Saints Won A Championship Final against wigan in 1971 with 12 men. Billy Benyon The One Armed Bandit.

I made it clear in my post that Wigan had their chances and didn't take them hence no complaints from me and certainly not ungracious in defeat. My point was about Saints poor attacking options which had nothing to with not having recognised halfbacks. If they had moved the ball wide when they had clear overlaps then they would have won comfortably.

Are you implying that on the two occasions that Flanagan ignored two and three men overlaps out wide and came back inside, thereby blowing an easy 8 points, he did so because of the 'gameplan' and not because he's a back rower being asked to play at halfback ?

Is that what you're really trying to imply ? Had Saints had Walsh and Hohaia at 6 and 7 after Flower walked, they'd have ran up 40 points. The idea that having Flanagan, Wellens and Turner in the pivot positions didn't significantly impact St Helens is laughable.

A gameplay to blow easy points with a simple pass?




Are you telling me that Wellens, Flanagan and Turner are not capable of a simple pass?


My point is that if that was really a game plan then you are well shut of Brown.

A good example of that was probably an experienced Bowen who should have sent out a simple pass out wide to an unmarked Charnley for a certain try, instead Bowen did half a dummy, cut inside, then lost the ball.

But that's the point of halfbacks isn't it? When a team has its halfbacks they know when to go wide and they line up the players to ensure the ball goes wide. We had a halfback pairing of a second rower and a fullback who was supposed to play fullback but had to change thanks to our one remaining halfback leaving the field. We then had to put a winger at fullback, a centre on the wing and a prop in the centres. All the time we were playing with a centre at loose forward. Let's see how many matches Wigan win with that combination, especially when it's foisted on them two minutes into a grand final, and then come back and tell me that Wigan should have gone wide when they had overlaps.

Jeez. Halfbacks are trained to create the overlaps. Second rowers don't even know to look.

Wigan looked so good precisely because they had halfbacks on the pitch doing the job that halfbacks do. We had nobody to do that at all.

Saints started the season with one playmaker half back then lost him through injury. From the outset it was "Saints will be ok as long as Walsh stays fit".
Saints had no youth cover for Lomax, non for Walsh and non for Wilkin. If Saints had no cover then that's their fault no one else's. Stop complaining about it.
Wigan have cover,
Wire have cover,
Leeds have cover,
Hudds have cover,
Only starting the season with one playmaker half back was Saints decision so don't use it as some kind of reason or excuse.

So the only top side without cover are now Champions? Having cover is so overrated.



Ps. Champions don't need excuses.

I agree. As I said in my previous post, that was an opportunity for Wigan to score but Bowen took the wrong option and blew it. The difference is I am not using a lack of creative half backs as an excuse.

Yes creative halfbacks can create an overlap but when you already have an overlap without a halfback then the second rowers, centres and wingers are meant to finish it! So it is either poor play or a bad game plan! Take your pick.

Jeez, I could have put the winger in!

It was poor play, I don't think anyone is disputing that. The point that you seem to be missing is that the people who carried out this "poor play" were not in there natural positions and therefore it's understandable.