Losing Vea for the season is a massive blow. I wonder if the club can do anything with regards to the cap? Surely there should be a rule that allows you to remove players from the cap if they are unable to play?

Saints really need to kick off about Green's punishment though. A 1 game ban for that was ridiculous.

Vea is out for 10 weeks, he should be back just before the split.



Since Lomax is gone for the season, I can imagine there's enough of an argument under these grounds to have his salary removed from the cap for this year ...

I read the OP as seven months.

if that had been the case it might have just pushed me over the edge!

I know we tried to use the rule last year after Walsh was ruled out, hopefully we will again ... Only question is who might be available - God knows we need some good news!

HKR deregistered Dobson whilst he was injured in order to sign Willie Mason.

I was amazed nothing more was said at the time by the sky muppets. For me it was late, it was a deliberate shoulder charge and it was direct to the head, that's 3 offences in one. Add in the fact that it's a prop on a half back and that makes it a pretty cheap cowardly shot too.

I think we should face up to the probability that Lomax's career is over. Certainly at Saints, but possibly in RL. Terrible luck, but you can't play modern RL with two destroyed knees, especially if your game depended upon pace and agility.

The most rational thing for the club to do would be to agree Lomax's retirement - make sure he gets everything he should, as he's been very unlucky - and then use his salary to go shopping for a new fullback - urgently.

As for Walsh, I'm afraid I'm slipping into the sceptic camp - I'm losing faith he'll wear the V again.

You're losing faith in Walsh ... Even though the club said he'd be back the second week of April ... It's not even April yet?!?

Lomax is a very awkward situation. I want him to return and wouldn't want to lose him, but 2 injuries since his last contract, he can't command the same salary ... And we need to it to bring the cover in ...

Unless we're looking at someone like McDonnell in the lower leagues in Aus, I'm not sure who we could even go for ...

On Walsh, I think it's because his return has been a moveable feast. The club has given several dates for his return which have come and gone, with the date then being pushed further back. When something like that happens, it's easy to lose faith.

On Lomax, don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely gutted that he was starting to show genuine threat and talent consistently before his first knee injury. But notably he didn't show anything like that in the few games he had this year, and now he's had a second really serious injury, I just don't see how he comes back. Pro RL is not a forgiving game, and even proven great players like Sculthorpe, Farrell and O'Loughlin have shown that when injuries mean your body can't do it any more, it's not so much a gradual decline as a cliff-edge fall. I do remember when Sculthorpe developed his serious back problems, and there were people on here saying that he just needed rest, while the club put out a cloud of chaff about how he'd return "110% fit". But he was done. You can't play pro RL with a wrecked back. You can't play pro RL with two wrecked knees either. Hopefully the club have top notch insurance policies to ensure the player is looked after. But I think it's over.

It's tough on the player but he would be able to claim insurance I assume if he was forced to retire on medical grounds? Maybe the club could give him a non playing role and then let him go through the full re-hab without any pressure on him and see how he feels in 12 or 18 months. It's going to be a tough call for the club to make but by this being a salary capped sport there is no room for sentiment, at least not if you want to succeed.

There should certainly be a salary cap dispensation for injuries caused by foul play. We are now without Burns for a major chunk of the season, having to pay his wages and have no leeway to bring in a replacement - none of which is Burns or the clubs fault.

If the referees and judiciary are not going to protect players and their clubs from foul play, then there should be some financial "benefit" to being on the receiving end of incidents such as Fridays.

As an aside, a player who didn't have the ball sustained 3 fractured bones in his face, and the referee only deemed it to be a penalty?!?! James Childs certainly leads a charmed life at the RFL for whatever reason.

The irony is Scully did feel better with rest .... alot of it. His problem was his age though , he couldn't just take a couple of years to recover then come back. Lomax does have time on his side though. Although not rugby , take a look at the case of Craig Gordon the Celtic goalkeeper , he looked finished but after a long break has made a successful comeback.