Billinge_Lump wrote:
Lomax has been off form for a good while, the blame has gone everywhere else before now
We'll debate whether Lomax is a true 7 for years, i reckon.
I don't think he's a scrum half yet, but I do think he's a quality 1st receiver.
He's tough, so he's not a fraid to play close to the line.
Added to that he's a handful, so he's a genuine threat with the ball in hand, which will suck in defenders.
Once he's attracted the defence, he's capable of some very nice short passes to put the big guys through gaps.
These three factors are what won him YPOTY in 2011, but for him to be effective (as any half), he needs players to move around him, otherwise it just turns into him running into a brick wall, which won't have sucess, which will in turn lead to him "trying too hard" and forcing passes.
Two guys retired whilst we were looking for a half, Lockyer and Barrett. Either of these, with their playmaking and experince may well have won us trophies playing alongside Lomax.
That may sound like pie in the sky, but a more realistic player that we really should have picked up was Rhys Hanbury when the crusaders went pop. He may be of modest reputation, but he was available, wasn't snapped up straight away and has a good all round half backs game that could have guided our younger players.
Dux mentioned it may be worth looking at the Fetherstone Scrum half - Liam Finn. An experinced half back who has the desired organisational qualities and, one would imagine, should be available for a transfer to a Superleague club. He may not be a new superstar, but might be a decent glue to hold our team together.
