I must admit the quality of strength in depth of the Saints side is no where near as good as it was in say 2006. Having said that you have to move with the times and we have copped some pretty horrendos injury lists in recent years and have still managed to reach Grand Finals and Challenge Cup Finals. I can honestly say I would rather have home grown players in our squad even if they aint experienced rather than paying over the hill Australians who are past it. Home Grown players are going to get vital experience playing over the next few weeks which will stand them in great stead in the future. Makinson looks a real talent from what I have seen of him and looked at home at Full Back when Wello went off injured last Friday. Jamie Foster has been sensational this season scoring plenty of Tries and Kicking Goals, Jonny Lomax has been great at Scrum Half, Shaun Magennis has played well considering he has been shunted up to the Front Row. The future's bright at Saints and when we get all our injured players back we will be in fine fettle.

Joe Greenwood is actually a second rower! I kid you not.

Well, if you look at the Saints site, you will see that as a first team member, he is a prop forward. Presumably that is what he is going to play tomorrow.

And besides, wasn't Tony P a second rower when we recruited him? Yet he seems to play prop to me.

You're the editor for the Saints website and I claim my £5. To be fair Joe is a very big lad for his age but needs to fill out. Will probably move to prop when he does.

However you can't have a lad playing wide Second row for the U18's and U20 then have him then play right down the middle at prop for the first team. There is no papering the cracks here it's very poor editing by the Saints website, that's all I'm trying to say.

Without trying to sound ar&ey you should get down to the scholarship games that start next week. Some excellent talent at U15 and U16 level and they're great matches. Saints play Hull next week.

No, I'm just curious after reading something on RedVee about the 19 not being the actual 19 and that things are worse than they appear from the stated 19. I've been hopping on and off the Saints site this weekend to see which u20s players are going to be joining us tomorrow.

It may be a case of desperation by Saints that they are having to recruit to these positions and the lads they are picking are the best fit for tomorrow. I doubt it has anything to do with the editing. We let go of a lot of players last season and that was an error by the club. If we have to field a team tomorrow and we have too few or no props available, for example, then it appears that Joe Greenwood is going to have to play prop.

alot of young second rowers progress to prop when they fill out, see Paul Clough for a perfect example of this

By far your most impressive player in the U20's game at Orrell yesterday. I would hope he doesn't play on Monday, the kid was out on his feet at the end of the game.

Not sure on that myself actually. Whilst we did have depth in the pack, with the likes of Fozzard and Anderson being left out of squads, our backs cover pretty much consisted of Hardman and Scott Moore. If we'd lost four half backs, our centre (Wheeler, though I'm also counting him as a half back), and our full back, we wouldn't have covered it as well as we have done/will do this year.

Losing just Pryce and Long would have pretty much sunk us.

He's certainly being considered, given that Saints have promoted him to the first team. Perhaps it was his impressive performance that got him the call up.

If the first team guys can play twice in a few days, so can the younger guys.

Pack is Graham Roby LMS Soliola Ashurst and TP

Wilkin, Lyon, Sculthorpe, Hooper or even James Roby could have all played in the halves had Longy or Leon been injured in that season. In the backs Vinnie Anderson, Lee Gilmour, Pryce could have covered the backs without causing to much disruption to the side.

that team/squad had far more strength in depth , when you can afford to leave players like Anderson and Fozzard out of your 17 you know you've got a good squad

Where hooper and Pryce ever in the same side??? Are we mixing some years together here.
I think we have had plenty of cover in the half backs this year we have just used it all.


Pryce, Eastmond, Lomax, Gaskell, Wheeler.. & Moore


I don't see many teams having a 6th and 7th choice half back pairing.

Take out Long, Scully, Lyon, Pryce, Hooper you are still left with Wilkin and Roby funnily enough and that is without correcting for players that where not in the same side.

They sure where in 2006. Leon was at 6 and Hooper played Loose Forward all year.

We must have. All we seem to produce are halfbacks and second rowers!

There must be a couple of kids in the Academy team who fancy having a go against the mighty Ull!