Wellens can't play stand off again surely. He had a mare today. It makes the decision to not play and let go Gaskell even stranger.

Gaskell only been playing for Salford for 10 mins and has already scored a try. Maybe he has found his level for the time being.

Gaskell is playing in the centres for Salford and will do for the rest of the season according to the radio. If he bulks out a little he could be superb there.

So why the *£*%£($! didn't WE play him there and then Turner, who at least HAS played at 6 and has stuff like creativity and pace, could play at 6?

Half backs are so pre 2010.

0 halfbacks.

It's the Garlic bread of Rugby league.

Wigan always seem to turn average players into good ones. There is something in their coaching that Saints never seem able to compete with.

It's not strange with Nathan Brown picking the team.

It's a now long running tradition at Saints to let halfbacks go.

Besides Wigan have had the wood over us on GF for some years now, they treat it as a playoff game and as I said pre-match, treating it as just 2 more points will mean we don't win this fixture for some years.

Come the playoffs we are at the same speed as Wigan, it's just a pitty we do this as it means the fans get short changed.

Saving the club from certain financial ruin and building a stadium
buys you the right to extract any essence of playing style and flair,
recruit poorly and create a culture of accommodating back office cronies.

Brings it home when your previous "fringe" scrum half who spent the majority of his Saints career
on loan at other clubs , plays in a dinner jacket against you , and confirms he chose Wigan over returning to Saints
as they have a better style of play.

Recruitment has been a disaster for 6/7 years. HB recruitment and retention has been particularly poor.

Can see EMcM finally being forced into recruiting a scrum-half , taking advice from the same old sources
and coming up with another Perry/Hohaia or splurging on Dobson after he is crocked.

I mentioned last year we should have gone for Sammut when the bulls where in money trouble, the bloke even plays similar too Longy.
Half backs in Superleague have been falling in standard and availability for quite a few years, I still think we need to find them from within the club, its going to be a problem for most clubs in 2 or 3 years.

I think we have shipped out so many with in the club that any potential half, will be looking at other clubs for career progression once they have finished in the academy.

We shouldn't have let Smith go, I said it when he went and I'll say it now. His kicking name is exactly what we need.