Swift

Quote: SaintsFan "Not entirely. I have watched Wello in the latter part of this season and he does the same thing pretty much every game
He doesnt only run down one channel - he runs down the left mainly due to the natural ability of players to pass to the left - however he has also been very effective at running down the right channel, taking inside balls etc. he has 10 assists (prior to Friday) which is the 3rd highest in the team
Does he get it right every time? No
Does he get it right more often than he doesnt? with 20 tries and 10 assists I would say yes

Quote: SaintsFan "It was under Royce that Wello developed the attacking side to his game. That isn't me making stuff up; Wello himself said in an interview that Royce had asked him to play as a third halfback to help out what were then two very raw actual halfbacks in Gaskell and Lomax. It worked a treat under Royce because Wello was less inclined to hold on to the ball and varied when and where he chimed in. But this season he is as predictable as the weather and that has made him frustrating to watch and IMO less effective in attack. '"

I dont think you are making stuff up and Royce may have asked him to ammend his style - but he has been scoring try's concistently since 2005 and one of his worst returns for try's was last year with 14 so his old style was working for him also. Perhaps the change in style was more ed around helping young players rather than improving his own play? just a thought

Quote: SaintsFan "Playing as an attacking fullback isn't his natural style. He is a defensive fullback and it is in his defence where all his attributes lie.'"

I dont agree with the use of the word all when describing his sum of attributes. You are right that he is a natural defensive fullback - but he has been scoring as many tries as most full backs since the turn of the century - and most years far more than you would expect from a fullback (these are off course the years before attack seems to be the number one priority looked for in a fullback rather than defence)

Quote: SaintsFan " I also don't think he is a good captain but that is because he complains so much without the accompanying firing up of his team mates that Jammer used to bring to the party (and that balanced up HIS propensity to complain).'"

I agree that as a captain he doesnt stand up against previous captains we have had

Quote: SaintsFan "Wello will not have been as able a fullback when he started as he is now. Young players, like Wello himself once was, only learn their trade by playing once they have mastered the basic skills. Makinson IMO has shown good signs of game awareness but if he isn't played at fullback he will never learn how to become a better fullback. I can't comment on Swift or Gaskell at fullback because I've not seen either play there. I've only seen Lomax play there once I think and that was ages ago.'"

We are talking different era's but what I do know is that Wellens's early appearances at full back would have earned him a 20 page topic on here looking for an alternative and comparing him unfavourably to every full back previously to play for Saints - he was that bad, his game at Gateshead was atrocious - nowadays he would have been immediatly dropped - different era's - different needs

Quote: SaintsFan "Hohaia is a world cup winning fullback. I think to question his ability there is foolish. He succeeded there against Australia, which is more than Wello has ever done.'"

Dont think that at any time I am suggesting that Hohaia is a bad player - there are no players who are playing professional rugby league who are bad players. But once you turn professional the measure you have to come up against is much higher. Some blow that measure away and some fall far short of it. Some have a limited talent and make the most of it and some just get plain lucky. I definately think that Hohaia stands in the last category - he works hard at getting the most out of what he has but has also managed to drop lucky with some of his selections. There are plenty of players out there who have medals because of the side they were in - I dont use that as a yard stick to judge how good they are, I prefer to look how they play currently - and for this year Lance Hohaia is not playing well in any position he is put in.