I'm not talking about people criticising his poor form, I'm talking about people calling him a loser, embarrassment, disgrace etc.

Given what he has given the club over the years he deserves better than that. Where Hardaker bottled that kick, Wellens throws himself in like he's always done.

Saying he shouldn't be in the team is one thing, some of the abuse he's copped has been quite another and completely OTT.

He sure can still sweep up the at the back. Young Hardacer would do well to take a couple of pointers from him.

During the awful first 20 minutes, when he did that dreadful bit of handling, I was cursing, but he did make up for it and more. I still don't think he'll keep his place from Lomax - although Brown may be too tempted to play Lomax as six. If we could get Wheeler back at the same time we could actually start going places.

We had a lot of good performers. Wlamsley and Manu were devestating.
After me saying that TP's big games were becoming less frequent, he was massive.
LMS grew in stature throughout the game, confirming what we have suggested about him being a better bench player. Soliola, although abit silly with his late hit on McgUire, was really putting himself about (Mcguire lost his temper with him a couple of times, so he was obviously getting him flustered).
Thompson took a bit of a pounding early on, but his second stint was very impressive - his try was excellent and how strong must he be to have got that ball down with one hand!?
Percival was a bit grabby in defence, but showed he only needs the slightest chance to make his mark. The try that Makinson (who was also very good) finished was executed in very tight space.
Tuner good, Jones useful from the bench.
Wilkin playing with a bit of swagger and a bit of a platform can do a half decent job.
Even Howarth did ok. I thought MoM was a bit obver the top but...

Pop Roby, Lomax, Meli and Wheeler into the 17 that performed last night and we're contenders. The only head scratcher is that we seem to have a lot of forwards who are better from the bench. I don't see the point in starting Perry for 15 minutes and then withdrawing him for good. Utterly bizarre. Especially when they're leaving out Clough.

Swift should be brought in next week for either Ade or Ashe. If he plays on the wing, then we should look to at least spell Charnock with Ashe. Drop Perry - either a straight swap for clough/hand, or move one prop from the bench and bring in Greenwood.

Basically tonight confirmed the thought that alot of us were clinging to, that we've got a pretty good tent, its just we're missing a few pegs.

I think your taking the criticism aimed at him the wrong way. Wello is Mr St Helens , he is a club man and I doubt any real fan who watches him week in week out would ever call him a loser or describe 'him personally' as a disgrace. Some of his more recent performances have been embarrassing ,though not ever through a lack of effort or commitment.

The only disgraceful behaviour I've seen Wello show is his occasional 'windmill' impression as he's shouting a screaming at a ref which for me is utterly wrong and has no place in Rugby.

Why would you split up Makinson and Percival for Meli for heaven's sake? Meli wouldn't have scored that try last night, he wouldn't have had the pace. Meli should be a back up in case of injuries. Let Percival and Makinson develop a proper partnership. With Manu on their inside that could be devastating.

I hoped for a Saints win and they got one. It was a very exciting game to watch, if at times very sloppy. I really like the young guy Walmsley. After a very shaky start by him I must say that round the tackler pass from Manu to Percival for Makinson’s try was very reminiscent of the great centre Gene Miles. I think the short rest till the big weekend may spoil the party though, but I wouldn’t mind if you could do us another favour again. So good luck.

Maybe, just maybe, I'd drop Gardner for him?

I'd drop Meli AND Gardner myself. They're the past. We need a future. But does Manu play on the right or the left? They need to be alongside Manu for the maximum effect. And do Percy/Makinson play best on the right or the left? Most wingers/centres have preferred sides.

Whilst centres and, to a lesser degree 2nd rows will prefer to pass one way, wingers have no excuse for not being able to play either equally well.
I played with a lad who would only play on the right, because he'd perfected a step and fend with his left arm, but he was one of the most phsycologically frail players I ever played with. There is no reason why a blunt instrument like Meli cannot swap sides.

So who are you dropping Meli (our best winger) for then?

IMO our best back line is clearly:

Lomax
Meli
Turner
Percival
Makinson

See above.

And no, Meli is not our best winger.

You haven't said who you would drop him for. You've said you would drop Meli and Gardner, I assume Makinson on one wing, who is on the other?

Brown really needs to play Willy on the left. He spent all of his time with us, with Yeaman and Briscoe outside him and they were devastating (in fact they were our only real attacking option). So far I believe he has been wasted and needs to be back in his natural position as soon as possible. Well done to your lads last night, that was a great win.

Manu played on the left last night, didn't he?

Charnock/Yates and Greenwood in for Ashe and Perry next week for me, those two were standout poor performers.

Just watched the highlights on Sky.A mixed bag as usual from Wilkin -great short passes spoiled by poor kicking and needless penalties.