Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 2:45 pm  

Hohaia is more than good enough for this league. He held down a starting spot in the NRL for several seasons, which is more than most other Super League players could manage. The reason why we're not controlling the game has to come from the coaches and given that they've plumped more often for Wilkin running the show you can make up your own mind on that one.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:04 pm  

McClennan wrote:

Hohaia is more than good enough for this league. He held down a starting spot in the NRL for several seasons, which is more than most other Super League players could manage. The reason why we're not controlling the game has to come from the coaches and given that they've plumped more often for Wilkin running the show you can make up your own mind on that one.

Not in the halves he didn't. He played most of his games at hooker or halfback. He can't control a team, he isn't an organising half back and he has no kicking game.

If we brought Billy Slater over and played him at scrum half, he'd struggle. Round pegs and all that.

Hohaia should be moved to fullback and Wello released.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:10 pm  

You could argue we have not enough of the right players and too many playing where they should not.
We are not short of numbers per se, but numbers in the right places.

ie

Wellens still pretty decent FB
Lance an NRL standard FB
Makinson a young up and coming FB
Lomax someone who could play a number of positions but will struggle at SH without another experienced half to help.

But there you have potentially 4 FB's

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:22 pm  

I cant understand why people are getting upset about this signing. He is a very average Aussie that if he was coming to Saints, would be just another in a long line of whipping boys for the half wits to moan about. Get over yourselves.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:42 pm  

SomersetSaint wrote:

I cant understand why people are getting upset about this signing. He is a very average Aussie that if he was coming to Saints, would be just another in a long line of whipping boys for the half wits to moan about. Get over yourselves.

Nobody is getting upset about it. It's just further proof that there are players out there and that we really didn't need to buy an NRL fullback and play him at scrum half, where he is pretty terrible. The excuse from people on here is that there are no players of any quality available anywhere, but yet other clubs manage to sign players better than our own on a pretty consistent basis. Either of the signings Wigan have made recently would improve our side and they have a decent looking trio now. They have the pace, deceptive running and out and out class of Sam Tomkins, the pace and kicking game of Green and the organisational qualities and kicking game of Smith. Contrast with us, we have a fullback who simply doesn't contribute anything, one half that is like a headless chicken and couldn't organise a set of toy soldiers and another, albeit quite talented, who is drowning under the pressure of having no one with him who can kick or organise. I know which average players I'd rather have and it's not ours.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:08 pm  

Why don't we just coach them to do it? Works in pretty much every other job in the world.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:31 pm  

Offside Monkey wrote:

Greg Eden this, Greg Eden that. A couple of seasons ago people were talking in exactly the same about Owen at castleford and now nobody cares about him, mainly because they're all going on about the new kid on the block.

Yes, we should have a better solution at fullback than Wellens.
Yes, the Hohaia as a half back signing was a poor idea.

Past that though, Its hardly all doom and gloom. If we celared up the above and get the side a bit more geared up for the big games, then we could really build on our 3rd place standing.

Resign Meli, play him in the centre with Turner outside him. Move Lance to fullback and bring Gaskell in at #6. Go for Hanbury at Widnes as back up. They've just signed Mellor from Wigan and Brown so would listen to offers. Send Wello or Wilkin the opposite way if necessary.
Play Ade outside Jones and make Wheeler, Swift, Makinson and Foster work to prove ther're more than just an able deputy with some loan deals.
Sign a starting prop and move laffranchi into the big 13 role. Unload Wilkin to free up cap space. Sack off Magennis and bring Forster in.

There's not a bit of this I disagree with.

Let's hope Brown sees things a similar way.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:38 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Nobody is getting upset about it. It's just further proof that there are players out there and that we really didn't need to buy an NRL fullback and play him at scrum half, where he is pretty terrible. The excuse from people on here is that there are no players of any quality available anywhere, but yet other clubs manage to sign players better than our own on a pretty consistent basis. Either of the signings Wigan have made recently would improve our side and they have a decent looking trio now. They have the pace, deceptive running and out and out class of Sam Tomkins, the pace and kicking game of Green and the organisational qualities and kicking game of Smith. Contrast with us, we have a fullback who simply doesn't contribute anything, one half that is like a headless chicken and couldn't organise a set of toy soldiers and another, albeit quite talented, who is drowning under the pressure of having no one with him who can kick or organise. I know which average players I'd rather have and it's not ours.

