Hohaia to 7 makes sense to me. Organising half with a decentish kicking game, is the perfect foil to Pryce's running game.

That's good thinking!


I got a text from my mate, asking me whther I had heard anything, as he heard this last week. I hadn't heard nothing up untill he text me. He said one of his Saints friends had told him.

i dont believe that

Don't believe it then?

no i mean i dont believe you have mates

We have signed him as a halfback, whether at 7 or 6 I don't know. But he will be a starting halfback for us. He will provide valuable experience to our young players but he also has utility value and so might cover fullback if Wello is injured or hooker, since he has also played both positions. But I'm happy with the signing because we need cover at halfback and given the dearth of experienced halfbacks available anywhere just at the moment, I think signing him has been an astute move by Saints. As a Kiwi he should settle well into our little Kiwi community here in St Helens.

I sincerely hope we do NOT let Puletua go. Flannery could be the more likely.

Incidentally, Meli doesn't count on the quota at all as he has been with us long enough not to be subject to the new rules.

Like I said, don't believe it then?

Hohaia has played in the halves more than he has at fullback over his NRL career. I think he's OK but not a world beater. He always struck me as the type of player who would come over to SL and play for someone like Castleford or Harlequins, I wouldn't have had him down as a Saints type of signing. But times have changed, I would have said the same about Royce Simmons a few years ago as well. I don't think Saints are in danger of meltdown but they are not as high up the food chain as they were.

PS: At the moment, Castleford are top of the league.




You reckon?

Saints have two needs going into next season: a halfback to replace Kyle and a utility player to cover for injuries to our backs. He will be a starting halfback and offer utility cover. He has experience of both. He will also be one of just two players in Superleague who has a world cup winner's medal. So he has ability and international experience. He has only just turned 28 so he's got a few good years left in him and he's a Kiwi, and we like signing Kiwis/South Pacific Islanders.

How then is he not a 'Saints type' of signing? Not Mal Maninga you mean? Or Jamie Lyon? (Who was written off in the NRL due to internal head issues, and many thought he was a naff call at the time ...)

but if he'd have signed for wire..i suppose he'd be a world beater then eh?

ha Lyon was never written off, everybody knew Saints were getting quality with him

I was thinking guys in the calibre of Lyon, Britt, Albert etc but in fairness Saints have also signed lots of other guys like Meli, Flannery and so on who were more in the category of player that Hohaia is.

I think the difference is, in the key positions, Saints never had to sign anyone because they had the best British players already there: Wellens, Long, Pryce, Cunningham, Sculthorpe. Three of them have gone, one is not the force of old. So to keep parity Saints would be needing to sign from the top of the tree not the middle branches. The middling type 'good' players are OK when they are supporting top class. What Saints are going to become soon is what they were in the decade before SL started....a team of good players with no star quality. In fairness they grew most of that star quality out of their own ranks and picked up a couple of good signings in Scully and Long.

people have been saying this for over a decade, saints are on the decline.... just have a little peak at the league table for me to confirm how the we compare to your team of "stars"?