Apparently Salford have 1 or 2 signings still to be announced. A few have heard ade's name being mentioned. Any of you guys heard anything over there ??

Nope but it would be great news if true.

Worked hard for us as Ade but he is clearly not good enough. Maybe its a straight swap for Matty Smith ?

Wouldn't mind Broughton in exchange, real pace and a great prospect!

Ade is still under contract for next season.

wont be for any swaps !! but poss he could be released early from his contract to free up some cash for a new signing for you guys

He is, but I think if any club enquired about him Saints would be more than happy for him to discuss a move. He signed his current deal when he was a GB international, so he'll be on a fair whack, and he doesn't offer any more than our young threequarters like Foster.

Our back line is currently getting the revamp it's needed for a long time, and I think moving Gardner along is a key part of that process.

Nothing personal against Ade, of course. He strikes me as an honest, hardworking character who has given his all for Saints, but I think his time has passed.

Nail on the head

It's not likely. For him to leave he'd have to be paid as much as we are paying him. He won his current deal as a full international and arguably the best winger in Super League.

he might If he got offered a long term dealat Salford and if saints made it clear he wouldn't be getting one here

Gardner is due a testimonial soon and i would be surprised if he left.
Especially as he is still one of our starting wingers.

We need Gardner for the next couple of years, to allow the young 3/4 to come through. Get rid of Gardner now and we risk having players barely out of their teens on both wings and also one centre spot.
That is a recipe for disaster.

Personally think Meli is most likely to leave. He may be scoring trys but age isnt on his side. He is 31 now and will be 32 early next season.
Thats positively ancient for a winger.

Meli's age needn't be an issue, as long as we only offer him a one or two year contract. His game was never based on out and out pace, and there's no sign of him slowing down yet. The issue is what sort of contribution he can make to the side, and in his stint at centre he has shown he can continue to make a significant one.

I can't see the logic of hanging on to Gardner for two more years purely as a security measure when we have youngsters ready to do the job. Yes, if we have youngsters on both wings then they'll make mistakes, but, let's face it, so would Ade.

I remeber thinking about a year ago that Armstrong offered us pretty much the same package that Ade does, but obviously for less money.
Safe under kicks, seems solid in defence, not overly rapid but a strong finisher.

Er....ok.

I dont see why we should keep Ade just to give him a testamonial, hes not good enough to deserve another contract. He'd probably get more money elsewhere, so let him go. Its harsh, but so is professional sport.

Also if Wellens were to go Saints would lose up to £50K in salary cap allowance, so it may be prudent to keep Gardner one he had achieved his testimonial years, to maintain that extra allowance.