and (depending on who you believe) we intended to play Sia and Gidley in the centres for that season instead, so you can't really complain about poor recruiting there (we couldn't have known at the time how badly Gidley was going to fall off in that last year). We'dve had to have competed with Warrington's accountants to get him too so would have had little chance in that department... Given a choice 2 years ago I'dve taken Shenton ahead of Atkins anyway.