I think that we should let nature take its course and not rush him back and get him 100% fit for next season

100% in favour of SOL playing on, assuming he wants to of course. Other than him still being one of the best in the league when on the pitch, there are 2 other things worth bearing in mind:

1. It's very easy to exaggerate his fitness issues. He still plays easily enough games to justify his status as a key player.

2. More importantly, we've got a huge turnover of players as it is next year. We've all got high hopes for Hastings and others, but one of the thing O'Loughlin is excellent at is knitting our play together.

He's at the stage of his career that he has to take a year at a time, but I'd be delighted if he carries on.

This injury is a bit of a freak one.

Give us one more year lockers, let’s win the comp with Burgess, Hastings etc al

Give your successor another years development

And ride off into the sunset.

He will play on next year and im glad.

This season was a season too far, Please don't go round again, You've had you time now let another player have theirs

Putting aside the injury concerns - how many games has O'Loughlin actually been at his best this year (or anywhere near it)?

His best as in his prime? Probably none, there might be a couple of games which I'm missing.

There are still things which he does every time that he's on the pitch that other can't do. As was pointed out a page or 2 back, he plays 5 minutes against Hull and we probably don't win if he doesn't

Those 5 minutes against Hull were brilliant - put Farrell through a gap, Bryne through a gap and created the space for the Leuluai kick to Marshall.

Last season was a year too far according to you. Remember, the one where we lifted the trophy?

The year where he managed less than 19 minutes per game for half of the season, I seam to recall he only managed 9 minutes in one game, Add his total minutes up for last season and it is the equivalent of 8 games, Simply not good enough

Haha.. You're just making things up now. I showed you up on this once before. Don't make me do it again!



BTW it would be more accurate to say "the season we wouldn't have made the final at all without him". How come that never figures in your appraisal? Why do you conveniently forget the games we won only because he took the field... and there were plenty of them. Do you not remember Catalans away for example or is it easier to ignore anything that doesn't fit your agenda?

This season he's played 19 games so far and has averaged more minutes per game than any other middle. How does that tie in with your 1 season too long mantra?

No idea if this is true, but even if it is it's a misleading use of stats for a player who is rotated when he plays. James Roby won MoS by playing in <40 minutes a game.

He's self evidently still producing the goods when on the pitch. Sure we'd all like to see him play every game, but I really don't get the clamour to lose someone of his quality when he plays more games than he misses.