i think Dodd and Nicholson going over to Oz may add a little to our strength if they go well.

I'd say at this point Smith and Williams are the preferred hb combination, but to have Lewis and Dodd (if he goes well) could well be interesting, and give him a bit more of a headache. Will also be interesting to see if Welsby is moved into the halves at Saints this year, as that would add more competition but equally leave us light at full back, as he's not really got any competition there internationally at the minute

Wings, we can also add Handley into the mix, so we are definitely well stocked with good competition there

so in the backs at this moment in time, i think our potential weakness would be FB if Welsby is moved into the halves, as we have no real english depth there at the minute

Packwise, i've no real issues as we have some good solid props with Thompson, Havard and Lees all capable of doing big minutes, plus some good backup. Hooker we've got some good options, with differing skillset from o'Neill on the defensive, to Clarke / Walker who are a bit more dynamic scooting. 2nd row we are well stocked, and if Nicholson goes well, will add another into the mix. Loose with Radley, Knowles, Minchella, we are again well stocked with quality players.

i know to beat the Ozzies we need our strongest side to start and perform, but there is good solid starting side there, and hopefully with some further development (Dodd, Nicholson, Junior) over the next 12 months we can have a squad capable of beating the Ozzies in a test series

Welsby

Yeah I think you may be right. He jumped the gun with his signing too, telling the media in Oz before Saints had announced it.

Saints fans are going to need to be patient with him, and there is now a lot of pressure on Lomax to run the show single handedly like Smith does for us.

Took 3 years to transition French into the 6 position even though he only has that free role.

I think Sailor will be facing a lot of traffic down his edge as whilst he has pace and talent his defence is questionable and moving up into the line will make him a big target.

What makes you say that John? He only switched at the end of last season. He's only done 18 months there in total and was a success from the off, although he has obviously improved this year with a full season under his belt.

In regards French?

He was used as a half during games a number of times when he first came over.

He may not have started there but during games he was shifted and was poor.

Remember Wakefield away where fe was moved there for 20/30 minutes and he was shocking and his line defence was exposed. I’d go so far as to say his line defence is maybe where his biggest improvement has been, it’s gone from being poor to excellent.

I think in the background there has been a plan in place from the off and the injury/loss of form from Cust accelerated it to him having a chance but I believe a lot of work since he signed has gone into that positional shift away from the glare of SL.

I've said a few times, I think the scariest thing with French playing 6 is that he can get even better. He got to the point towards the end of last season where he basically just choose when to cause havoc and he's seeing those opportunities now and not just moving the ball on, as he seemed to think was his role when he first went in to 6 on a regular basis. It's easy to forget that for all the flashy stuff, he's a real team player but if he's just a touch more selfish, I think you could see his level go up even further and that is a crazy thought.