That's fair enough but there is not alot we can do about it, our 2 first choices are can't play and won't play. Our first main choice for back up is Wilkin also injured.

I doubt any other team could offer any more if they had their first 3 creative players out.

Take Maguire, burrows and Sinfield out of Leeds.
Tomkins, Lululi and Deacon out of Wigan
Brough, brown and robinson out of huddersfield

you get the point, when your top 3 choices are out you have to put the kids out there and they have to learn on the job. Fans just have to accept the mistakes and not get on the kids back too much expecting them to be what they are not.

Some youngsters will be a hit from game 1 others will take half a season to get up to speed. I think this will all serve Gaskell well come next year, and with another half back like lomax or Wheeler, until Pryce and Wilkin return, it will take the pressure of him, unlike when he had eastmond alongside and had to do everything.

When you read Any Wilsons blog in the guardian after the Saints match, it starts of with a commentry on why poor Eastmond did not perform, but then almost every sentence about the match had Gaskell name in it doing good things and bad things. Basically it's all going through him and with that pressure he will make mistakes.

I still think he should be our 6 or 7 next year with someone of experience alongside. The mistakes will get less and less and the quality will improve as the season goes on so long as he gets some kind of support from another half back of any quality.

That kind of pressure didn't serve the likes of Robinson and Brown well in the same situation at Wigan though.

That's a very good point, I don't know if the clubs and the rfl do enough to educate these young players on how to deal with these pressures, you can add sean long to that list at Wigan too

True but that's all down to the fans having expectations beyond the players ability to meet it, and coaches not commiting to the players. Wigan at that time went through half backs and coaches at a rate of knots. So it's a matter of having the confidence in the player to pull through when the going improves and not just sticking them out there to get batter for a year, then dump them.

But what happens if Gaskell finishes this season in the form he's in now? I.e trying everything, but only a few things ever coming off?

After that long people would get bored of the 'he's young, he'll get some good experience' line and his reputation will nosedive.

Saints NEED to look at loaning a scrum half IF Kyle isn't going to play for us again. Even if it's only someone like Ben Black or Robbie Paul. Someone who can come in and organise and lead the team around a bit. If we could get an NRL player, great. If we could get someone early, bonus. But they've got to at least try for cover this season.

You know whats going to happen next, Leon will be rushed back again because we're losing a lot of games and he will get injured again. We're just lucky they did away with relegation

Foster got hauled off at Salford. But he ended up being our most improved player last season. Stop being such a gloom merchant. This may be the making of Gaskell, we just don't know. We have no choice though so he's just going to have to be a big boy and try the best he can for the sake of the team! Let's hope the rest of the team also remember to play. We might have a chance, then.

It's hardly being a gloom merchant. Foster was playing on the wing. I could hide on the wing for half a season before anyone noticed I was useless. It's not an important position and certainly one where you can get over mistakes easily enough.

Playing half back is probably the most important role in the team in an attacking sense, you really have to be the hob of everything that goes on. Gaskell now has that responsibility and won't have anyone with any experience with him. It's a big ask IMO.

All the best for travelling over this evening, looking forward to a hopefully cracking game.

Wigan didnt do bad with 2 out of 3 of those missing tonight.

Nope they coped really well. But that's my point they still had lululi and O'loughlin is handy with a ball too. But the game was much less attack minded, who knows what the score would have been, if Wigan had all 3 of their backs ready to play?

But yes Wigan have greater strength in depth at halfback.

Any way back to the squad.

It depends on injuries but I'd go for


1. Paul Wellens,
2. Ade Gardner, 3. Michael Shenton,
5. Francis Meli, 22. Jamie Foster,

25. Lee Gaskell.20. Jonny Lomax

8. Josh Perry, 9. James Roby, 10. James Graham,
11. Tony Puletua, 13. Chris Flannery,
21. Shaun Magennis,

14. Scott Moore, 15. Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, 16. Paul Clough, 19. Andrew Dixon,


I think the half back pairing who ever it is will be interesting as we have yet to have a full game with 2 halfbacks playing for the full 80. Either due to injury or Eastmond indifferance.

Whether it's Wheeler and Gaskell or Gaskell and Lomax, I just hope the rest of the team, the experienced heads actually give them some go forward and build a platform for them. That is not a bad pack Dixon has enough experience now to be a squad player and I'd rather rotate Roby and Moore, and give a loose forward role to megenis

However I suspect this will not be the team the coach picks, but if he put Foster on the bench again, well he's learning nothing. We need 3 forwards and a hooker who can be a utility player not a freaking Winger who will do now't then get 10 mins at the end when the game is dead.

Riiiight! Except Foster never once hid on the wing. He plays like a fullback. He's all over the pitch, reading the game, rescuing mistakes, taking the ball in, nipping in and out. That is why I said he was the most improved player. He put himself out there and every time he comes on the pitch he is full of energy and drive, wanting to be a part of everything. But he was dragged off at Salford. There is no knowing how a player will take adversity and while throwing Gaskell in is a big ask, I agree, there is no reason why he can't kick on in the same way Foster did. He's been playing at halfback for a long time in the youth leagues so he knows the game. He just needs to get fit and wise enough to play it at first grade level. You are a gloom merchant because your default setting is to see failure at every turn! Well, some people can succeed you know, even when you assume they won't!