Surprised the NRL are interested in Dodd and not much chat on Welsby.

Different types of players and positions but Welsby is the one of the best players in superleague and still so young.

Oh there's definite interest. Canberra for one are sniffing as a potential replacement for Wighton. They love their Poms as Wigan fans already know!

He’s not too dissimilar to Wighton, strong running game, cut out passes and can play centres too.

I’m an avid NRL watcher and Welsby would walk into any team in the comp (full back or 6 for most teams/ centre for the better teams).

Maybe he doesn’t fancy the NRL and saints can pay him well.

Hopefully he stays as he’s a player I love to hate!

It's an odd one with Dodd as he form has fallen off a cliff and now seems to be dining out on some good performances 2 years ago and that drop goal in the WCC! He's gone from golden boy to many Saints fans wanting him dropped. He hasn't even been close to Smith this season and, had Harry been kicking well, he wouldn't only have been out of sight of Dodd but running a completely different race.

I think Stu makes a good analogy with Walsh. Very similar "falling off a cliff" form pre and post injury. I suppose the worrying thing for Saints (and English rugby league internationally) is that Walsh never regained his form at all and became a shadow of the player he had been. Time will tell with Dodd, of course, and in his favour he is still very young so has plenty time to recover his mojo.

Its an interesting one but even as a Saints fan I'd love to see him go and test himself. There's nothing left for him to achieve in SL so go and earn some big money and test yourself. I believe he is a real homebird but 2-3 years earning a great salary could mean he still comes back to SL at 25 with years ahead of him. There's nothing left for him to achieve here.

Given you are an avid NRL watcher I'm interested in your opinion here. I too watch a lot of NRL and my only worry is that is he not too much "off the cuff"? He tries lots of things that don't always come off but rather than retreating into a shell he still tries.

Would the more structured and systems approach in the NRL suit his game?

I watched the Canberra games when George signed
The same type of argument was made I.e. George is too off the cuff, tries too many things etx.

Jack Wighton made more "mistakes than anyone
He regularly clocked up 5/6 or more errors in a game, kicking out on the full, dropped ball trying to push things etc.

Perception is 99% of the reality for some, and im not bagging Wighton
But Welsby at 6 doing what he's done for Saints would have no problems competing against the best over there in that position.

A good plan as I see it would be to go to the NRL for 3 years or so and test himself and then come back to play for his boyhood club and live his dreams, playing in his heroes Sam Tomkins old shirt

I ended up on a mad night out last Good Friday with Williams, Ben Austin and another lad who I think played for Wigan Academy but didn't make it. Some mad stories from the night but anyway Williams was saying that the pressure over there was unreal compared to here. It really brought home how different the two sports are viewed as a whole. He was actually a really good bloke to talk to, very different to my perception of him.

I agree that we could do with some backs going over and doing really well. Young and Farnworth have been outstanding but weren't SL names at all. Farnworth effectively went over at 16 but was a St Pats lad.

Quote: Stu M "He's certainly been a better player this season. When Dodd first came through he was set for huge things, there were a lot of SL clubs after him and he was described as the next big thing. Rogues Gallery will confirm the talent and potential he had. I do feel that the Achilles injury has massively put him back. Up to that injury he was outstanding at times and a lot of our attack came from him. This season he seems to be playing within himself, rarely taking the line on with the good step that he has and his last tackle kicks have been awful. There are parallels to Luke Walsh and how he played before and after his bad injury. Conversely Smith's all round kicking game has been superb. That being said he did have the nerve to kick the winning DG in the WCC and there does seem to be some genuine interest in him from Australia. Joey Johns has been reported this morning as encouraging the Dragons to sign him if and when Hunt leaves. He has been very complimentary about him. Dodd has shown glimpses this season of his previous form but overall he has been poor and a lot of fans have even suggested he should be dropped with Lomax/Welsby in the halves. I still feel Welsby is a way better 6 than 1 but that's a conversation for another day. Smith has been very good this season to be fair'" You might be interested in this Stu. John's recommendation of Dodd seems to based on what he's heard rather than anything he's seen for himself. The recommendation comes from a friend of Johns' who's on the Warrington coaching staff. Not exactly a ringing endorsement to be fair and It seems he's completely unfamiliar with his downturn in form coming back from injury. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... l-27220733

Quote: Stu M "He's certainly been a better player this season. When Dodd first came through he was set for huge things, there were a lot of SL clubs after him and he was described as the next big thing. Rogues Gallery will confirm the talent and potential he had. I do feel that the Achilles injury has massively put him back. Up to that injury he was outstanding at times and a lot of our attack came from him. This season he seems to be playing within himself, rarely taking the line on with the good step that he has and his last tackle kicks have been awful. There are parallels to Luke Walsh and how he played before and after his bad injury. Conversely Smith's all round kicking game has been superb. That being said he did have the nerve to kick the winning DG in the WCC and there does seem to be some genuine interest in him from Australia. Joey Johns has been reported this morning as encouraging the Dragons to sign him if and when Hunt leaves. He has been very complimentary about him. Dodd has shown glimpses this season of his previous form but overall he has been poor and a lot of fans have even suggested he should be dropped with Lomax/Welsby in the halves. I still feel Welsby is a way better 6 than 1 but that's a conversation for another day. Smith has been very good this season to be fair'" You might be interested in this Stu. John's recommendation of Dodd seems to based on what he's heard rather than anything he's seen for himself. The recommendation comes from a friend of Johns' who's on the Warrington coaching staff. Not exactly a ringing endorsement to be fair and It seems he's completely unfamiliar with his downturn in form coming back from injury. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... l-27220733

I think at first he’d have to play at structure, til he earn respect and trust by his coaches and team mates.

Munster plays for a very structured team but is allowed to create on his own off the cuff and Jerome Hughes organises.

Great point re Munster. If he ends up being half the player he is I’ll be happy!