Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:20 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

He made two mistakes, and neither were because he was playing fullback. Had Wellens been on, it would still have been Makinson fielding those balls, because of Wello's lack of mobility. Makinson was returning all the balls throughout the game, even ones kicked to within a few feet of Wello.

Hard to judge a player in a performance like that. Having Wello or even Billy Slater would have made little difference tonight, there was no field position, breaks or expansive play to join in with.

I think its a question of which is the lesser of the two evils Wellens lack of Mobility v Makinsons lack of Reading the game. Makinson struggles to judge the flight of a high ball and quite often will let it bounce.
Wellens runs slowly direct whilst Makinson runs fast sidewards. I can,t recall Makinson making many tackle busts or beating a man on the outside in open play.
Defensively I was very nervous when Makinson was playing full back.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:24 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

I think its a question of which is the lesser of the two evils Wellens lack of Mobility v Makinsons lack of Reading the game. Makinson struggles to judge the flight of a high ball and quite often will let it bounce.
Wellens runs slowly direct whilst Makinson runs fast sidewards. I can,t recall Makinson making many tackle busts or beating a man on the outside in open play.
Defensively I was very nervous when Makinson was playing full back.

I'm not a massive fan of Makinson in general. I don't see what he did last season that Foster didn't. He's a decent finisher close to the line, but far too often he's completely anonymous in games on the wing. He doesn't get involved in games, just sticks to his wing and is happy to let the game pass him by.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:25 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

The problem for you is that it is an ageing pack with nothing coming through to back it up. Savellio looks a good prospect as does Greenwood but it will take a lot more than that. Recruitment has to be a major priority in the next two years.

Its a massive concern for me, as we will defo be losing Puletua, and in all probability Perry.
We also havent heard anything about Lafranchi being signed back on again even though he has been talking about wanting a new deal at the club. That makes me think he doesnt have a future at Saints.
Thats three front rowers going out the door at season end.

I cant see us being able to bring over any decent aussies, and none of our big kids are anywhere near ready as of
yet.
What little talent there is available within the UK will probably be able to command a high price as Warrington will also be in the hunt for a pack. I just cant see Saints being willing to compete in a bidding war with Wire.

Now i dont think Wigans pack is all conquering, but it is fairly solid but most importantly is British and can set a platform so that even when you lose Sam Tomkins to the NRL, you should still be able to compete against the other top teams. I actually think Wigan are set fair with regards to having a decent team competing for honours in the near future, even if this season i dont think you will be quite upto dining on the top table.

Saints however could be in a very sorry position if steps arent taken quickly to rectify glaring issues. Moreso in 12 months time.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:28 pm  

Point won or lost? Saints didn't deserve any points tonight.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:29 pm  

Saints need to spend a bit of money. Identify three top targets and go and spend a few hundred grand on them. Or admit they are not willing to and accept the attendances plummeting. I don't believe the board even cares about winning trophies, the focus has been getting the stadium and the squad has been neglected.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:30 pm  

Blobbynator wrote:

Makinson doesn't have the hands to be a full back IMO.

I'd personally be looking at the young lad from London (whose name has completely escaped me) - he has pace, is currently playing there for London and looks like a really exciting prospect. He's also OOC at the end of the year.

I would like to see Swift given his chance at fullback.

He has pace and is also a half by trade, so has the necessary footballing skills to potentially make it to the top.

Makinson for me is a bog standard level winger. Doesnt possess the rugby brain to play at fullback.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:31 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

I'm not a massive fan of Makinson in general. I don't see what he did last season that Foster didn't. He's a decent finisher close to the line, but far too often he's completely anonymous in games on the wing. He doesn't get involved in games, just sticks to his wing and is happy to let the game pass him by.

Thats the thoughts in our discussion group at work, we are kind of waiting for him suddenly to go up a level, but we still have players inside of him with "L plates on". We are probably in the bottom 3 for quality of backs at the moment, Mr Brown needs to change something dramatically to give us a fighting chance offensively.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:34 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

I don't believe the board even cares about winning trophies, the focus has been getting the stadium and the squad has been neglected.

The excuse of concentrating on the stadium was a fair one, but there is simply no excuse from now on. The stadium is here, the finances will improve. The squad needs sorting otherwise the feel good factor of the new stadium will soon disappear and some fans will not watch us. Our opening two attendances are already lower than last years corresponding fixtures and it's noticeable where I sit that there is a few more empty seats.

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:51 pm  

The Chair Maker wrote:

I just cant see Saints being willing to compete in a bidding war with Wire.

Why not? We'll have a lot of cap space if those players you mention leave and I cannot really see why we wouldn't/can't spend the max cap? Unless you're implying something else.......?

Re: Point won / Point Lost ??? : Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:54 pm  

Albion wrote:

Why not? We'll have a lot of cap space if those players you mention leave and I cannot really see why we wouldn't/can't spend the max cap? Unless you're implying something else.......?

The salary cap is not policed by the RFL. If a club wants to outbid another, despite only having the same cap room, it can.