Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:41 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

No, I'm a visionary. People will still talk about me on the rugby league scene 40 years after I've died.

Ancient RL fan 1: "Do you remember that weirdo on RLFans who thought that Wakefield had a better backline than us?"
Ancient RL fan 2: "Oh yes - he was weird."

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:44 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Our backs, bar Shenton, Pryce and Eastmond are amongst the worst in Super League.

Flannery and Meli should not have been handed new deals IMO. The money should have gone on a couple of backs.

Absolutely spot on. A 1 year deal for Meli was disappointing but a two year deal
is folly of the highest order.

Shenton will become like Loughlin the only consistent strike player in poor backline. All ball goes to him. Opposition mark him out of the game. Overplayed , forced to play with needles and ultimately broken.

Wellens is an institution but the position of FB has moved on and demands
HB pace and line breaking ability.

Bar Shenton the backline itself is very poor indeed.

You can carry the odd bits and pieces player such as Foster.

I still can't believe that Gardner has been at Saints for 10 years.

The whole backline needed radical surgery in the close season. Saints have suck an expensive plaster over one bit.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:56 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

Didnt think he woas found lacking in the grand final, and he didnt play alongside Meli, that was Lomax. So I think your getting your players mixed up.

At full strength I would have Gardner and Meli on the wing with Wheeler and Shenton in the centres..

However with us lacking Kyle at the start of the season, and possibly all of it, if Saints sell him to a RU team. Then we will probably need to start with Lomax or Foster on one wing, so we have a recongised kicker.

IMO i would not play wheeler at centre i would give his a chance at that 7 shirt when kyle is not playing. He is a fantastic 6 so why cant he play 7. 2 seasons ago we played Wakefeild away and he ripped them to bits him self with pryce 6 untill he got injured . He needs a good run with out injures and he will light up super league.

I would also try to play lomax or foster more this season on the wing and give one of them the shirt full time next season.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:57 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

He's the wing version of Paul Wellens. Solid as a rock but no use at all in attack and a major weakness in our lineup. Our backs, bar Shenton, Pryce and Eastmond are amongst the worst in Super League.

Flannery and Meli should not have been handed new deals IMO. The money should have gone on a couple of backs.

Flannery deserves his new deal as much as anyone else, he is a consistently fantastic defender, he runs fantastic lines in attack and makes more breaks than people give him credit for, and I wouldnt be surprised if it was more than the other back rowers. IMO flannery gets the nod over the other backrowers every single time

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:01 pm  

The Saints backline will be completely reshapen in the next few years. Shenton is the first part of the jigsaw and in the next few years Wellens, Meli and Gardner will all leave the club. Then there's Pryce and Eastmond's futures which are unclear, so apart from Shenton and maybe Soliola, we could have 5 new backs out of 7. I think it's impossible to replace all of them with players from outside the club, due to salary cap restrictions, so it's important to integrate the likes of Foster and Lomax now as they could end up taking positions in our backline.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:15 pm  

As I said on the Saints squad thread, I would imagine Wellens replacement will come from either Gaskell, Lomax or Ashe.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:24 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

As I said on the Saints squad thread, I would imagine Wellens replacement will come from either Gaskell, Lomax or Ashe.

Lomax would be the one better there than 6 !

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:14 pm  

FearTheVee wrote:

Unbelievably harsh. Looks a talented player to me - good finisher and very good hands.

He also has great positional sense, is great under the high ball and has balls. Although slight, he has done some great tackling. I can still see him on two occasions: once at the CC semi when he single-handedly brought Keith Senior down by a kind of limpet tackle thingy right in front of where I was sitting and the other occasion when, having been run over by Karl Pryce the first time, he positioned himself better, ran at Pryce from the side and sent him flying into touch. He's a smart cookie is Foster, just as Wheeler is, and I hope Simmons brings him on.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:37 pm  

Rommel wrote:

Does Jamie deserve his starting place this season on the wing instead of Gardner or Meli?

Plus side he kicks better than Kyle (and Kyle probably won't be fit for the start of the season)?

Negatives: he was found lacking in the Grand Final although Meli left him high and dry with his defending?

I'd start the season with Jamie and drop Meli

Thoughts

Jamie Foster should be first choice wing ahead of gardner, without a doubt!

Meli had a pretty good season last year as he always does (except finals) and foster after the away game at salford looked very good on the wing.

Foster's reading of the game is very very good for such a young lad, he's safe under the high ball, his defence is good but does lack a little in attack but i think as he builds himself up and puts beef on he will be a bigger player in attack for us.

IMO Gardner has had three terrible years, has lost 5 yards of pace and makes the wrong choice in defence nearly every time, he should start off 3rd choice winger.

Rommel, i think you'll find it was lomax on meli's wing the grand final.

Re: Jamie Foster : Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:03 pm  

Saintly_Sinner wrote:

IMO i would not play wheeler at centre i would give his a chance at that 7 shirt when kyle is not playing. He is a fantastic 6 so why cant he play 7. 2 seasons ago we played Wakefeild away and he ripped them to bits him self with pryce 6 untill he got injured . He needs a good run with out injures and he will light up super league.

I would also try to play lomax or foster more this season on the wing and give one of them the shirt full time next season.

Ultimately i see Wheeler moving to 6. However for now i would play him at centre, so he can gain experience.

If all goes well and the players develop to their potential then a few years down the line, we may see Kyle and Wheeler in the halves, Lomax fullback, Foster in one centre, Gaskell in the other centre, with Shenton on one wing and Armstrong on the other.

Then again Tommy Makinson could end up in one of the centre berths. With Gaskell playing in the halves or at fullback.

Re Ashe he is quick, think he needs a lot of work to be a decent fullback though. May ultimately end up on the wing if he makes it.

The good thing is that there is a lot of competition amongst the youngsters. It should help them strive to improve.