Ok Pete, I'm going to challenge that. I don't think Leon is important to what Saints do and win. The fact we are only 2 points of the lead this year shows that. Also since Leon came to Saints, we have had a noticable drop in our creative play and this has been our driest spell trophy wise for some years.

Now I'm not laying this all at Leon's door, but I just don't think he is as critical as people make out. He is stunning when on form, but how many key games has he played in where we have seen that stunning ability. I like Leon, but I just think we lose more playing him than we gain. We get some more of what Lomax and Roby already provide. Roby provides those strong quick darts from dummy half and Lomax attacks the line just as well. If we did not have one or the other of these 2 playing then Leon would walk straight into any side. However, given a fit roby and Lomax, what we need is a strong kicking game IMHO. This is something Leon does not provide. It's not just Gaskell and Wheelers kicks are long, on the whole they generally find terra firma and give the chasing pack real oppertunities to pin their opponent back. On the odd occasion Leon will give a booming 40/20, but so can Wilkin and even Roby. Getting Wheeler and Gaskell to try this would not take much.

Any way that's why I have opted to leave out Leon.

That could be something to do with the fact that Pryce has been playing first grade for donkey's years whereas Gaskell has only just begun? I'm sure they will play second phase in the u20s too, but not at the same pace with the same demands and skill level required for first grade.

I don't understand why some fans compare experienced, international level players with newbies. Gets on my boobies, it does.

Oooh. That's risky!

Long term with that strategy they'll be gone. We were very lucky with Moore willing to do the run around for 3 years at other clubs, both with moore and the other clubs willing to take a loan player.

If it's Lance and Leon next year, that effectively means the kids ain't wanted for 2 years, in that time a club like Warrington will need Briers replacing, Hull will need Long replacing not to mention several other clubs that would have an interest including the likes of Wigan, with Deacon not going to be around for ever. Then there is Bradford with no decent halves.

Lomax is hot property and much hotter than Leon at the moment, if we ain't willing to play him in the first team, over Lance and Leon, he will have admirers coming to his door with money he can't ignore.

Gaskell to would become another Smith in that senario not to mention Wheeler, they are young men and maybe willing to wait in line behind one experienced half back, but they can all do maths and with Leon and Lance taking the reins for the next 2 years, that's alot of cash to be turning down, maybe just to be sidelined a further 2 years down the track for the next hot thing.

With just Lance at halfback next year Wheeler and Gaskell can still hope to break through. But with Leon and Lance for the next 2 years, they will pretty much know that Lomax is 3rd choice and it's not every year that you get a run of injuries and insurrections in the half backs.

As for winning stuff, well we've hardly been doing that over the last 2 years. And as far as I can see we are still in contention on all fronts this year and Leon has only played 5 mins.

My thoughts exactly, Pryce is a match winner and currently the best stand off we,ve got at the club. For Gaskell, he needs another further 12 months of development and is well down the pecking order when we have a fully fit squad. I just hope we can sign Pryce for 2012 with the option of playing him at centre if Lance turns out to be the player we expect at stand off.
I,m fairly optimistic for next year, that the future is very bright that we gonna need shades.

I'm looking forward to see who Royce picks as his havles for the second half of this year and the start of 2012.

Exactly, however I do think Lomax is the short term and the long term if he continues his form.

I don't think Gaskell will ever be as good as the likes of Pryce and Long. More of a Matty Smith or Danny Orr.