Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:32 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

Sheesh, not a bad move. Not sure that you need him, or is feilden out for long?

If Perry is out for the season, it would have been good for us. I know he's had his knockers, but certainly in our game at headingly he looked pretty good.

We've run at least two props light all season (Fielden and O'Carroll)

Prescotts done a hamstring and Coleys playing on knees that are worse than mine. The games we have struggled this season have been when we have had only three available props, so I guess it's a good short term signing.

Fileden I believe is still four to six weeks away from playing, however hopefully O'Carroll will get a game in the U20's this Saturday, but will he survive it?

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:45 am  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Fileden I believe is still four to six weeks away from playing, however hopefully O'Carroll will get a game in the U20's this Saturday, but will he survive it?

What did Feilden do?
For all the talk over the years that he's "burnt out", i seem to remember him having a pretty good injury record.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:48 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

What did Feilden do?
For all the talk over the years that he's "burnt out", i seem to remember him having a pretty good injury record.

Knee injury.
And you are correct I think he has only missed about ten games through injury in his time at Wigan prior to this season.

He should have been "good to go" about three weeks back but overdid it in training, trying to push himself a little too much.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 10:10 am  

FearTheVee wrote:

He wouldn't be in the fist choice Saints XVII, he most certainly is at Cas. Being a top 2 prop at a weaker team is worth more to the wallet than being 6th choice at a big club.

It's easy to blame the club for not keeping Emmitt, but in all honesty he's made the right move - more rugby and most probably a fair bit more cash. There was little that Saints could realistically offer him that would make staying at Saints a better career move than leaving for Cas.

He'd have had a lot of game time this season.
IMO he's gone for a short term gain,not a career progression.
I also think Saints could have done more to keep him.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:36 am  

Don Brennan wrote:

He'd have had a lot of game time this season.

He didn't know that when he made his decision. At the start of the year if you'd asked me our team and bench I'd have said:

Perry
Roby
Graham
Soliola
Flannery
Wilkin

LMS
TP
Clough
Moore

Emmitt wouldn't have got a look in. With Royce playing a back on the bench, even less so.

He made a brave decision, and it's turned out to be the right one for him. Hanging around waiting for injuries and being dropped for big games is no match for playing a leading role as far as career progression is concerned IMO.

He's made a great fist of being a front line prop at Cas and he's got the game time and plaudits that he probably felt he could achieve given the opportunity. That opportunity was unlikely to be with Saints but for injuries.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:11 pm  

I think that five main props is what you need, our success in 2006 was based on this being true for us. Next year we will have Laffranchi, Perry, LMS, Clough which probably does leave us one short.

Maggenis is a player that is being converted into a prop but is not physically up to it yet. Puletua has shown that he is best used as a loose forward but does add a lot of size. While Frodsham and Forster have spent most of the season injured.

I think that Saints probably see Forster as the fifth prop. He is a big strong runner who would have probably broken into the team this year had he been fit during our injury crisis. He played in the u20s the other day but I doubt he will be given a run out this year but you never know.

I think we have props on the brain as we have been lacking Clough all year and Perry has only played half his games. With both fit next year and hopefully Forster making his debut our front row should not seem such an issue.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:39 pm  

Noel Cleal wrote:

I think we have props on the brain as we have been lacking Clough all year and Perry has only played half his games. With both fit next year and hopefully Forster making his debut our front row should not seem such an issue.

I think you're right, but probably because they have been such a weapon for us over the past 5 years. As I said before, I think a couple of my suggestions were me getting giddy and overthinking.

Assuming the wheels have fallen of Frodsham, I beleive the club must think that someone in the reserves will be able to fill in next year if we need an extra prop. That, or we'll sign someone to fill a gap.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:41 pm  

Forster, Magennis, Ashurst, Dixon and Hale all played in your U20 side at Wakefield over the weekend.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:43 pm  

Rogues Gallery wrote:

Forster, Magennis, Ashurst, Dixon and Hale all played in your U20 side at Wakefield over the weekend.

And we lost

Ashurst and Dixon aren't good enough and never will be. I still think Magennis could be a useful SL player with a bit more work.

Haven't seen enough of Hale/Forster to form an opinion.

Re: A prop : Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:46 pm  

Wigan, noticing they're struggling in a dept, sign a player as cover? Bloody hell, Saints should be looking at this revelatory approach.