Is he the only player at the club at the moment who qualifies for the £50k exemption due to 10 year service...??...

Ade Gardner also qualifies as does Jon Wilkin.

Until there's someone better, either at the club or one the market, it makes perfect sense to retain Wellens. Solid, reliable, scores tries,hardly ever injured and makes very few mistakes. His stats stand up to any fullback in the comp bar one.

It's upto one of the youngsters to take their chance to oust Wellens when they get a chance and make themselves undroppable, something they've failed to do so far.

How will we ever be able to prove someone is better if they never get to play there? I'd have Makinson, Swift , Hohaia playing 1 before Wello for starters.

Great news about Clough.

I also feel Wello should be gradually phased out of the team over the next 12 months but he will be great to have around in the meantime - we can all see his faults but despite what the more clueless sections of our support think he has a lot to offer the side. There was never any doubt he was to be retained so keep the fake outrage in check.

Hopefully Meli will be phased out of the team next year too, preferably when the big games are on so we can reduce the amount of mistakes he makes. Flat track bully.

How exactly are they meant to oust him if no one EVER gets a chance there?

Tommy Makinson's performance in the Grand Final should have meant he got a run there, but Wello's been at fullback from week 1 of his return from injury, with Hohaia playing the 2 games he missed. Quite how those kids are meant to prove anything is beyond me.

Wello is probably the 4th or 5th best choice at fullback now. Hohaia, Makinson, Gaskell, Lomax, Swift etc would all be a better option next season than Wello.

Absolute disaster for me,all three.

A statement of intent from the club that lacks any ambition and smacks of sentimentality and nepotism.

Clough - Three years is for someone who is tearing it up not plodding.
Compared to Mossop and other up and coming forwards, he has nether the size
or aggression to compare. He is not a line breaker either unless reversing into the tackle
is line-breaking.


With Ade still on board we have retained the GF back three that has been exposed
time and again since 2007.

An opportunity to provide opportunity to youngsters and to free cap space to buy
pace and flair. Another opportunity missed.

Just cannot believe Meli has been retained.

Fullback has universally changed as a role a good 3-5 years ago and Saints
steadfastly refuse accept this and persist with Wellens.

I would feel my hands were being tied behind my back if I were Nathan Brown,

Clough is a decent player and someone who won't be on a top salary. Every squad needs a player like that and he can also play in the back row too. He's no world beater, but I don't mind this at all.

Wellens - he's had a reasonable season to be fair, certainly not as bad as Saddened suggests and certainly not our worst player, but I agree that full back is such a pivotal position these days. You need someone who is quick, has good footwork and reads the game well. Hohaia or Lomax could play this position as could Swift or maybe even Makinson long term. I'm not sure I can see Wellens in any other position either. People say back row, but we're fairly strong there especially with the arrival of Manu.

Meli - he's our most dangerous back which says alot about the quality of our backline. If he plays at Centre, I don't think it's a particularly bad move. On the wing, he can be an absolute nightmare for us.

A terrible move resigning these proven quality players that are better than anything else available on the market at the moment. I think we should have shown our ambition as a club by releasing them all and signing 3 or 4 16 year old kids from the National Leagues instead. Or really put out a marker for our burning drive to compete at the very highest level by signing some unborn foetuses as well.

Could not be more pleased with this news; excellent forward planning giving Clough a three year deal. I know that in the past I have bagged Meli but to be fair to the guy he really has impressed this term and probably deserved a two year deal; but club policy etc etc. Wellens should play less next term and fill in as a utility player when needed to steer the ship as it were. If this proves successful then who knows for 2014. [sizeMacmanus and co[/size

It's all about how Brown uses them as to whether this is good or bad. I don't think Brown has had his hands tied, if he did not want them we would not have signed them.

There has to be a hand over of the mantle from Wellens to the next FB, but I can see Brown doing this, we all say great things about those who could replace, but if we got rid of Wellens and played them and they were all a nightmare then how silly would we look. If we just play Wellens every game then it's not a great deal.

Meli is as devastating going forwards as he is at slip ups in grand finals, but again it's about where Brown will use him. Jones Turner Meli Garder gives us some grunt in the centres and some speed outwide.



Clough as our key prop this would be a bad deal, but we have no idea what money, he is getting paid and quite frankly his stats don't lie.

Who's the top try scorer this year?

Excellent news. Gives us depth in the backline, and we retain one of our top metre makers. There isn't much on the market at the moment anyway, and I hear we're still after couple of new signings to go along with these.

I'm sure that Brown will be giving a youngster a chance from time to time at full back next season regardless of this news.

Stop asking awkward questions that the doom mongers really don't want to answer.

And you, stop that, you are being sensible.