His work running off the ball was something we missed a lot on Friday. All the players should be doing it, but I know wilkin puts the graft in for this department.

awaits st pete ......

I will say this once and only once!

I think wilkin has looked better this year and more like the old wilkin.

Let's move on now!

sorry mate couldnt help myself

The major difference being that Wilkin had far better players around him in 2006.

It was much easier to be Jon Wilkin in 2006 with the ridiculous pack we had the, than to be Jon Wilkin since.

Can I just point out one other minor flaw in your crusade? In 2010, compared to 2006, Jon Wilkin:

- Scored more tries per game
- Had more assists per game
- Made more metres per game
- Carried the ball more per game
- Made more tackles per game
- Missed fewer tackles
- Made more offloads per game
- Bust more tackles per game
- Made more clean breaks per game

Just a minor point.

Ahh, the "(insert saints player name here) is only good because of the players around him" line, it been a while

I can see Joel Tomkins going the same way mate

Christ! I even get slated when I praise wilkin.

Think il stick to just slagging him off then.

I think the people who are hammering Gaskell are those who are either clueless about how rugby league is played or they don't care! Gaskell is showing a lot of courage, commitment, maturity and skill. He is raw and his mistakes are bound to be significant given the unfortunate position he has been placed in by partnering Kyle Eastmond. However, I sincerely hope he is receiving encouragement and guidance not just from the coach but also from senior players so that his confidence is not jeopardised. I also hope that Simmons continues to keep him playing in the first team as during one of these matches we could see him click and really kick on, much like Foster did during last season.


By doing this though you are asking for a wholesale change around in the team should one of the backs get injured. We had enough of that last season. The players have openly said in the local press that they want to play in one position. We have already seen how well Wilkin has responded to that. Such a shame he is injured as he was crucial to us, especially in the absence of Pryce.

Not yet.

I thought he looked good on Friday.
He put a kick out of the full and towards the end through a long pass into touch, but...
His long kicking, although mixed, included some good ones and was a better contribution than Eastmond. He kicked a massive bomb in the 2nd half that had a wicked spin on it, which the fullback fluffed and we were unlucky it bounced awy ffrom the chasers.
The first glimmer of hope on friday came when he ghosted through 15metres out, if he'd had support we'd have scored (just after Flanders had trapped their man in goal).
We were unlucky to be pulled for a forward pass when he put Moore in under the sticks.
He put Meli in for his try with a lovely long pass and had a hand in the build up to Graham's.
Also, he looks reasonably robust in defence and hasn't picked up an injury or looked like he's going to cry at any point, which we couldn't say during Eastmond's early days.

He also falls into the skinny kid catagory, with such youngsters as Roby, Stomkins & Foster, who seem alot more injury resistant than the bulky frames of Wheeler and Eastmond. Which could be a huge bonus.

Aye, but how many times did Roby kick out on the full last year? At least twice if I remember right; once at the DW. And throwing long passes into touch are not a newbie specialty! That's just timing, something which will come with more game practice. I'm not arguing with you here, just adding to what you have said. His mistakes, though significant in that individual game, are to be expected in such a raw player but I think he is doing great and I really do hope we stick with him.

All your points are well made and just highlight how important he was in that match.


Yes, there does seem to be a resilience among those with a certain kind of frame (watch him go and get injured now, lol!).