FTV,
Do you honestly believe that Wilkin is a better player than O'Loughlin?

I'm only asking because the likes of Nathan Brown has openly stated that he believes that O'Loughlin is the best player in this country and doesn't get the accolades he deserves.

I think Jon Wilkin has had a better 2011 so far than SOL - that is the point I'm making. Whether that is because SOL is being held back within Wigan's current system is another question.

The suggestion of SOL for MoS this season is just daft, he's not even close to the reckoning. That is the only reason I made the comparison: we're talking about the 2011 MoS.

p.s. you know my views on SOL - he's a cracking player.

The point in all this is Saints are far too reliant on people like Wilkin to be at the top of their game for the vast majority of the time than we are of Sean. There's only one player of the two who would be selected by the huge majority of the coaches in the league I'm sure.

In all fairness, wilkin has been very good this season, I’ve always thought he was pretty to be honest but this season he has proven me wrong. Don’t think he should be an England 2nd row forward, but only because we have such good 2nd row options.

But would I have him over O’Loughlin? I’d rather stab myself in the d!ck with broken glass tbh

Surprisingly I actually agree with FTV on this one. Wilkin is having a better season than Lockers, he's not the better player overall that's obvious. But Wilkin is having a very good 2011. Whilst Lockers has been a little too defensively orientated this year IMO. Very little of the attacking plays this year are going through Sean, even those superb over head passes out to the wings haven't been utilized as much by him this year.

Although can I just add I'm still of the opinion that Wilkin goes missing in big games, but that's for another day.

Comparing Lockers to Wilkin in stats is like comparing apples against oranges, given Wilkin has played more second row or stand off than loose forward. Wilkins stats are impressive, but don't compare favourably to the likes of Hoffman.

Lockers is quietly efficient - the stats don't fully reflect his influence as he often makes the space that others exploit.

I wouldn't swap Lockers for Wilkin in a million years.

Let's see who looks the better player at the end of Saturday's game.

Lockers is world class. He's one of the few world class players in SL.

Only Sam and Roby are better. If Pat can regain his top end speed, he would be too (he was last season). But that's it. No other player in SL is as good as Lockers.

M.O.S

1.Tomkins
2.Monaghan
3.Roby

Young player.

1. Lomax
2. Mossop
3. Briscoe

Coach of the year

Robinson(catalans)

As a Leeds fan, I feel able to comment on MOS entirely as a neutral as we clearly have no credible contenders this year.

The likely candidates for me are Sam Tomkins, Michael Monaghan, Rangi Chase, James Roby.

For me it depends what you're looking for. All 4 have been hugely influential for their teams this year. I would personally eliminate Chase as with him and Tomkins you're largely looking at their attacking threat, and Tomkins is the most effective attacking player in the league.

Stats can tell fibs, but Roby's are certainly impressive and he's been really good whenever I've watched Saints this year. Monaghan has been more quietly efficient, but he's been the pivot when Wire have been at their best and they don't look anything like the same team when he's not playing to me.

Any of the 3 of them would be worthy candidates. Roby already has one MOS he didn'tr really deserve though, so it wouldn't break my heart if he missed out this year.


On the O'Loughlin debate, I think his trouble (if it is a trouble) is that he's the type of player who influences a game in more subtle ways, including his command of the defensive line. I like to think that I watch more critically than most, but even I don't tend to notice him much when he's in opposition. It's when he's in an England/GB shirt and thus "on my side" that he appears more prominently. I haven't always rated him that highly because some of his best attributes are relatively easily missed if you're not watching for them.

He might get a coaches' player of the year, but probably not a players or fans award. That's the nature of what is, effectively a popularity contest. I'm sure if he keeps getting to wave shiny silver trophies around at the business end of the season he'll probably be able to live with it....

If Tomkins wins the MOS, shouldn't he also win the Young Player award seeing as he's eligible for that?

You do know that Sam is eligible for Young Player Of The Year again this year? He was 21 when the season officially started, which unless I'm mistaken is the criteria used. So in theory he could win both