That was my immediate thought. If that squad is costing the full cap they must be using a worse wage structure than we did under the previous regime.

But we've been there and know what happens, the opposition stroll through on a regular basis. Our attack has started slowly all over the pitch, it's to be expected with new players and new systems, but one of the biggest areas of improvement for me has been the right side defence, along with the all-round improvement in Sharp and his confidence level. To me there is no coincidence that this has happened with the absence of Turner, the Bradford game shined a huge spotlight on it to remove any remaining doubt. I personally think it would be lunacy to go backwards now as some sort of panic measure, we need to stick with it for a few more games at least. There is absolutely no point in going back to what has been proven not to work just because an alternative is not yielding instant perfect results.

Turner is simply not good enough, a prime example of the sort of player we need to replace with better if we seriously want to challenge the top 4.

I think if hull are to land ellis they need to throw serious money onto the table..

ellis is a quality player there no doubt about that but he 31 this year and knowing our luck get injured in his first game.

i think we need to start finding the best young players who are about to reach there peak and throw money at them as they will be the future.

I think we have a good chance, with Gentle's link and Pearson's wallet. We have to be involved with signing a player of his calibre. Early days yet, we'll see what happens.

you could be right about martin time will tell,just find it strange that a player who was in the top 25 try scorers in super league last season,without even playing the full season is being talked about as "not good enough".amazing!

I see your point but with our current squad i'd be tempted to go out and sign the best possible 17 available then let our youngsters cover the suspensions/injuries.

Currently on full time deals are

Lyne
Lineham
Crooks
Cunningham
Briscoe
Nicklas
Ellis
Bowden
Cunningham
Green
Pearce
Kent
Brown

Our squad could on paper challange for the top 6 but i'd rather have a 17 who could beat anyone on their day, One out one in.

If it was just about tries we'd have been better off keeping Craig Hall, he managed a similar return in 2008 (13 in 21 games), on the back of 7 in 13 in 2007 and followed by 10 in 14 in 2009. The problem is that both have consistently been defensive weaknesses. I appreciate that centre is possibly the hardest position in which to defend, but that is why it is vital that players are positionally sound in order to give themselves the best chance of defending well. We need to bring in someone with a good all-round game to play there and not make do with someone who is good in one direction but struggles in the other.

I don't actually think Martin is good enough for where we want to be either, but at this moment in time he looks like being the best option for our team. We need to let both go at the end of the season and use the combined money to find the right replacement.

I think there needs to be a balance. I'm certainly not against signing the best starting 17 we can and relying more on youngsters, but, IMO, if you're going to do that you need at least a couple of players like Whiting or Aspinwall about the place. Whiting in particular has shown he can play more or less any position to a competent standard. If you're going to plough most of your salary cap into the first 17, players like that are a huge asset when the inevitable injuries start to bite. Particularly if you're signing 32-year-old forwards on 2-3 year deals.

I'd certainly be keen to shed players like Turner and Burnett if it meant bringing better quality into the first 17, but I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bath water and lose [iall[/i our experienced SL-standard cover.

I also think people are a little harsh on our current squad. They're inconsistent at the moment, certainly, but they've shown they can match the big teams with a very committed performance against Warrington. If we get O'Carroll and Heremaia fit (may have spelt both of those incorrectly) and start to gel a little more in attack, I think we will at least be in with a realistic chance of beating the top teams on a given day. What the current squad probably won't do is beat the top teams on a consistent basis.

I did chuckle at the Rovers highlights the other day. His defence is pap.



Agreed. Calls for Turner to be back in the side are baffling.

I don't think signing a player of his calibre is the issue, but more about the position he plays in.

It's a system which hasn't done Saints any harm.

I did chuckle at the Rovers highlights the other day. His defence is pap.

ye he looked really pap in the pre season friendly at kc where he ran the show!