I don't know what the fuss is about either. Look at the wording on the website; "At times he’s had some bad luck with injuries but we’ve assessed the situation and look forward to him contributing to the 2015 season.” It doesn't say he is as fit as a fiddle, neither do they give the Wigan / Bateman line about breaking him down and re-building him. It's a low key statement on expectation coupled with a 1 year contract, i.e. " we are going to have a punt on Gary but we will not have lost anything if it doesn't pay off".

My only worry is that there are a multitude of people on here who seem to think that they all know better than Tony Smith.

Agreed give him a chance,nobody will give stuff if he scores a winning try against the pies or stains will they.Come on get a grip.

Now if he has a great season next year and is able to walk away on a free to the NRL or to Wigan/Leeds/back to Saints what will we all be saying about the decision to hand him a one year deal.

Well you could say TS is very lucky to get all this high quality, free advice, I am just a bit surprised he never thanks us for any of it. I bet when he gets home he is glued to this site sifting through all the ideas and comments.


"Tony, could you just pop out and milk the goats, nobody has done it today"

"One minute darling, I am just reading a thread about swapping Chris Hill with Richie Myler. Apparently that would give us a lot more speed in the forwards and make damn sure nobody bullies our HB"

I won't be dishing him before he starts like some.
He is a Wire and he gets my support, and if he gets more than his fair share if injuries in the course of wearing primrose and blue, just like Grix and Harrison, he will still get my support.

But I've made no secret of liking classic footballers that have the quality to play halfback and centre.
Wheeler fits the mild of Jamie Lyon, Whittle, Jiffy, Bridge, Blake. My favourite type of player.

I for one am thrilled he is a Wire, always liked him and hated him too, too naturally talented on a red V.
If he does to Saints what he did against us I'll be very happy.

Welcome Gary, don't ignore the knockers and pessimists, use it as a platform to ram it down their throats.

COTW!

I can't wait to see him play tbh, welcome Gary!

I love duckie's posts..... He's like a Del Trotter character, with his rather random grasp of the English language - Nobody can ever be quite sure if his little grammatical errors are deliberate or not.

Whether he's 'Smelling the custard', 'fitting the mild', or any of his other little classics, Duckie sure knows how to make me smile .....

Lol DSM, it's predictive text. It also put an on instead of in!
Still I like mild, my first ever pint, and it made you laugh, so it stays.
Mould was the intended word!

I think 'tipping the velvet' is more appropriate.

there's a couple of eye opening scenes in that!

I don't quite understand the negativity around Wheeler and the confirmation of his signing.

Yes he's had injury problems but Saints in general have sufferred in that department so maybe the issue is with the conditioning, rehab and training he's received.

Yes, maybe he is another utility player but that is the way the game is going. The days of players like John Woods who you put in their best position and built the team around them are gone, sadly. The physical and tactical demands of the modern game mean players have to be multi-faceted and adapable, and that invariably dilutes their skillsets.

For me, when the 2015 season starts everyone starts from an even playing field. I'll judge Wheeler's fitness, form, ability and attitude the same as all the other players when and where it matters - next Feb.