Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 2:43 pm  

Trying to get an available proven half back is like dragons teeth these days, can,t see any team willing to release one unless there is a big financial gain.
It might be easier to sign up and develop Eden,s defensive game at full back and get Lomax working at 6 with Walsh.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 2:47 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

Trying to get an available proven half back is like dragons teeth these days, can,t see any team willing to release one unless there is a big financial gain.
It might be easier to sign up and develop Eden,s defensive game at full back and get Lomax working at 6 with Walsh.

I think we'd miss lomax at fullback tbh. He's vital in the way we play as he comes in wide as a extra half or can also take the line on. Lomax isn't the greatest of halves IMO and the extra room he gets at fullback really fits his game. He become very predictable at 6 with his dummy and step inside and also stopped the ball going wide.

Lomax is the perfect fullback for us.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 2:48 pm  

St. Rughead wrote:

So Burns and Hampshire are nailed on? Where's Hampshire gonna play then?

I cannot see Wigan letting Hampshire go other than for a fee we would baulk at paying. I think you can confine this one to mischief making though I'd love to be wrong. Nobody I have spoken to, who are usually not far away with comings and goings, have heard anything about it.

Burns I don't know anything about apart from our initial interest and it all appears to be very quiet on the incomings front whilst the 'Walsh home' rumours won't go away.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 2:52 pm  

St pete wrote:

Burns will give us 3 good years easy.

I think you add Burns to this current team and a good tough rough prop and youd see a massive difference. Aggressive players like Burns bring out the aggression in other players and we wouldn't be a walk over as we have been in tough games.

Burns for 3 years gives us plenty of time to find a a younger halfback or produce one of our own.

Burns for Hohaia

Aston Simms for laffranchi

Tariq Simms for Manu/sia

I beeline we'd win things with the above transfers

But, supposing you have 3 years from burns that is, at a minimum:

Hohaia/ Walsh this year
Burns/ Walsh next year
Burns/ new 7 the year after (potentially)
New 6/ new 7 2 years after that

Which can hardly be described as stable! If Walsh stays longer than his initial contract, it becomes much less of an issue. But I'd just love us to have a halfback combo we can keep together for 5+ years!

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 2:56 pm  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

But, supposing you have 3 years from burns that is, at a minimum:

Hohaia/ Walsh this year
Burns/ Walsh next year
Burns/ new 7 the year after (potentially)
New 6/ new 7 2 years after that

Which can hardly be described as stable! If Walsh stays longer than his initial contract, it becomes much less of an issue. But I'd just love us to have a halfback combo we can keep together for 5+ years!

Walsh was always going after two seasons tho, it's not a shock. We need to look at the hear and now.

The is lack of good proven halves about and Burns is a player we a capable of getting IMO. It's all well and good looking 3 years down the line but I'm looking for a stable halves from week to week.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 3:03 pm  

St pete wrote:

Walsh was always going after two seasons tho, it's not a shock. We need to look at the hear and now.

The is lack of good proven halves about and Burns is a player we a capable of getting IMO. It's all well and good looking 3 years down the line but I'm looking for a stable halves from week to week.

So at it's bluntest, Walsh is a stop gap for us to get some long term halfbacks in place!

This is all conjecture of course, who knows what saints plan is but brown generally does very well identifying halfbacks, so we shall see!

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 3:07 pm  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

So at it's bluntest, Walsh is a stop gap for us to get some long term halfbacks in place!

Extrapolating on what our CEO said recently I would imagine Walsh is effectively a stop gap until we can raise our own rather than get any in. I've no idea whether there are any up and coming halfbacks at Saints these days. We seem to have disposed of them all.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 3:13 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Extrapolating on what our CEO said recently I would imagine Walsh is effectively a stop gap until we can raise our own rather than get any in. I've no idea whether there are any up and coming halfbacks at Saints these days. We seem to have disposed of them all.

There are 2 who seem to crop up more than any other:

Charnock, who seems to be moved and getting groomed for a ball handling 13 rather than a halfback; and

Hewitt, whose 17 - was picked for the England game recently vs France, but I'd hazard a guess he's still going to be too young to get a game any time soon...

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 3:15 pm  

Magic Superbeetle wrote:

So at it's bluntest, Walsh is a stop gap for us to get some long term halfbacks in place!

This is all conjecture of course, who knows what saints plan is but brown generally does very well identifying halfbacks, so we shall see!

When a player signs a two year deal it's always a chance he won't stay longer but if we get two good years out of Walsh then it's better than nothing.

Put it this way, I'd have him for two years than having Wilkin there. The should always be a long term plan but also short term as they sometimes the only option.

If Walsh and Burns play together next year and we have a good season but Walsh them leaves then it worked.

Re: latest rumor on twitter. : Fri May 30, 2014 3:26 pm  

St pete wrote:

When a player signs a two year deal it's always a chance he won't stay longer but if we get two good years out of Walsh then it's better than nothing.

Put it this way, I'd have him for two years than having Wilkin there. The should always be a long term plan but also short term as they sometimes the only option.

If Walsh and Burns play together next year and we have a good season but Walsh them leaves then it worked.

Oh don't get me wrong, signing Walsh was great, 2 years or not.

Ultimately 6. Burns 7. Walsh, or any other player mentioned in the last few pages are steps in the right direction, given the options we had over the last few years. It's only personal preference to bring someone in to build our structures around!