We did the same letting Clough go just as our prop injury list picked up.

Hope it's on the lessons learned for next year.

There is a reason for a squad, you never know who will get injured and when or for how long.

I'm personally glad Gardner has gone because he was past it and we needed to bring on Makinson (who has been great for us bar the last couple of games). However, getting rid of Clough, especially knowing our inability to keep people fit, was one of the most stupid decisions made by our coaching staff.

As for Lomax, I'm gutted for him. We will miss him in attack especially as he had formed a good working relationship with Walsh and was looking so much the better for being able to link in with a proper 7. One by one we have been losing our attacking options this season.

One question I did have was is this injured knee the same knee he had just recently injured? Was he returned too soon? Rhetorical question I guess but with our record I'm not confident about our ability to return a player fit to the pitch.

Ian Henderson returned to the Dragons after months out with a broken bone. He tore us a new one. Our previously injured players return to our team and look knackered.

I think lomax is vital to saints as he links up so well as the extra halfback we lack and also is very dangerous outwide. He links up very well with Walsh.

IMO it's a massive blow to us and especially our attack.

Agreed, if wellens has to play, it has to be for the majority of the game. And agreed, makinson and swift are currently our 2 strongest wingers. But I'm not suggesting we we just stick anyone in there - I'd just like us to see how well swift takes to the role. He doesn't even need to play there every week, just enough to gauge if it would be an option. He's played the role before at a lower level, and I think he'd have great potential to replicate it in superleague. If it turns into a disaster, then we put him back on the wing, put wellens to fullback and vow never for it to happen again. If he takes to it like a duck to water, we've opened up another option for ourselves next year, by making 1. Swift 6. Lomax 7. Walsh an option, should the quality of 6 not be suitable, meaning we can focus our cap space in other areas (like a quality interchange hooker!)

Charnock is still with us, but seems to be being groomed to take Wilkins role in a couple of years from the reports I've read. Plus brown has "judged him not ready"

How would Gardner help our full back situation now? We have Dawson to cover either Swift or Makinson if they play at 1.

Unless I'm missing something, Swift is presently injured so Dawson and Gardner wings, Makinson to full back.

That said, I'd prefer Ade to Dawson as cover anyway.

I think Swift is very close to a return. Keeping 2 spare wingers would have been a bit daft as one would hardly ever be used.

Besides, I can't see them moving Makinson from the wing with the way he has been finishing tries this season.

Short term I would have Wellens at full back, we need to get that Percival and Swift partnership going.
When that happens we could try Dawson at Full Back for a couple of games to see how he goes defensively, we know he should be good on kick returns.
We,ve got plenty of options but its important we don,t rearrange most of the backline to cater for one position.

Bad news for Lomax, gutted for him and I hope he comes back next season stronger.

I don't think we can afford to experiment with this position now, we've got some big games coming up and we need to pick up some points in our next three games from somewhere.

As Wellens appears to be making the 17 in some form it would make sense to put him back there for the short term until we get some players back from injury and have another forward on the bench.

Yeah, I'd go with that. Wello does sometimes stunt our attack out wide, but at least he is safe and we'll have the benefit of his leadership for 80 minutes each week. I'd be using Wello's space on the bench/in the forwards to make sure Savelio gets a game every week, as he is one of the few players we have who can get metres when the going is tough.

What about loaning out LMS and bringing in a specialist attacking full back????

Seems to work for Salford.