The important thing now is continuity. Let's hope the lads don't pick up injuries and Simmons refrains from playing musical chairs positionally.

All the more reason for him never to get penalised, then.

All Billingers are intelligent people, ask Agent Mulder.

It depends which side of Billinge you belong to though.

I am on the good side. While you turned to the dark side. lol I saw the light, Rogues.


No matter what part of Billinge Lomax comes from - he turned to the right side.
St. Helens motto - EX TERRA LUCEM Out of the earth comes light.

i've always thought wheeler was the better player, but struggled with injuries.. eastmond was simply outstanding week in, week out for the first part of last season.. lomax is probably just behind the two of them, but learning fast, at least when it comes to playing at that level consistently.. i think a lot will come down to injuries in the future, but lomax has all the potential to be a class player..

i think wheeler, eastmond (albeit not at the moment), lomax and foster are certainly a cut above the rest of the youngsters in the squad

Proof that refs know absolutely sod all about the game?

I mean at youth level.

Minor point of order, we have all been congratulating Lomax on a great SH perfomrance last nihgt, when in fact Gaskell playd at SH for most of the game, with Lomax at 6. I realise the positions are failry interchangeable, but is he a better 6 than 7?

I don't think it matters. As a pair they worked well together. Granted, they won't always work that well together - they are young and inexperienced at that level - but I think it's the partnership that counts and they complemented each other well.

Had a good game and handled the responsibility well, but so did Gaskell who had a pretty faultless game.

Unless injuries hit, I'd be giving them a run in the positions until Pryce is fit.

Absolutely brilliant performances from both halfbacks. Lomax kept the defensive line guessing with his footwork and strength (so refreshing after Eastmond's no shows), and Gaskell put in a very mature, steady display. His kicking game was excellent.

Another point is that apparently Lomax had spent part of the week with the England Knights. So prep time for the Leeds game must've been minimal.

He had two training sessions with Saints, according to Simmons.

Got some good raps on Boots n all last night, they focussed on the "young guns" of superleague , gave Gaskell and Foster some credit also

double post

Lomax looked very useful in the halves last week, as did Gaskell. Be interesting to see how they go over the next few weeks.
Credit to Roycie for giving them a go.
Couple of years ago we had two promising halves in Eastmond and Tomkins. Neither have really progressed, and I'd go as far as saying Eatmond has already dropped to Union standard.

You're saying Tomkins hasn't progressed?

Dear, oh, dear.

He didn't make it as a half back and was permanently relocated to fullback. IMO he's too concerned with cheating, cheap shotting and niggling to be as good as he was when he first broke through.

He will never be an Edwards, Long or Gregory.

Ski,
Tomkins is too predictable and I can't see him posing much of a threat to the Aussies later this year.
As Saddened says, the cheap shots and niggles are now the major part of his game. I hope he DOES eventually turn into a Long, Edwards or Gregory, but he's way off their standard at the moment.

Has he been played on the wing like Long was at this stage in his career?

I'm not sure if you are comparing him to those players in their second season or when they were at their peak.