Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:19 pm  

SomersetSaint wrote:

Otherwise eastmond will lose out. Harsh but think Royce will go with it

Why is it harsh? Eastmond is leaving us. It is far more important for Gaskell to get game time than Eastmond because Gaskell is with us next season.

If Wello returns with his early season form, he will be fantastic for us on Sunday.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:22 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Why is it harsh? Eastmond is leaving us. It is far more important for Gaskell to get game time than Eastmond because Gaskell is with us next season.

You pick the best team regardless, it's not about being sentimental and looking to build for years down the line. If Gaskell is good enough to get in, he'll get in on merit, same with Eastmond.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:50 pm  

Blobbynator wrote:

You pick the best team regardless

Exactly. Hence my preference for Wello at fullback in a knock out game.

But it isn't 'harsh' to drop Eastmond, which was the point I was responding to, because he won't be here next season and it is therefore more important that our halves who WILL be here next season get game time together while they can.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:51 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

But it isn't 'harsh' to drop Eastmond, which was the point I was responding to, because he won't be here next season and it is therefore more important that our halves who WILL be here next season get game time together while they can.

This is where I differ. The last few games, Eastmond's form HAS warranted selection at full back.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:54 pm  

Drop Wellens. He's been a bag of turd recently. The fact that he's a club legend and I'd eat his ear wax if asked me to has nothing to do with it.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 7:59 pm  

Blobbynator wrote:

This is where I differ. The last few games, Eastmond's form HAS warranted selection at full back.

I don't think you are talking about form. I think you and a few others have got carried away seeing pace in a red vee at fullback. Kyle has done at fullback exactly what he was doing in the halves before his injury: running fast, being elusive, showing what great hands he has. We knew about those things anyway, plus his great short kicking game, because he was exactly the same in the halves.

But in getting all dewy eyed about pace, people are conveniently forgetting that he is crap in defence. And defence is half the game. In a knock out match, defence is extremely important as there are no second chances. Wello was playing with a dodgy achilles for a few weeks. Hopefully that has settled down now and he isn't being rushed back.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:06 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

I don't think you are talking about form. I think you and a few others have got carried away seeing pace in a red vee at fullback. Kyle has done at fullback exactly what he was doing in the halves before his injury: running fast, being elusive, showing what great hands he has. We knew about those things anyway, plus his great short kicking game, because he was exactly the same in the halves.

But in getting all dewy eyed about pace, people are conveniently forgetting that he is crap in defence. And defence is half the game. In a knock out match, defence is extremely important as there are no second chances. Wello was playing with a dodgy achilles for a few weeks. Hopefully that has settled down now and he isn't being rushed back.

You mentioned Wellens early season form before, but that was ultimately when he was at his worst IMO. His performance against Quins still hants me. His achilles injury can excuse recent performances, but he's not had a good season. He's definitely looked on the slide this year.

Defence is important, but so is offence. You can't win a game without scoring points and Eastmond definitely offers us X factor when he's on his game like he has been recently. I think Eastmond is a better option overall. He's got some great attributes to play at full back and is less exposed defensively because he'll make less tackles in that position than he will in the main defensive line at Centre for example.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:21 pm  

Blobbynator wrote:

You mentioned Wellens early season form before, but that was ultimately when he was at his worst IMO. His performance against Quins still hants me.

So there was only one man playing against Quins then? Give over. Contrast his performance (and the rest of the team) against Leeds the following week. But obviously that will be forgotten as it doesn't suit your purpose!

I agree that you can't win a match without scoring tries but when your last line of defence is letting in as many tries as he scores then his attacking threat is negated.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 8:41 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

So there was only one man playing against Quins then? Give over.

Where did I say that? The way he got turned so easily by Luke Dorn was frightening though, especially when people use his positioning and defence as his strengths.

SaintsFan wrote:

Contrast his performance (and the rest of the team) against Leeds the following week. But obviously that will be forgotten as it doesn't suit your purpose!

I've no problem with Wellens, in fact I've always been one of his biggest fans and he has performed well on some ocassions this year, but he's not hit the heights of previous seasons, nowhere near from what I've seen. His high, consistent standards have dropped.

SaintsFan wrote:

I agree that you can't win a match without scoring tries but when your last line of defence is letting in as many tries as he scores then his attacking threat is negated.

Was Eastmond really exposed badly in defence last week against a stronger side in Catalans? I don't think he was. His positoning was good, he returned the ball well and defended when he had to. Nobody would've stopped Vacarri IMO.

Re: Cup Squad : Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:31 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Why is it harsh? Eastmond is leaving us. It is far more important for Gaskell to get game time than Eastmond because Gaskell is with us next season.

If Wello returns with his early season form, he will be fantastic for us on Sunday.

I disagree Eastmonds form is improving game by game and given his chance will be our most dangerous back to the opposition. Yes he is leaving us but he still plays in the saints shirt for this season., Graham is also leaving us but we don,t show importance in dropping him for a younger forward.
You put your best form players on the park, wello is not one of them at the moment probably due to a lot of injury problems this year. Eastmonds improving attitude to attack is far superior to what Gaskell offers, with
the exception of his kicking game.
Like the saying goes you take one game at a time so you also take one season at a time, so personally I wouldn't,t consider picking a team on the basis of who will be available for the next season.