Surely we have to be able to fight the Middle 8s on an equal footing?

Otherwise it's not a fair competition.

No welcome back to Odsal according to a sentence at the bottom of the piece on Tahraouri www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/

No welcome back to Odsal according to a sentence at the bottom of the piece on Tahraouri www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/

Disappointing. Would be worth trying to sign Gareth O'brien again with Wire signing Gidley. Also with Declan Patton coming through I can't see a spot for him at Wire.

Hmmm, there are now medium term issues with Siejka and Mullaney. No bench/replacement hooker option has emerged owing either to lack of quality or game time. Overall I think we're heading in the right direction and gathering momentum but we're pinning an awful lot on Gaskell and O'brien.

I'm not saying Sammutt is the only answer or that taking him off Wakey's wage bill is in our interests but in the key playmaking roles it's looking very thin.

You'd have thought so, true enough, but the fact [as I understand it] that we [idon't[/i have an equal cap is the major reason why I don't believe the RFL ever really intended the middle eights to be a means of obtaining promotion. It gives the illusion, of being [sort of] fair but clearly favours the SL clubs with their more highly paid squads. It was always a sop to the championship clubs who wanted some P&R 'jeopardy' back - sort of 'jeopardy lite', you might say.

Gaskell, as our main strike weapon, not unnaturally seems to be taking knocks every week too, and you have to wonder how long it will be before one of them keeps him off the field for a period. Without him, we're in trouble in the immediate future.

Thought Adam O'B nsurprisingly] looked a bit tired on occasions last week and, much as I admire the way he's bearing up to it, I'm surprised Jimmy has kept him on the field for 80 minutes every week, particularly, as you suggest, when you consider the effect that lack of game time has on the possible alternatives. Let's hope he also stays fit! We may welcome that gap on the 17th.

I'm a massive OB fan but he is very young and not very big. He has the distinct look of a kid who has a massive season, only to look like a dish cloth in big play off game. The coach needs to realise a 21 year old Adam O'brien isn't a 27 year old James Lowes.

A side with smart halves (HKR) will single him out to run at (and worse).

James Roby has been a regular in the Saints side since he was 18. AOB is our best number 9 by a mile, he's young and he's full of energy. Play him.

Sorry (Respectfully) I can not agree with that "Not very big" Rob Burrow? Adam is young yes and has a great future ahead of him. Keith Mumby, Some players have the maturity early on and I think our Adam has that.

Why would he look like "a dish cloth in big play off game"? Scratching my head at that one.

He looks like a dish mop with an elastic band round it every time he plays.

I'm pretty confident Burrow has rarely if ever played 80 mins at hooker and certainly not in the early stages of his career.

And who was that hooker who Saints had who played a few games for them, stocky lad, Kieran something??

O'Brien was coming on in dribs and drabs under Cummins as he was only getting the occasional spell in games. When Lowes came in and started asking the young lad to put in 80 minute shifts the difference was clearly noticeable. You can't improve unless you're playing and O'Brien can run for 80 minutes. In the modern game the hooker is essentially another half back rather than a forward, so why should we need to spell him, especially as we're playing against part-time teams nearly every week? This is the best season for him to really bed in to that number 9 role as he's got the space to make mistakes and learn from them. Doubly so when you remember we've got both Lowes and Diskin on the coaching staff. If the lad's smart he'll be picking their brains every chance he gets

Nobody's saying he isn't a quality player BUT he got beat up by HKR and I'm sorry but he isn't consistent over 80 mins week in week out.

Who ever we play at 9 is likely to be the smallest forward. We have other options and we need to gauge their ability so I would give them a go in the 'easier' games. If we become secure in 2nd place then I would be looking at resting our key playmakers for the occasional game. They have a break coming up and maybe that will be a massive benefit to some.
As for Sammut, I don't see him as a particularly good option at this time and not sure we need him. Gareth O'brien would be just right.