I think it all hinges on if Adam goes full time. At present he is at his level with other part time players. However the fact he is showing up so well must give him the confidence to give it a go. Meli is leaving so it leaves Ade Tommy and any competition if I was the lad I would be the competition.

He's currently goign for a qualification, isnt he?
I would have thought he'll get that as security, then give full time rugby a punt. Then, if it doesn't work out, he can go and get a job in aeronautics.

I think there's more than a dash of star quality about him.

I think his part time status due to completing his aerospace engineering apprenticeship is the main reason he hasn't had more game time at Saints.

Its certainly a big career choice as a fully qualified aerospace engineer with experience can earn £50-60k a year.
Adam would not be earning that to start with, probably something like £20-30k. However that's still good money and probably more than he would hope to earn as a young SL player breaking into the first team.

Its a case of do you back yourself as someone who can make it big in RL and therefore potentially get a £300k a year NRL deal in a few years time, or do you think your just a solid first team SL player who would earn £30-40k.

IF its the latter then the better career option is to stay in Aerospace engineering and ply your RL trade in the lower leagues as a part time championship player earning probably £10k - £20k to supplement the day job.

Personally think Swift has what it takes to be a top line SL player.
On his limited first team showings he has always looked more dynamic than Makinson which is born out by his strike rate.

I don't know enough about swifty at super league level as he's only played few games but he does look a good prospect.

I like lomax at fullback but I also think he'd make a very good running stand off If he played with a good experienced organising scrum half which Walsh very much is!

If we are going to go down that route, I think we'd have been trying swifty now but we ain't. That suggests to me that swift will either be wing or move on to another club.

I must admit, the thought of swifty, lomax, Walsh, roby and Wilkin could be exciting if all play to potential.

I will tell you this though if the lad thinks he has it in him he should go full time. He will always have his trade to fall back on. The chance to be a star at Saints god I wish I was thirty years younger and it was me.

I think we will see more of this as the years roll on. SL is a good wage for a few years. But anyone with brains can earn more or similar outside RL and RL only lasts 10 -15 years

Exactly, a decent wage for 10 years may not be enough to convince some guys to give up a career that will last them their whole working life. Especially when he could get a wedge playing semi pro as well as working a day job.

Danny Brough dropped down a level a few years back and stated he could earn more playing part time and working a day job.

Walker has only had a couple of first team games and didn't particulary stand out, until we realised how many tackles he was making.

Thinking further on it, perhaps we could move Lomax to #6. It would still give us his running wide, away from the ruck and if Swift can be a star at #1 then our team will be better. That move will also give Lomax a better chance of making the England team, as full back is probably the hardest shirt to get hold of at the moment.

My reservations are two fold -
Lomax has been devastating at #1, would moving him to #6 lessen his contribution - it may possibly appear that way in attack, but perhaps only because you get more space at full back so its a tad easier to look good.
If he is played as a second receiver rather than in the 1st receiver scrum half role, then he should be able to contibrute to his usual high quality.

As the season rumbled on last year, Lomax's decision making in the defensive line was increasingly poor, culminating in some howlers against Warrington in our last game. This may well have been the culmination of a limited coaching hand, but it is the ony negetive I've ever really seen from lomax.

One thing I don't like about Lomax in the halves is that he has a curious habit of jumping when he catches the ball, even when the pass is right in the bread basket. This might sound like an odd thing to bring up, but when you're receiving the ball near the defensive line you have very little time to act. Spending a second in midair, where you are unable to pass or change direction, cuts down your options and gives the defence precious time to get up in your face. At full back, where you tend to receive the ball further back, this is less of an issue.

You'll see a couple of players do that if you look for it. I put it down to the fact that your motion is a lot more constant once you're airborne. If you are still taking steps, you're very up and down. This will help him receive the ball safely but is definatley something that should have been coached out of him. It'll also help you twist your body back to the ball if your running an utside curve.

It makes it far easier to make a sudden change of direction and either beat the man on the outside or expose a weak inside shoulder. I do it myself, subconciously, on occasion and if anything I would say it benefits my game.

I think we're talking about slightly different situations.

Jason Robinson used to do what you talk about and you do see players use it well, but that tends to be once a player has the ball in hand and has chosen to run it.

What Dux is concerned about is the handling side of things and Lomax jumping before he recieves the ball. The effect of this, assuming he needs to move the ball on (as a standoff commonly will) means its an extra split second before he lands again and regains the purchase to twist his body to effect the pass.

Aye. I think Jordan Turner is an example of the kind of think Backrow Saint is talking about - he'll take the ball to a defender and hop, which makes it difficult for the defender to know which way he's going to take off when he lands. It's a useful way for a threequarter or a back rower to beat a man, but ideally a half-back should always have a number of options open to him when he's up towards the line. Whilst in midair he has none.

Give over. When has Jordan Turner ever beat a man with that ridiculous goose step? Truth is, it's not an attempt to beat the defender, it's because he doesn't want to run the ball in hard because he's a complete wuss.