If we'd signed Blake and Smith as first choice halves, replacing players of Finch and Leuleuia's quality you'd be frothing at the mouth over how rapidly we were in decline. They are the definition of average (Smith sometimes isn't even average).

Lomax and Gaskell offer far more than their Wigan counterparts, we just need NB to recognise that Lomax and Lance as a combo won't work and hope Lomaskell kick on under a new coaching set up.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 6:49 pm  

Cragganmore Kid wrote:

If we'd signed Blake and Smith as first choice halves, replacing players of Finch and Leuleuia's quality you'd be frothing at the mouth over how rapidly we were in decline. They are the definition of average (Smith sometimes isn't even average).

Probably, you guys know me so well now, I can't hide anymore.

Cragganmore Kid wrote:

Lomax and Gaskell offer far more than their Wigan counterparts, we just need NB to recognise that Lomax and Lance as a combo won't work and hope Lomaskell kick on under a new coaching set up.

I agree, but is it going to happen? All the people 'in the know' have said that Brown has identified that we desperately need a half back, which suggests he's not too keen on what we have at the moment. But the positive signs were there on the BBC when Brown questioned Saints' sanity in picking Hohaia as a halfback. Hopefully he's got a plan, because if we continue with Rush's idiotic plan of Wellens, Hohaia and Lomax for another 12 months I may well explode with frustration. The only other places he could play Hohaia are fullback, which would make the resigning of Wellens just a sentimental folly which is unlike Eamon, or at hooker, which would mean Roby would have to take up a part time job working the bars, as he's a machine.

Re: Wigan to sign another halfback : Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:13 pm  

There are numerous issues that need sorting out when Nathan Brown takes charge at the end of the season.

Paul Wellens has been a truly magnificent player for us for well over a decade but now is the time to release him and allow Hohaia to play Full Back from 2013 onwards.

It looks like we are going to have Makinson, Turner, Jones, Meli as our three quarter line next year. Plenty of pace but some serious and urgent work need to be done reguarding there defence.

Lee Gaskell and Jonny Lomax have to be our half back combination as there were great last year and got us to a Grand Final. The kids have talent why not let them flurish????

Front Row. No need to mention Roby as everybody knows his position is safe. Perry has had a strong few weeks but needs to back that form up from the start of 2013. This is an ex State of Origin front rower we are talking about here and apart from the last few weeks maybe couple of months his form as been shocking this year.

Laffranchi is never a front rower in the memory of man. He's ok against the likes of Widnes and Salford and I was going to mention Wakefield until last weeks performance but coming up against Wigan and Wire he clearly isnt up to the job. Personally I think he could do a grand job at Loose Forward like Hooper did around 6 or so years ago.

McCarthy-Scarsbrook has been great coming off the bench and I would like Brown to keep him as replacement Prop under his tenure. Paul Clough is a hard working player and does his job well. Never had many complaints about Clough to be honest.

Back Row. Sia Soliola has been great for the large part of the season but at times his defensive reads are woeful but Im sure with some quality coaching from Brown this problem can be ironed out.

I have sympathy for Tony Puletua as he is being played as a outwide Second Rower and to be honest and its clear for everyone too see this is not his game. Puletua should be in the Front Row starting with Perry for 2013 as he is at his best when playing there.

Jon Wilkin. I have to say in Wilkin's defence he get through a mountain of work in defence and that was clearly missed against Wakefield last week. I would deffo keep Wilkin but use him in the Second Row where his ablities are best suited but having said that the running of the team has clearly got to be taken away from him. All that reponsablity is hampering his game that I am sure.

Willie Manu should bring a extra demension to our back row. Having intially been disappointed with his signing I am willing to give the big man a chance in the hope that he proves me wrong.

Shaun Magennis, Andrew Dixon, Jamie Foster, Gary Wheeler and Adam Swift should be all the players we should be looking to keep and under a new coaching regime they should improve. Wheeler really does need to shake off his injury tag next year and play consistantly otherwise at the end of next year Id be looking at releasing him.

Team for 2013 as it stands and no further signings being announced as yet.

Hohaia
Makinson
Turner
Jones
Meli
Gaskell
Lomax
Perry
Roby (c)
Puletua
Manu
Wilkin
Laffranchi

Bench

Wheeler
Soliola
Clough
McCarthy-Scarsbrook