Have you got a link to this statement?

And I think you understand the reasons why.

In ades defence, since bobby goulding left, we haven't really employed the kick to the corner option. This is maybe also because we rarely get out of our own half before having to kick. Which is a minor flaw in the signing Luke Walsh as a corner kicker plan!

I really can't see this, especially for 2 years. Can't fault his effort and commitment but it's not the right move going forward.

Don't often post but look at when he gets the ball how hard he runs at the other team. Isn't a winger only as good as the service you get, wasn't it shenton that played next to ade and how many passes did Ade get from him?

I think he tries veryhard and puts effort I to every game he plays.

He's well worth another 2 years provided he's cheap enough (I can't imagine why he wouldn't be). With Meli (presumably) on the way we need a bit of experience to go with all the raw kids we have everywhere else in the 3/4s.

I think tonight proved he's not worth a contract. Absolutely no impact on the game at all. Flapped at the three aerial challenges he was involved in tonight.

There must be a kid or two in the academy who could do as well, even if it's a centre being blooded.

I thought we should keep one of the old heads in the three quarters on for another year or two. With Meli retiring it makes sense to ease the new kids in.

Saying that, I would have liked to have seen Broughton in Saints colours, but this Gardner deal i think pretty much confirms that Broughton has signed for Huddersfield.

Nothing against Ade, but tonight he ran hard and with the right attitude anyone can offer that. He did not really get us on the front foot and his efforts under high balls is becoming more predictable. If it's in the air it's going to bounce.

Ade was one of the poor performers tonight. Makinson, on the othe hand, looked very assured back on the wing. (apart from his opening mistake)

He was playing on the left wing too, which I don't remember him doing previously although he may have. He was jonny on the spot on a few occasions so his stint at fullback may have rounded his game somewhat although he always, always plays up in the big games, and last night was definitely a big game!

So far as Gardner is concerned, nothing he did last night changed my mind about him. Although we know he will be getting a new contract - he'll probably still be playing on the wing when he's 40 - we could do better, I'm sure. And we are going to have the situation where our centre is faster than his winger, which can't be a good thing. Whereas the first try scored by Makinson shows just what can be done with pace and skill on the edges, and what a wonderful try that was to witness.

Does the fact that Gardner's getting a new deal say we're not getting Broughton?

Why would we want a quick winger when we can re-sign a duffer who runs the ball in hard off his own try line but very rarely gets near the opposition line?

Because he tries really really hard and he's been with us years. Thats all it takes to get a new deal at Saints, ability, speed and age are not factors we seem to bother with hence I also expect us to sign up good old Wello for another year or 5

Maybe, just maybe, Broughton turned us down? But lets not let the real world get in the way of your constant downer on everything the club do...

Gardner (and Meli) are both better than Broughton.

I'm not sure you can blame a winger for us not getting near the opposition line.

How often have we seen Ade put through a gap or given a run with a bit of space to go at lately? If he was outside Manu and Percy I think we'd have seen far more attacking from him.

He didn't look good under that spiral bomb on Monday but then neither do lots of highly rated players including Billy Slater a lot of the time (although he does one or two other things quite well), and why should the right winger be having to cover a kick that's coming down near the posts anyway? If anything that suggests he's reading the game quite well and trying to cover for teammates who are out of position.

I'm not suggesting he's a great winger (or comparing him to Slater) by the way, just think he gets some unfair stick on here.

There are certain individuals on here who will have a go at certain players regardless. Even when they play well credit is not given. The trick is to treat those comments accordingly and ignore them.

There are a lot of people on here who simply cannot appreciate that Meli is a quality winger.

I'm willing to bet that whoever we bring in to replace him will be an inferior player.

It's not often I agree with you, but I can't get excited about Broughton, don't think he would improve the team.
However I would put definately Makinson in front of Gardner.

I don't think wingers are our main problem.

Meli I would say has earned the right for one more year. If there is someone better who we can get, then I would go get them in the interests of the long term over the short.

Gardner for me has not shown the same blistering form as Meli and I think Makinson is now above him in the pecking order, so I would not offer a new contract and certainly not 2 years.

The only reason to retain all 3 would be if there was litterally no one we could recruit and no one who can come up. But if that's the case it's a very sad state of affairs.

Agreed.

If we cannot get someone in I would have no issue with re-signing Meli for another season.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. And that was his form year

Ade is a good clubman that works cheap. Giving him a new deal is a good idea, I would prefer it to be a 1 year deal but he is going to be worth his spot either way.

But he's not very good. If we're planning on turning into Wakefield or Cas and that's the limit of our ambition, fine. But if we're honestly trying to win Grand Finals by resigning dead wood like Gardner we may as well pack in.