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With alot of injuries this season how do you feel the young British lads have done filling in? Ecxuse me if I missed anyone

Lomax - 7/10 - Solid
Eastmond - 9/10 - Game winner but can try to do it all alone
Wheeler - 6/10 - Strokes of skill, fantastic step, injury prone
Ellis - 3/10 - Not really seen enough to judge but dropped ball V Salford
Emmitt - 5/10 - Again solid nothing special
Ashurst - 7/10 - Come on leaps and bounds as season progressed
Dixon - 7/10 - Excellent hands and very impressive, not as much game-time as Ashurst
Dean - 7/10 - Very impressed with this kid, learnt alot at Widnes, was never a big fan but now I am
Armstrong - 5/10 - Filled in well scoring tries when needed

Yet you give him 3 out of ten!.

Can hardly give him 10 then can I haha... Seen him at Salford, very bad error and that just stuck in my mind sadly

Wheeler has impressed me very much so for you lot, along with Lomax and Eastmond.

Lomax - 5/10 - Mr Knockonathon. Has some pace, so I would get him involved to see if the dropsies are inbuilt or just nerves. At times he looked the part. (Wakey away and Cas at home).

Eastmond - 8/10 - Superb runner of the ball but I've seen nothing to suggest he'll be a good scrum half. Looks a winger to me.

Wheeler - 7/10 - Looks superb in attack at centre. Would be my tip to make it out of this lot were it not for his horrific injury record.

Ellis - 4/10 - Mr Knockonathon Part Deux. Has done nothing to suggest he'll do anything.

Emmitt - 6/10 - Solid and worth a squad place, but doesn't look to have the 'X Factor'. He won't be a top player but two or three years as 5th prop would be beneficial to us.

Ashurst - 7/10 - Blended in perfectly and tackles well. I've not noticed who he is all season though, which speaks volumes for his anonymity with the ball. A body in the defensive line, we just seem to have too many of those.

Dixon - 7/10 - Looks to be slightly more talented than Ashurst but we certainly don't need both of them.

Dean - 7/10 - In fact, keep this one. He will end up a second rower and is better looking than the other two so keep him as our Mike Bennett 2010 edition.

Armstrong - 7/10 - Solid, unspectacular, unlikely to have a nightmare.

Looking at the list there is only Wheeler, Lomax and Eastmond who could become top quality players. All three have been very injury prone which doesn't bode well. The rest are totally average and won't make anything more than SL squad players.

Wheeler - Struggled with injuries, but one of the most naturally talented rugby players we have. Excellent step, vision and a bit of pace, and will undoubtedly progress into the stand off position in years to come.

Eastmond - The contract situation casts a shadow over Eastmond. Saints shouldnt be held to ransom by Agent Offiah, but hes got massive potential. Developing physically and his decision making will improve with experience. Has got a vital commodity for a half back, lightning pace and could become an accomplished goal kicker.

Dixon - For me the more impressive than Ashurst. Physically bigger, and excellent defender but needs to improve his running lines.

Ashurst - Neither him or Dixon have looked out of place, a little more inconsistant than Dixon and struggled since Salford away when the injuries really bit.

Armstrong - hasnt got enough pace to play on the wing, and has alot of work to break through into the centres IMO. The least likely to break through for me, but has been reliable when called upon.

Lomax - Really impressed me with his bravery and speed around the ruck, especially Wakey and Wire away. A verstile player who also had a blinder on the wing (cant rememer who against) and is also blessed with lightning pace. Still not sure what his best position is, as he's played solidly at full back and wing, and to a lesser extent the centre and hooking roles.

Ellis - Agree we havent seen enough of him to really judge. But his performances in the reserves are excellent, but needs time to develop physically and is a distance behind the likes of Wheeler and Kyle.

I think we can also expect the likes of Frodsham, McGennis and Foster to get game time next season.

Great, theres our replacements for Fa'asavalu, Flannery and Meli sorted, its easy this player recruitment lark ain't it?

I'm very surprised that we really havnt had a dissapointment from the kids, concidering the pressure they've been under. My current pick this year is Wheeler, then eastmond

A bit harsh on Emmitt he has been pretty good for us this season. He has had limitted game time OK but given he is a prop who has his best years a head of him then 5/10 is a little unfair.

I think we have yet to get a good look at most of our young players. Even the likes of Ashurst who has played a lot for us this year has not shown his true potential yet. Myself (and i believe Mick Potter) will be more likely to judge these players at the end of next season.

Frodsham has been the big disappointment for me. Forget about Gary Wheeler and his ankles, Gareth has hardly played this season when he should have had 20+ games under his belt.

I just hope for his sake he can string some games together in 2010.

Lomax - He's been OK, he's got the pace to trouble any defence but I have doubts about his all round game. Think next season will be spent filling in where needed, I'd be surprised if even he can predict what position he will end up in.

Eastmond - very impressed, he looks to have the natural ability to go all the way. Has a lot to work on aswell, but he's young enough to improve in all aspects of his game. Hopefully he will get first shot at 7 next year, once he starts taking more responsibility we will have a great player on our hands.

Wheeler - Looks sensational when in attack. Another season filling in at centre and 6 before he's a regular, which is probably for the best considering his injury record, but if he stays fit I'd back him to take a starting spot before too long.

Emmitt - It's generally hard for forwards of his age to show their best form early on. Good to have in reserve along with Frodsham, but I'd expect to see big improvements from both when they get their next opportunities.

Ashurst/Dixon - As above, was impressed with some of Ashurst's running earlier in the season, some cracking lines. Both look OK, Gilmour leaving will give both of these and Magennis ample opportunity to gain a regular place in the 17, hopefully the competition will bring out the best in all three. Maybe one to go out on loan?

Dean - steady, 4th choice centre for me though and don't think he has the talent to force himself into contention.

Armstrong - as above, word is he's leaving anyway. Would be a quality signing at Championship level.

Haven't seen Ellis.

What a surprise - the backs are given good reviews and the forwards are'nt. Don't have to be a Rugby genius to work out why...

The sad truth is that, with the possible exception of Eastmond, not one of the other youngsters mentioned in this thread would automatically command a place in the 17 man squad, still less in the starting 13.

Just look at the team selections over the last few weeks. Neither KC nor Roby was fit to play in the CCSF, yet both of them played. Last Friday, Jon Wilkin was clearly less than 100% fit but he was selected. Wello has been carrying a knee injury for most of the season and has hardly missed a game.

The likes of Lomax, Wheeler, Frodsham, Dean have yet to prove that they are tough enough to cope with the physical demands of playing at Super league level, week in, week out.

I hope they will make it, but I have my doubts.

out of the young forwards, we wont see anything for a a year or two, cloughy and jammer did very little until 20/21, and they are freakishly early. I reallt think frodsham will be the real deal, not sure about the second rows, Magennis was the best by a mile last year, but has been injured so it may have ruined his development, my best mate played for in the youth setup and was tipped for greatness (at 15) broke his leg in 3 places and that was that really

Exactly. Even Jammer took a while to adapt to the rigours of first team Rugby.

Yet we still have the samed myopic posters who think that unless an 18 or 19 year old is breaking tackles like Kevin Ward, then they amount to no more than a squad player.

Beggars belief at times.

I've seen enough of all the forwards I mentioned earlier (apart from Magennis) to think they are worth keeping on for the next couple of years. Better to keep all these with a view to developing them for the long term than give inflated wages to Gilmour for another 2 year contract IMO.