Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 8:23 am  

SaintsFan wrote:

As for LMS, you miss what he has done for rugby in London. I listened to an interview with him on Radio London shortly after he'd moved up here. The links to our earlier Londoner were made but also just how well the Quins are doing to be able to produce someone who is sought after by other clubs. Like Shenton at Cas and Jammer here at Saints, I think LMS had grown a bit stale in London and wanted to start afresh with a new challenge. As it is, whenever he plays he is promoting the London connection which can only be a good thing IMO.

I can assure you I fully support LMS now at St Helens and I can see why he would want to make the move, but like James I still think with home developed players by a club that a fee should be paid and no waiting until the end of the contract. I am one of those who think in the case of LMS he will want to return to London one day and play!

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 9:13 am  

jaybs wrote:

I can assure you I fully support LMS now at St Helens and I can see why he would want to make the move, but like James I still think with home developed players by a club that a fee should be paid and no waiting until the end of the contract. I am one of those who think in the case of LMS he will want to return to London one day and play!

I think you live in cloud cuckoo land. Sport is a business and why would any business pay for something they can legally get for free? Bosman changed sport get over it.

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:05 am  

No1 Saint wrote:

I think you live in cloud cuckoo land.

Typical response! you can only look rede and white shirt, it suits you, players under a certain age should not be able to transfer without a fee when he has been developed by that club, same with any player would you like to lose Jamie Foster for nothing. I think the difference is I may support Quins RL, but I always think "All for the Good of The Game" and not blinkered about soley about the club I follow and support! so it is my opinion! which is what forums are about and it is You that should Get Over it! have a nice weekend! lol

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:11 am  

jaybs wrote:

Typical response! you can only look rede and white shirt, it suits you, players under a certain age should not be able to transfer without a fee when he has been developed by that club, same with any player would you like to lose Jamie Foster for nothing. I think the difference is I may support Quins RL, but I always think "All for the Good of The Game" and not blinkered about soley about the club I follow and support! so it is my opinion! which is what forums are about and it is You that should Get Over it! have a nice weekend! lol

We've lost Kyle eastmond, James Graham, Jake emmitt and bryn Hargreaves for no transfer fee.

It's just how it goes mate.

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:17 am  

St pete wrote:

We've lost Kyle eastmond, James Graham, Jake emmitt and bryn Hargreaves for no transfer fee.

It's just how it goes mate.

Exactly , Jaybs is just deluded. Business is Business

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 3:25 pm  

Chris Saint wrote:

Eric Huges was in charge from 1994 for just over 2 years, was he was promoted to the role directly from the Academy? Otherwise you cannot possibly claim Cunningham was a Hughes gem seeing as he'd have come from a previous Youth set up.

Eric Hughes made his name coaching the reserve grades. And he was a pretty good coach at that level. But he was out of his depth higher up.

Extending Huges effects through to 1998 the kind of junior players that era brought through were Chris Morley, Joey Hayes, Richard Shiel, Andy Leatham, Danny Arnold, Paul Anderson (the centre), John McAtee, Brian Capewell, Tony Stewart, Jason Johnson, Lee Briers, Alan Cross, Scott Barrow.

There are a couple of decent players and others showed promise but it is hardly a who's who of Super League talent and trophies is it, let alone International and World Class? And Hughes wasn't restricted with a paltry salary cap, or pro rugby union and football, while dominant was far less celebrity instant millionaire that it is now.

Back to the present day the fact we could concievably field a decent starting 13 entirely based from academy products suggests we are doing fairly well at prodcuing SL talent

Wellens, Foster, Armstrong, Wheeler, Makinson, Gaskell, Lomax, Graham, Roby, Clough, Ashurst, Dixon, Magennis
Throw in a bench of last season departures doing ok in SL too: Jake Emmit, Paul Johnson, Chris Dean, Kyle Eastmond.

I accept it is not perfect and I know not all of the above will have long successful careers but it is clearly improving and the standard being produced is definitely better.

Hang on a second. You're looking at Hughes' junior set-up with the benefit of hindsight whilst we have no idea what the future holds for the current crop. Not a fair comparison. At the time when Hughes' prospects emerged we thought they would all go on to have the kinds of careers we think this batch will enjoy.

Take six players as examples - Lee Briers, Keiron Cunningham, Joey Hayes, Tony Stewart, Andy Leathem & Danny Arnold. We had EVERY reason to think all six would either become international players or very good club pros. Briers when he emerged performed a minor miracle in replacing the suspended Bobby Goulding and no one had any suspicion he would be transferred to Warrington (that said, Briers HAS been a good SL player - even with his "issues"). Keiron Cunningham at a very early age looked GB material and was capable of holding his own against established players in his teens. Joey Hayes & Danny Arnold both hit the first team with a bang. Arnold racked up a whopping total of tries in his first two seasons and Joey Hayes was an international winger and looked a certainty for years. Stewart seemed like a classy prospect on the wing and Leathem was the kind of prop we could bank on for a decade.

At THAT time there was no suggestion that Stewart (transferred), Hayes (career-ending injury), Leathem (career-ending injury), Arnold (attitude problems) & Briers would bomb out for us.

Just as we have no reason to think the current crop might self-destruct. But it can happen. Whilst we think this batch will go on to form a great new generation they might go the same way. And again, I have to stress that Hughes had NONE of the advantages Mike Rush & co have. Under McManus we have taken junior development far more seriously (we have no choice) whereas Hughes was operating on a shoe-string budget.

P.S. I forgot to add Prescott to the list.

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:19 pm  

I think saying Briers bombed out us a bit harsh. He came into the side with Gouldings suspension, helped us get to the CC final and the was dropped for the final in favour of a returning scrum half who helped us win the game (the correct decision btw).

Briers asked to leave after that and the club didn't stand in his way. Can't blame him really.

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:34 pm  

Cragganmore Kid wrote:

Big club signs top performer from small club shocker!!

Almost never happens, that.

Correct, ask Andy Platt and Gary Connolly

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:36 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Correct, ask Andy Platt and Gary Connolly

Fishing trip tonight then, Rogues?

Re: Puletua Has Been Offered New 2 Year Deal : Sat Apr 30, 2011 7:47 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Correct, ask Andy Platt and Gary Connolly

Don't forget, we got Ricky Bibey, albeit via Leigh.